Combretum indicum
{{Short description|Species of plant}}
{{Speciesbox
| name =
| image = Combretum indicum 01.JPG
| genus = Combretum
| species = indicum
| authority = (L.) DeFilipps
| synonyms =
{{collapsible list
|title = 16 synonyms
|bullets = true
|Quisqualis indica {{small|L.}}
|Kleinia quadricolor {{small|Crantz}}
|Mekistus sinensis {{small|Lour. ex Gomes Mach.}}
|Quisqualis ebracteata {{small|P.Beauv.}}
|Quisqualis glabra {{small|Burm.f.}}
|Quisqualis grandiflora {{small|Miq.}}
|Quisqualis indica var. oxypetala {{small|Kurz}}
|Quisqualis indica var. villosa {{small|(Roxb.) Kurz}}
|Quisqualis longiflora {{small|C.Presl}}
|Quisqualis loureiroi {{small|G.Don}}
|Quisqualis madagascariensis {{small|Bojer}}
|Quisqualis obovata {{small|Schumach. & Thonn.}}
|Quisqualis pubescens {{small|Burm.f.}}
|Quisqualis sinensis {{small|Lindl.}}
|Quisqualis spinosa {{small|Blanco}}
|Quisqualis villosa {{small|Roxb.}}
}}
| synonyms_ref={{R|POWO}}
}}
Combretum indicum, commonly known as the Rangoon creeper{{GRIN | accessdate = 8 August 2019}} or Burma creeper, is a vine with red flower clusters which is native to tropical Asia and grows in thickets, primary and secondary forest, and along river banks in the Indian subcontinent, Malaysia and the Philippines.{{rp|547}} It has since been cultivated and naturalized in tropical areas such as Burma, Vietnam, and Thailand.
This plant is grown as an ornament.{{cite book |last1=Oakes |first1=Albert Jackson |title=Some Harmful Plants of Southeast Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cQrOAAAAMAAJ&dq=quisqualis+ornamental&pg=PA39 |date=1967 |location=Bethesda, Maryland, USA |publisher=Naval Medical School |pages=39–40 }}{{cite book |title=Quisqualis indica Linn. – Niog-niogan |url=http://www.bpi.da.gov.ph/Publications/mp/pdf/n/niog-niogan.pdf |date=n.d. |publisher=Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, Republic of Philippines |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720134103/http://www.bpi.da.gov.ph/Publications/mp/pdf/n/niog-niogan.pdf |archive-date=20 July 2011}}
Description
File:QuisqualisIndicaLeaves.jpg
The Rangoon creeper is a ligneous vine that can reach from 2.5 meters to up to 8 meters. The leaves are elliptical with an acuminate tip and a rounded base. They grow from 7 to 15 centimeters and their arrangement is opposite.
= Flowers and fruit =
The flowers are tubular, consisting of oblong petals 6–8 mm long. They are fragrant and have long receptacles to adapt for pollinators with long tongues.{{rp|547–548}}
They change in colour with age and it is thought that this is a strategy to gather more pollinators. The flower is initially white and opens at dusk to attract hawkmoths. On the second day it turns pink, and on the third it turns red attracting day flying bees and birds. The flower also changes from a horizontal orientation to a drooping pose.{{cite journal |last1=Eisikowitch |first1=D. |last2=Rotem |first2=R. |year=1987 |title=Flower Orientation and Color Change in Quisqualis indica and Their Possible Role in Pollinator Partitioning|journal=Botanical Gazette |volume=148 |issue=2 |pages=175–179 |doi=10.1086/337645 |jstor=2995472|s2cid=84197357 }}{{rp|175}}{{rp|548}}
File:Buds and flowers of Combretum indicum (Rangoon creepe).jpg|Buds and flowers of Combretum indicum in West Bengal, India
File:Flowers of Combretum indicum in West Bengal, India.jpg|Flowers in morning
The 30 to 35 mm long fruit is dark brown, ellipsoidal and has five stiff and prominent wings. The seed tastes like almond or coconut when mature.{{rp|547}}
The plant blooms all year long in warm regions (Combretum indicum is a vigorous climber, and can be found flowering throughout the year if the temperature remains high enough and enough water is available.){{cite web |last1=A |first1=Schmelzer, G. H. & Gurib-Fakim |title=Medicinal plants 2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3clmAgAAQBAJ&dq=%22Combretum+indicum%22%2B%22bloom%22%2B%22year%22&pg=PA75 |publisher=PROTA |access-date=4 October 2024 |language=en |date=2008}}
Potential toxicity
The seeds of this and related species, Quisqualis fructus and Q. chinensis, contain the chemical quisqualic acid, which is an agonist for the AMPA receptor, a kind of glutamate receptor in the brain. The chemical is linked to excitotoxicity (cell death).Excitotoxic cell death and delayed rescue in human neurons derived from NT2 cells, M Munir, L Lu and P Mcgonigl, Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 15, 7847–7860Glutamate cytotoxicity in a neuronal cell line is blocked by membrane depolarization. T. H. Murphy, R. L. Schnaar, J. T. Coyle and A. Sastre. Brain Research Volume 460, Issue 1, 13 September 1988, Pages 155–160 The seeds have been used for treating roundworm and pinworm infections.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} It is toxic to the parasite and kills it in the digestive tract.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}
History
Dr John Ivor Murray sent a sample of the "nuts" to the Museum of Economic Botany in Edinburgh in 1861, with a note that they were "used by the Chinese for worms" and a description of the means of preparation and dosage.{{cite journal | title=I. Notes on Horticultural Experience at Russelconda, South India | author=Traill, Dr William | journal=Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh | year=1863 | volume=7 | issue=1–4 | pages=109–110 | doi=10.1080/03746606309467805| url=https://zenodo.org/record/1430576 }}
This species was previously known as Quisqualis indicum but was reclassified along with 6 other Quisqualis species. Gurib Fakim, A., 2012. [https://www.doc-developpement-durable.org/file/Culture/Plantes-Medicinales-Aromatiques/FICHES_PLANTES/Quisqualis%20indica/Combretum%20indicum%20(PROTA)%20-%20PlantUse.pdf Combretum indicum (L.)] DeFilipps. In: Schmelzer, G.H. & Gurib Fakim, A. (Editors).
Prota 11(2): Medicinal plants/Plantes médicinales 2. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands.
December 2016
Gallery
File:使君子Combretum indicum 20210523080843 01.jpg|Flowers: small, cream calyx surrounded by large pink petals
File:使君子Combretum indicum 20210523080843 36.jpg|'Spines' derived from remnants of petioles
File:使君子Combretum indicum 20210523080843 32.jpg|Climbing plant in flower
File:使君子Combretum indicum 20210523080843 06.jpg|Bud shape
File:使君子Combretum indicum 20210523080843 39.jpg|Foliage: the young leaves (not shown) are brown-tinted
File:使君子Combretum indicum 20210523080843 46.jpg|The vines twine round Casuarina equisetifolia for further growth support
References
External links
{{Commons category|Combretum indicum}}
- [http://assamplants.com/All%20Species/Quisqualis.htm Quisqualis indica L.]
- [http://www.hear.org/pier/species/quisqualis_indica.htm Quisqualis indica (PIER species info)]
- {{AfricanPlants|Combretum indicum}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1062389}}