Cissus latifolia Lam.

 

Family – Vitaceae

Synonym – Cissus gigantea Bedd.; Cissus wightii Planch.; Vitis gigantea (Bedd.) Bedd. 

Vernacular names – Chunnambuvalli; Narantha

Habit – Climber

Habitat – Moist deciduous and semi-evergreen forests, also in the plains

Distribution – Peninsular India and Sri Lanka

Flowering and Fruiting – June-September

Key Identification Features – This large, climbing shrub has thick stems and glaucous branchlets. Its leaves are simple, alternate, and broadly ovate-cordate or orbicular, with serrated margins and bristly tips. The flowers appear in leaf-opposed cymes, with cupular calyx fringed on the margins. The greenish-white petals are hooded at the apex, and there are four stamens. The yellow disk is 4-lobed and adnate to the ovary. The ovoid, purplish berry contains a single seed.

Uses – It has been used in traditional medicine for conditions like weak bones, fractures, and asthma. It also serves as food for certain insect larvae.