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Useful Tropical Plants

Gouania tiliifolia

Lam.

Rhamnaceae

+ Synonyms

Gouania domingensis Blanco

Gouania microcarpa Rolfe

Gouania retinaria DC.

Retinaria scandens Gaertn.

Common Name: Litiran

Gouania tiliifolia
Fruiting stem
Photograph by: Charles Rakotovao
Creative Commons License
Gouania tiliifolia Gouania tiliifolia

General Information

Litiran is a climbing shrub.
The roots are gathered from the wild and used locally as a substitute for soap. The leaves have local medicinal uses.

Known Hazards

The bark contains saponins and is used to stupefy fish in rivers[
582
Title
Medicinal Plants of the Philippines
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.bpi.da.gov.ph/Publications/mp/mplants.html
Publisher
Bureau of Plant Industry, Philippines.
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An Internet site from the Philippines Department of Agriculture, giving information in a readable way on the medicinal uses of many plants in their area.
]. Although poisonous, saponins are poorly absorbed by the human body and so most pass through without harm. Saponins are quite bitter and can be found in many common foods such as some beans. They can be removed by carefully leaching in running water. Thorough cooking, and perhaps changing the cooking water once, will also normally remove most of them. However, it is not advisable to eat large quantities of food that contain saponins. Saponins are much more toxic to some creatures, such as fish, and hunting tribes have traditionally put large quantities of them in streams, lakes etc in order to stupefy or kill the fish[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].

Botanical References


Range

Southeast Asia - Philippines.

Habitat

Thickets at low and medium elevations[
582
Title
Medicinal Plants of the Philippines
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.bpi.da.gov.ph/Publications/mp/mplants.html
Publisher
Bureau of Plant Industry, Philippines.
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An Internet site from the Philippines Department of Agriculture, giving information in a readable way on the medicinal uses of many plants in their area.
].

Properties

Medicinal Rating *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *
HabitClimber
Height0.00 m
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

Chopra reports that the leaves contain an alkaloid, and that they are used for washing ulcers. The bark is used as a shampoo. It is also either alone or with other drugs to stupefy fishes in rivers.

The leaves are used to make a wash for treating ulcers and also as a poultice for sores[
582
Title
Medicinal Plants of the Philippines
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.bpi.da.gov.ph/Publications/mp/mplants.html
Publisher
Bureau of Plant Industry, Philippines.
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An Internet site from the Philippines Department of Agriculture, giving information in a readable way on the medicinal uses of many plants in their area.
].
The leaves are said to contain an alkaloid[
582
Title
Medicinal Plants of the Philippines
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.bpi.da.gov.ph/Publications/mp/mplants.html
Publisher
Bureau of Plant Industry, Philippines.
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An Internet site from the Philippines Department of Agriculture, giving information in a readable way on the medicinal uses of many plants in their area.
]. They are also likely to contain saponins[
K
Title
Plants for a Future
Author
Ken Fern
Description
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.
].

Other Uses

The root is used as a soap substitute[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
,
345
Title
Minor Products of Philippine Forests
Publication
 
Author
Brown. W. H.
Publisher
Bureau of Forestry, Manilla.
Year
1920
ISBN
 
Description
A useful guide to some of the plants of the area, though terse on details. The book is out of copyright and can be legally downloaded from the Internet.
].
The bark is used as a hair shampoo[
582
Title
Medicinal Plants of the Philippines
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.bpi.da.gov.ph/Publications/mp/mplants.html
Publisher
Bureau of Plant Industry, Philippines.
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
An Internet site from the Philippines Department of Agriculture, giving information in a readable way on the medicinal uses of many plants in their area.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-10-11. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Gouania+tiliifolia>

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