Common Name:

General Information

Pipturus argenteus is a large shrub to a small sub-canopy tree with a short, cylindrical bole 10 - 18cm in diameter that branches from near the base. It ranges in height from 6 - 20 metres[, ].
The plant has a wide range of traditional uses, being harvested from the wild as a food, medicine and a source of fibre and dyes. It has potential for use as a pioneer species when restoring native woodland or establishing woodland gardens, and is sometimes cultivated to provide a fast-growing screen.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Indian Ocean - Seychelles, Peninsular Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea, N. Australia to the Pacific Islands.

Habitat

Disturbed habitats, especially in the eastern part of its area of distribution, at elevations from sea-level up to 1,250 metres[]. Found on beaches in Guam and in limestone soils[]. Banks of rivers and smaller streams in Queensland[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Shrub
Height	10.00 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Found in subtropical and tropical areas.

A dioecious species, both male and female forms need to be grown if seed is required.

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[]. Not particularly tasty, it is eaten as bush tucker[]. The fleshy part of the fruit is sweet and juicy, making excellent eating[]. A small, whitish mulberry-like fruit to 6mm in diameter, containing many small seeds[].

The seeds are traditionally eaten by pregnant women and newborn babies[].

The cooked leaves are eaten as a vegetable[]. Usually cooked in coconut milk[].

Medicinal

The crushed leaves are used to treat coughs[]. The leaf sap is drunk to relieve a fever or headache[]. The leaves are boiled with the leaves of Alstonia spectabilis and the liquid drunk to treat coughs, colds and flu[]. A leaf infusion is drunk to stimulate child birth[].
Applied externally, the leaves, or the juice from heated leaves, are used for poulticing boils, burns and herpes sores[]. The crushed leaves are rubbed on the body to relieve a fever or headache and to ease centipede bites[, ]. Fresh young leaves, combined with those of Hibiscus tiliaceus, are squeezed in little water and the liquid is drunk immediately to treat urticaria and itchiness caused by the ingestion of the raw leaves of taro (Colocasia esculenta)[].
The rainwater collected from the leaves is used to treat asthma[].

The sap from the scraped inner bark is given to women in labour in order to facilitate delivery[, ]. Combined with the leaves of Rubus glomeratus, it is eaten daily to soothe a bad cough[].
Sap from the bark is taken as a gargle to treat thrush[].

The bark is crushed in cold water and drunk twice daily to treat dysentery[]. The grated bark, mixed an equal
amount of grated dry coconut flesh, has been eaten in order to induce sterility[].
Externally, the scraped bark is applied to spear wounds, to facilitate removal of the spear head[].

New roots are cut and the sap is allowed to drip into a container. Some of this is drunk and the rest is used to wash the body of a patient with malaria fever or a severe cough[, ]. The root sap is also used on wounds and to soothe toothache[].
The scraped roots are chewed with betel nuts (Areca spp.) and lime, then the red mixture is rubbed into centipede bites[].

The plant has been shown to be weakly antibacterial[].

Agroforestry Uses:

Not a particularly ornamental plant, but it is a good, fast growing screening plant[]. It is an important pioneer species that is commonly found in abandoned gardens[].

Other Uses

A fibre obtained from the bark is used traditionally for making nets, string and rope[, ]. It is of fine texture and great strength, but difficult to prepare[, ]. The fibre is used to make the traditional red, shaggy, rug-like mats of Samoa[].

A brown dye can be obtained from the bark[, , ].

The flowers are used to scent coconut oil[].

The wood is used in house construction, for fishhooks, rollers for hauling etc[].
The wood is used for fuel[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe[].
Cuttings strike readily[].

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