Common Name:

General Information

Pericampylus glaucus is a climbing plant with slender, woody stems that can be 10 metres or more long, growing from a tuberous rootstock that can be up to 30cm in diameter[]. The stems climb into the surrounding vegetation, supporting themselves by twining.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and binding material.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - southern China, northeast India, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines

Habitat

Locally common in primary and secondary forest, in particular in clearings, and thickets; at elevations up to 1,700 metres[]. Forests, forest margins, shrublands in China[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Climber
Height	8.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Grows well in full sun, though young plants appreciate some shade[].
Plants can flower and produce fruit all year round[].
A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The mucilage resulting from soaking the pounded leaves overnight is taken orally to cure a swollen spleen and accompanying fever[]. The leaves are one of the ingredients of an infusion to cure high fever, and in combination with other plants, they are made into an infusion used for treating coughs and asthma[].
The pounded leaves are applied topically to soothe headache[]. The mucilage from soaking the pounded leaves is applied on the scalp as a remedy for hair loss[].

The stem juice is used as eye-drops for treating conjunctivitis[].

The roots are credited with narcotic properties, and are also used as an antidote for snakebites[, ]. The fluid extract of the roots is injected at the location of a snakebite, neutralizing the poison by precipitating and changing it into an inert substance[].

Experiments with ground plant material yielded only very low levels of alkaloids (0.01 g/100 g)[].
Six crystalline substances were isolated from the roots and identified as sterols, triterpenes and the fatty acids: epifriedelinol, melissic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, butyric acid and daucosterol[].

Other Uses

The tough stems can be used as string for tying and basketry[, ].

Propagation

Seed - easy. Sow the seed in light shade in a nursery seedbed.

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