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Cissus quadrangularis var. pubescens

Dewit

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc-sa

(c) World Agroforestry, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc-sa

(c) World Agroforestry, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)

iNaturalist· cc-by-nc

(c) Solofo Eric Rakotoarisoa, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Solofo Eric Rakotoarisoa

Cissus quadrangularis is a perennial plant of the grape family. It is commonly known as veldt grape, winged treebine or adamant creeper. The species is native to tropical Asia, the Arabian Peninsula and much of Africa.

Description

A climbing succulent. The stems are slender and they are hairy. The leaves have 3-5 lobes.

This description is brief — help expand it

Edible Uses

The root is used for soup flavouring.

Traditional Uses

The root is used for soup flavouring.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

Cissus quadrangularis has been used as a medicinal plant since antiquity. Cissus has been used in various Ayurvedic classical medicines to heal broken bones and injured ligaments and tendons. In siddha medicine, it is considered a tonic and analgesic, and is believed to help heal broken bones, thus its name asthisamharaka (that which prevents the destruction of bones). The Assamese people and the Garo tribe of Meghalaya and Bangladesh have used C. quadrangularis for bone fracture.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant.

Where It Grows

Africa, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo DR, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania,

Synonyms

Cissus fischeri Gilg.

References (3)

  • East African Herbarium records, 1981, (As Cissus fischeri)
  • Grubben, G. J. H. and Denton, O. A. (eds), 2004, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. p 560
  • Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 201 (As Cissus fischeri)

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