This native creeper of rainforest and coastal forest is a known medicinal plant in Indian medicine. The plant has been used as a treatment for a whole range of ailments including atrophy, bleeding gums,
cough, dysentery, cancer, skin infections, diabetes and liver disorders (see pdf here). The distinctive features are the hairs fringing the flower petals and the red glands at the nodes where the leaves join the stem. The leaf midrib is also distinctively hairy on the underside. Like many members of the Apocynaceae family, the shoots and leaves weep copious white sap when injured.
Closeup of flowers. Petals with hairy fringe
Red glands at the node. Note also hairy leaf petioles
Leaf upperside. The leaves may also be more ovate.
Hairs on the leaf midrib of leaf underside
About David Tng
I am
David Tng, a hedonistic botanizer who pursues plants with a fervour. I chase the opportunity to delve into various aspects of the study of plants. I have spent untold hours staring at mosses and allied plants, taking picture of pollen, culturing orchids in clean cabinets, counting tree rings, monitoring plant flowering times, etc. I am currently engrossed in the study of plant ecology (a grand excuse to see 'anything I can). Sometimes I think of myself as a shadow taxonomist, a sentimental ecologist, and a spiritual environmentalist - but at the very root of it all, a "plant whisperer"!
Hi David,
Many thanks for the detailed info of this plant. May I asked where about can I find this plant near Cairns city please?.
Best regards
Lucy
Hi Lucy, it is quite common around the campus of the Cairns campus of the James Cook University.
Best regards,
David
Hi David,
Many thanks for the information, I will visit JCU very soon. By the way, I love reading your web page, I have learned so much from you and excited to read some very details of plants we have had and continue to read more.
Have a Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year 2017.
Best regards
Lucy
It’s a pleasure Lucy. Yes, JCU has quite a bit around the edges of the forests, but the vine is pretty common throughout the lowlands, and you will probably see a fair bit around the forests near the Botanical gardens as well. Good to know you’ve found the blog useful. You too have a merry christmas and great new year.
Regards,
David