Family: Cucurbitaceae
Synonym: Bryonia palmata L.
Bengali/Vernacular name: Mala.
Tribal name: Kainda (Tripura).
English name: Lollipop climber, Marble vine.
Description of the Plant: A scandent, climbing herb. Tendrils bifurcate, glabrous. Leaves broadly ovate, 8-12 cm long and as broad, 3-5 lobed, lobe obtuse, base broadly sinuate. Flowers small, white or yellowish, male in stalk less clusters of 2-8, along with 5 female flowers in the same axil. Fruits baccate, globose or ovoid, 14-18 mm in diameter, smooth, yellow-green or ovoid, smooth, yellow-green to red, narrowly white striped.
Plant parts Used: Leaf, stem, fruit, and root.
Traditional
Uses: Fruits and leaves of the plant are used to cure stomachache.
Juice extracted from the leaves and stems of the plant is advised to take for
the treatment of malaria. The aerial plant parts are potentially utilized for several purposes such
as for aphrodisiac and tonic, constipation, stomach problem, diarrhea.
Stems are used as an expectorant.Paste prepared from the roots of the plant is applied to treat snakebites, and
insect bites.
Distribution: This plant is found in Bandarban, Chittagong, Nilphamari, Rajshahi, Satkhira, and Sylhet districts.
Is this plant misidentified? If yes, please tell us….
