Common Name: Cat's Claw

General Information

Dolichandra unguis-cati is a vigorous, woody climbing plant, or occasionally a scrambling shrub. It can grow more than 20 metres into the crown of trees, with its main stems 8cm or more in diameter. The plant's common name, uña de gato, comes from the tripartite, hooked tendrils resembling an animal’s claws that enable the vine to adhere to tree bark and other surfaces[]. The branches often produce aerial roots to anchor them tightly to vertical surfaces[].
The plant is often harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and as a source of materials. A very ornamental plant, especially when in flower, it is often used to cover fences or screen unsightly buildings[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Tropical America - from northern Argentina and Uruguay, north to central Mexico and the Caribbean

Habitat

Common in savannahs, secondary forest, and remnant high forest; at elevations from near sea level to over 1,500 metres[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Climber
Height	15.00 m
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Dolichandra unguis-cati is a very tolerant plant, growing in a wide variety of habitats in the American tropics at elevations from near sea level to over 600 metres. It is found in regions that receive a mean annual rainfall within the range of 750 - 2,400mm. The species can tolerate a few degrees of frost, being killed back to the ground but usually resprouting afterward[].
The plant will tolerate most soils, except very poorly drained and salty soils[]. Cat’s claw is moderately shade tolerant as a young plant and grows in both full sun and under dense forest canopies. It may be less shade tolerant as an adult[, ].
Dolichandra unguis-cati is often grown as an ornamental. It produces prodigious amounts of easily spread seeds in long, thin, brown seedpods and has escaped from cultivation in several areas where it has become established in the wild. It also has an extensive root system and produces a large tuber at about 50cm intervals along the lateral roots. Both young and old plants produce these tubers[]. Each tuber produces new stems that climb into the surrounding vegetation or grow as a ground cover along the forest floor of scrub remnants. It can form a thick carpet of stems and leaves which chokes out small existing plants and stops the germination of all species. The large climbing stems reach to the top of the rainforest canopy where, through a combination of weight and shading, they can cause the eventual death of the largest canopy trees[].
The plant can survive grazing and fire, but is eliminated by deep grass swards[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The plant (part not specified) is said to be analgesic, anticancer, antidote, antiinflammatory, antimalarial, antitrypanosomal, antitumor, antitussive, antivenereal, diuretic, febrifuge, haemostatic and lipoxygenase-Inhibito[]. It is used in the treatment of conditions such as arthrosis, bleeding, bronchosis, cancer, catarrh, coughs, diarrhoea, enterosis, fevers, flu, headaches, inflammations, malaria, pain, rheumatism, snake bites, splenosis, syphilis, trypanosomiasis and tumours[].
The plant is used locally as a remedy for snake bites and to treat blistering etc caused by the sap of the manchineel tree {Hippomane mancinella)[, ]. It is reported also to have been employed as a febrifuge and as a treatment for intestinal inflammation[].
The juice of the plant is alexiteric. A decoction is used as a febrifugal wash[].
An aqueous extract of the plant is used in the treatment of malaria and VD[].
A decoction of the plant is used for treating spleen ailments[]

The leaves and stems are antidote, bechic (antitussive), diuretic, emollient, febrifuge and sudorific. An infusion is used in the treatment of fevers. The leaves and stems are also used to treat female sterility and haemorrhages[].
An infusion of the leaves, combined with honey, is used to treat coughs and to treat snakebite[].
The crushed leaves are applied topically to stop bleeding[].

The seeds are used to treat undetermined conditions[].

Extracts of the leaves and the stem show anticyclooxygenase, antilipoxygenase, antitrypanosomal, and
antitumor activity[].

Other Uses

The vine is used as a tying material to tie the planks of rafts[].

Propagation

Seed -

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