Common Name:

General Information

Mikania micrantha is a very vigorous, climbing plant with slender, much branched, twining stems that are seldom more than 2cm in diameter[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine. It is also cultivated as an ornamental and ground cover plant, though because of its ability to spread as a weed these uses should be discouraged outside of the plant's native range.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Throughout most of tropical and subtropical south and central America and the Caribbean.

Habitat

Disturbed forest, stream banks, roadsides, pastures, plantations and cultivated crops in humid, sunny or shaded habitats at elevations up to 2,000 metres[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Habit	Perennial Climber
Height	0.00 m
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Tolerates some shade, growing best where fertility, organic matter, and soil and air humidities are all high[].
This species is widely regarded as one of the worlds worst weeds[]. It is a major weed in plantations, pastures and along roadsides, and is an intermediate weed in crops and forestry[]. It tolerates some shade, and very rapidly overgrows abandoned areas[]. Cleared areas, especially in or near forest, can be quickly overrun by the plant as the ground is rapidly covered by a dense tangled mat of trailing stems. It also tends to smother shrubs and small trees, these being sometimes almost hidden[]. The seed is dispersed by the wind or in clothing, or by the hair of animals. It also reproduces vegetatively from broken stem fragments, with each node of the stem able to produce roots. The use of this species as cattle feed, cover crop, and as a garden ornamental further helps it to spread[].
Plants can flower and produce fruit all year round[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

A tea made from the whole plant is used as a treatment for stomach aches and to clean out the uterus (dilation and curettage[]. It is boiled with other plants to produce a tonic that can reduce malarial fever[].

A decoction of the stem and leaves is used as a remedy for a children's clyster and to treat malaria and eczema[]. The stems are squeezed, mixed with ginger rhizomes (Zingiber officinale) and eaten with green vegetables as a remedy for colds, headaches and stomach aches[].

The leaves are antidote, cholagogue, diuretic and febrifuge. They are boiled, and the water drunk as an anti-menorrhagic[]. An infusion is used as a remedy for snakebite and syphilis[].
The juice of the leaves is applied topically in order to treat external ulcers and itch.[] Leaf in liquid mixture is used to treat children's anal thrush, and it is placed in hot water bath for women after confinement for pregnancy. A decoction is used for a febrifuge bath. An infusion is used for washing the skin as a treatment for rashes, skin eruptions, smallpox, chicken pox and measles. Juice from the macerated leaves is applied to persistent sores and bush-yaws[]. The macerated leaves are vigorously rubbed on skin as a treatment for rashes[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant has been used as a ground cover, its rapid rate of growth soon covering the ground[]. This use, however, should only be contemplated within the plant's native range because of its ability to escape from cultivation and invade native habitat[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - germinates best in a sunny position[].
Cuttings

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