Pericampylus glaucus (Lamk) Merr.
Family
Menispermaceae
Synonyms
Cocculus glaucus (Lamk) DC.,Pericampylus incanus (Colebr.) Hook.f. & Thomson, Pericampylus membranaceous Miers.
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Gasing gasing, kelempenang (Peninsular), taworuk (Kudat, Sabah) |
| English | Broad-leaved moonseed |
| Indonesia | Areuy geureung (Sundanese), celuru (Javanese), akar gamat (Moluccas) |
| Philippines | Silong pugo (Tagalog), botang botang (Cebu Bisaya), pamago (Bikol) |
| Thailand | Salit hom kha (Northern), yan tap tao (Peninsular) |
| Vietnam | Ch[aa]u d[ar]o, d[aa]y l[ox]i ti[eef]n |
Geographical Distributions
P. glaucus is distributed from the eastern Himalayas, southern China, Taiwan, Indo-China, Thailand and Burma (Myanmar), southward throughout Malesia.
Description
It is a slender, woody climber up to 5 m long with unisexual flowers. Young stems are covered with yellowish soft short hairs, becoming hairless with age. Its root is tuberous, up to 30 cm in diametre.
The leaves are simple, arranged alternate and broadly triangular-ovate with a size of 5-10 cm x 5-10 cm. The leaf base is shallowly heart-shaped or truncate while the apex is broadly rounded or obtuse, ending abruptly in a short point. Its margin is broadly and shallowly crenate with veins arising into 5 palmate. The lower surface of the leaf is covered with soft short hairs, while the upper surface is sparsely covered with soft hair. The leaf stalk is about 3-7 cm long and covered with yellowish soft short hairs. Stipules are absent.
The inflorescence arises from the axils. A determinate inflorescence drawn into 2-6 clusters of flowers together in male plants but solitary in female plants with sizes ranging from 2-4 cm long and covered with yellowish soft short hair, furnished with the inflorescence stalk. The flowers are fragrant, white or yellow in colour with 9 sepals, each is 1 mm long with hairy exterior. The 3 outermost sepals are narrow, 3 middle ones are tapering at the base and widest to the apex while 3 inner ones are reverse egg-shaped. The 6 petals are hairless, reverse wedge-shaped, with a size of 0.5mm long. The male flowers have 6 free stamens which are 0.8 mm long, while female flowers have 6 abortive stamens with imperfect anther and hairy stalk including 3 carpels. Its stigma is deeply bifid, curving backward. The fruit is a hairless drupe, transversely reverse egg-shaped, purple to black in colour.
The endocarp is rotund in the outline and ornate with rows of spines and tubercles.
The seed is horse-shoe shaped.
Ecology / Cultivation
P. glaucus is found in primary and secondary forests, particularly in clearings and thickets, up to 1700 m altitude, and is locally common. It is a sun loving plant although some shade may be required in the early stages of growth.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
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Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(2): Medicinal and poisonous plants 2.
