Thottea tomentosa (Blume) Ding Hou
Family
Aristolochiaceae
Synonyms
Bragantia tomentosa Blume , Apama tomentosa Engler ex Soler.
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Kaneb, kemed, sereng kong (Peninsular). |
| Indonesia | Singa depa (Javanese, Sundanese), kaliwaro (Sundanese), singa dapur (Javanese). |
| Thailand | Buuduu buulang (Peninsular). |
| Vietnam | T[oos]t hoa l[oo]ng. |
Geographical Distributions
Thottea tomentosa is distributed from India to Bangladesh, Burma (Myanmar), southern Vietnam and peninsular Thailand; southwards throughout Peninsular Malaysia, Indonesia (Sumatra, West and Central Java) and the Philippines.
Description
T. tomentosa is an erect, partial woody herb which reaches up to a height of 10-35 cm, simple or branched and densely covered with short soft hairs.
The leaves are variable on the same plant, elliptical, oblong and egg-shaped or broadly egg-shaped measuring 8-17 cm x 3-14 cm. The apex is acute, acuminate or obtuse and hairless above but densely hairy beneath. There are 2 basal veins ascending to halfway also similar to lateral veins about 4-9 pairs while the other veins are reticulate.
The flowers are axillary, stalk-flowers-like cluster or spiciform the base of the stem that is measuring up to 12 cm long. The floral leaves are urn-shaped-bell-shaped that measure 6-12.5 mm long and 12-16 mm in diametre. They are purplish brown outside while yellowish brown to reddish inside. It is hairy outside but smooth inside with 3-5 mm long tubes and lobes broadly egg-shaped. The suborbicular or subreniform lobes are broadly ovate, with a size of 3-7.5 mm x 4-8 mm. The veins are prominent at the base of lobes and a thin disk at the inside while there are 6 stamens that are located in 1 whorl and the style column is 2 mm long. There are 3(-4) lobes while the apex is hairy. The capsule is slender and measures 3.5-5(-15) cm long.
Ecology / Cultivation
T. tomentosa occurs in shady, moist localities in forests, sometimes in bamboo, teak or secondary forest, between 90-1200 m altitude, rarely on limestone and sometimes locally abundant.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
- Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(2): Medicinal and poisonous plants 2.
