Ampelocissus tomentosa
(Roth) Planchon in J. Vigne Amer. 8: 375.
1884 & in DC., Monogr. Phan. 5: 376. 1887. Vitis tomentosa Roth in Roemer
& Schultes, Syst. Veg. 5: 318. 1819; M. Lawson in Fl. Brit. India 1: 650.
1875.
Or.: Ghoralidi, Katobhangonoi; Tam.: Sirunaralai; Tel.: Atukulabaddu,
Nallagummadi theega.
Stout, climbing shrubs; branches slender, angular, floccose-wooly. Leaves simple, 3-5-angled or lobed, sometimes 3-5 -partite, up to 25 x 24 cm, acute to obtuse at apex, cordate at base, crenate-serrate or dentate at margins, pubescent above, greyish red or white tomentose beneath; petioles up to 15 cm long. Inflorescences dichotomous, umbellate cymes, dense woolly tomentose; peduncles ca 10 cm long, stout; tendrils branched; primary branch of inflorescence 1-2 cm long; cymes 2-4 cm long. Flowers ca 1.5 mm long, red, subsessile or shortly pedicellate. Calyx cupular, 4-5-lobed, woolly. Petals oblong-ovate, 1.2 x 0.7 mm, incurved at apex, ca glabrous. Stamens ca 1 mm long. Disc annular, restricted to lower half of ovary. Ovary ca 1 mm across, 10-furrowed, glabrous; stigma sessile, concave. Berries globose, 8- 10 mm across, 1-4 -seeded, black. Seeds obovate oblong in outline, 6-7 x 4-5 mm, acute-mucronate at base; adaxial surface with a longitudinal ridge; abaxial surface with an elliptical pit from which fissures radiate towards margin.
Fl. & Fr. : Apr. - Dec.
Distrib. India: Dry deciduous forests of central and eastern India and hill forests of peninsular India, up to 1500 m. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Notes. It is extremely variable in leaf shape and degree and colour of tomentum. The leaf varies from entire, slightly 3-lobed to 3-5-partite. The colour of the tomentum is usually greyish yellow, cottony white or ferruginous.
Chromosome numbers 2n=40 (Shetty, B.V. in Curro Sci. 27: 358-359. 1958 & in Bibliogr. Genet. 18: 167-272. 1959).
Uses. The roots are reported to be used to allay swellings, and the roots and bark are used against piles. The fruits are said to be edible.
Stout, climbing shrubs; branches slender, angular, floccose-wooly. Leaves simple, 3-5-angled or lobed, sometimes 3-5 -partite, up to 25 x 24 cm, acute to obtuse at apex, cordate at base, crenate-serrate or dentate at margins, pubescent above, greyish red or white tomentose beneath; petioles up to 15 cm long. Inflorescences dichotomous, umbellate cymes, dense woolly tomentose; peduncles ca 10 cm long, stout; tendrils branched; primary branch of inflorescence 1-2 cm long; cymes 2-4 cm long. Flowers ca 1.5 mm long, red, subsessile or shortly pedicellate. Calyx cupular, 4-5-lobed, woolly. Petals oblong-ovate, 1.2 x 0.7 mm, incurved at apex, ca glabrous. Stamens ca 1 mm long. Disc annular, restricted to lower half of ovary. Ovary ca 1 mm across, 10-furrowed, glabrous; stigma sessile, concave. Berries globose, 8- 10 mm across, 1-4 -seeded, black. Seeds obovate oblong in outline, 6-7 x 4-5 mm, acute-mucronate at base; adaxial surface with a longitudinal ridge; abaxial surface with an elliptical pit from which fissures radiate towards margin.
Fl. & Fr. : Apr. - Dec.
Distrib. India: Dry deciduous forests of central and eastern India and hill forests of peninsular India, up to 1500 m. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Notes. It is extremely variable in leaf shape and degree and colour of tomentum. The leaf varies from entire, slightly 3-lobed to 3-5-partite. The colour of the tomentum is usually greyish yellow, cottony white or ferruginous.
Chromosome numbers 2n=40 (Shetty, B.V. in Curro Sci. 27: 358-359. 1958 & in Bibliogr. Genet. 18: 167-272. 1959).
Uses. The roots are reported to be used to allay swellings, and the roots and bark are used against piles. The fruits are said to be edible.
