Cayratia gracilis
(Guill. & Perr.) Suess.
Vitaceae
Cissus bigemina Harv.
Cissus gracilis Guill. & Perr.
Cissus membranacea Hook.f.
Cissus subdiaphana Steud. ex A.Rich.
Cissus tenuicaulis Hook.f.
Vitis gracilis (Guill. & Perr.) Baker
Vitis tenuicaulis (Hook.f.) Baker
Common Name:
General Information
Cayratia gracilis is a herbaceous, perennial climbing plant producing slender stems up to 7.5 metres long. These stems scramble over the ground, climbing into the surrounding vegetation and attaching themselves by means of branched tendrils[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild, mainly as a medicine but sometimes also as a food.
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
308- Title
- Flora Zambesiaca
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://apps.kew.org/efloras/fz/intro.html
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent online flora of plants from the Zambezi River basin. It lists a number of the plant uses as well as the habitats and botanical descriptions of the plants.
Range
Tropical Africa - Senegal to Ethiopia and Eritrea, south to Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and northeastern S. Africa; Arabian Peninsula.
Habitat
Usually in shady and damp sites in tall grassland with scattered trees; forest margins; swampy and damp areas; streamside forest; savannah; bushland; thicket; fallows; waysides; sometimes ruderal; at elevations up to 2,130 metres[
328- Title
- African Flowering Plants Database
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php
- Publisher
- Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques.
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map.
,
332- Title
- The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Burkil. H. M.
- Publisher
- Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew.
- Year
- 1985 - 2004
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
].
Properties
| Edibility Rating |  |
| Medicinal Rating |  |
| Habit | Perennial Climber |
| Height | 5.00 m |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Not known
Edible Uses
Leaves - cooked and eaten as a vegetable[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. Usually seen as a famine food, eaten mainly in times of shortage and then usually cooked with the roots of Amorphophallus species[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
Medicinal
The pulped leaves are rubbed topically on slight incisions to treat lumbago[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
]. Crushed leaves are mixed with Momordica foetida and then rubbed on the affected area in order to stop the irritation caused by the spittle of the spitting cobra[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
Fresh roots are chewed or boiled and the decoction used as a cough remedy[
299- Title
- Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa.
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.prota.org
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
].
Other Uses
None known
Propagation
Seed -
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Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
