Plukenetia corniculata
Sm. in Nov. Acta Regiae Soc. Sci. Upsal. 6: 4. 1799; Hook.f., Fl.
Brit. India 5: 464. 1888. Pterococcus corniculatus (Sm.) Pax & K.Hoffm. in Engl., Pflanzenr.
IV.147.ix (heft 68): 22. 1919; D.Naras. et al. in J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. 13: 56, f.1. 1989; Govaerts et al.,
World Checkl. & Bibl. Euphorbiaceae 4: 1378. 2000.
Tel.: Kodigandlam.
Twining shrubs or undershrubs, subglabrous. Leaves oblong-ovate, truncate-subcordate at base, serrate-dentate along margins, caudate-acuminate at apex, 6 - 18 x 3 - 10 cm, membranous, puberulous, palmately 3 - 5-nerved at base, with 2 marginal glands on either side of basal nerves; petioles (1 -) 2 - 6 (- 9) cm long, with 2 glands at the base of the lamina on either sides; stipules subulate-lanceolate, 1 - 2 mm long. Racemes axillary or leaf-opposed, shortly pedunculate, 2 - 4.5 cm long. Male flowers: pedicels 1.5 - 2.5 mm long, articulated; sepals 4 or 5, ovate, ca 1 mm long; stamens 8 - 20, sessile on a cushion-like receptacle; anther-thecae diverging. Female flowers: pedicels ca 2.5 mm long, articulated; sepals 4, ovate-lanceolate, with 2 - 4 minute glands inside at base, ca 1.5 mm long; ovary ca 1 mm long; stigmas fused into a globose mass. Fruits on 3 - 5 cm long pedicels, depressed-globose, 4-winged, with nearly flat crown, 2 - 3.5 cm across.
Fl. & Fr. July - Aug.
Distrib. India: Subtropical evergreen forests or in thickets of moist deciduous forests and thickets, up to 800 m altitude. West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Andhra Pradesh (Godavari Dist.).
Myanmar, Thailand, throughout Malesia to Celebes and the Philippines.
Uses. Tender leaves made into a paste used orally as laxative by Bagatas and Konda- reddis tribal people of Andhra Pradesh.
Twining shrubs or undershrubs, subglabrous. Leaves oblong-ovate, truncate-subcordate at base, serrate-dentate along margins, caudate-acuminate at apex, 6 - 18 x 3 - 10 cm, membranous, puberulous, palmately 3 - 5-nerved at base, with 2 marginal glands on either side of basal nerves; petioles (1 -) 2 - 6 (- 9) cm long, with 2 glands at the base of the lamina on either sides; stipules subulate-lanceolate, 1 - 2 mm long. Racemes axillary or leaf-opposed, shortly pedunculate, 2 - 4.5 cm long. Male flowers: pedicels 1.5 - 2.5 mm long, articulated; sepals 4 or 5, ovate, ca 1 mm long; stamens 8 - 20, sessile on a cushion-like receptacle; anther-thecae diverging. Female flowers: pedicels ca 2.5 mm long, articulated; sepals 4, ovate-lanceolate, with 2 - 4 minute glands inside at base, ca 1.5 mm long; ovary ca 1 mm long; stigmas fused into a globose mass. Fruits on 3 - 5 cm long pedicels, depressed-globose, 4-winged, with nearly flat crown, 2 - 3.5 cm across.
Fl. & Fr. July - Aug.
Distrib. India: Subtropical evergreen forests or in thickets of moist deciduous forests and thickets, up to 800 m altitude. West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Andhra Pradesh (Godavari Dist.).
Myanmar, Thailand, throughout Malesia to Celebes and the Philippines.
Uses. Tender leaves made into a paste used orally as laxative by Bagatas and Konda- reddis tribal people of Andhra Pradesh.
