Uncaria acida (Hunt.) Roxb.
Family
Rubiaceae
Synonyms
Nauclea acida Hunt., Uncaria ovalifolia Roxb., Uncaria acida var. papuana Valeton.
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Kait-kait, gambir-gambir. |
| Vietnam | Vu[oos]t chua. |
Geographical Distributions
Uncaria acida is distributed from Burma (Myanmar) to Thailand, southern Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Lesser Sunda Islands, Borneo, the Philippines and New Guinea.
Description
U. acida is a rather slender climber measuring 4-6 m tall. The hooks measure 2-3 cm long.
The leaves are egg-shaped to elliptical and measure 5-9 cm x 2.5-5 cm. They are papery to partial covered by a leathery texture, hairless, ultimate fine veins, frequently domatia underneath, stomata present on upper surface, stalk measures 10-12 mm long and the 4-7 mm long stipules are deeply bifid.
The flowering head is measuring up to 2 cm in diametre and over 5 cm in fruit. The peduncle measures 1.5-2 cm long. The flowers are subsessile and white. Its sepal tube measures 2 mm long and lobe elliptical to partially flat with circular outline. It measures 1 mm long. Its petal tube measures 5 mm long and hairy outside. The, lobes measure 1.5 mm long and hairy at both sides. The 13 mm x 2-2.5 mm capsule is oblong and pointed at both ends. It is sparsely hairy. The pedicel measures 5-6 mm long and slender. The seed measures 5 mm x 0.5 mm, long wings, white, slender and long acuminate.
Ecology / Cultivation
U. acida is locally abundant in humid primary and secondary forest, also along rivers, on swampy localities at low altitudes.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
- Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(2): Medicinal and poisonous plants 2.
