Tinospora glabra

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Tinospora glabra

Description

Woody climber, entirely glabrous. Leaves:

Distribution

Asia-Temperate: Hainan (Hainan present), Asia-Tropical: Borneo present; Jawa (Jawa present); Malaya present; Philippines (Philippines present); Sumatera (Sumatera present), E. New Guinea present, Krakatoa in Sunda Strait present, Lesser Sunda Is present, Madura Is present, New Britain present, Normanby I present, Nusa Barung present, Reef and Rennell Is present, S. Andaman present, S. Moluccas present, Solomon Is present, Tenimber Is present
From Hainan and S. Andaman to the Solomon Is. (Reef and Rennell Is.); in Malesia: Malaya, Sumatra (incl. Krakatoa in Sunda Strait), Java (incl. Nusa Barung and Madura Is.), Lesser Sunda Is. (all), Borneo, Philippines (all islands), S. Moluccas (Tenimber Is.), E. New Guinea (incl. Normanby I. and New Britain).

Morphology

The anatomical structure of the stem and leaf of T. glabra was investigated by SANTOS (1928, l.c.).
As a rule the outer sepals are much smaller than the inner ones, but exceptionally (PNH 17161) the sepals vary from subequal in some flowers to very unequal in others. This approaches the closely allied species T. homosepala DIELS, where the sepals are equal.
The inflorescences of the species are characteristically unbranched, but in the anomalous PNH 9142 the infructescences have a few lateral branches up to 4 cm, rather similar to those of T. glandulosa MERR.
Specimens from New Guinea differ in certain respects from the rest of the material. Domatia are lacking on the lower surface of the leaves, where they are normally present in the basal nerve-axils. There occur instead, in these positions, flat glandular-papillose patches similar to the glandular areas that are found within domatia. The female inflorescences are only 8—10(—15) cm, which is shorter than in material from west of New Guinea. In LAE 52539 and CLEMENS 11066 the endocarps have a larger ventral aperture than is usual; the carpophore of LAE 52539 is shortly and divaricately branched, one branch be-low each fruit.

Uses

In the Philippines this species is used for a variety of medicinal purposes, e.g. burnt leaves used to treat pinworms; ground bark is applied to sore breasts of nursing mothers. Together with T. crispa this species is known in the Philippines as makabuhay, but apparently T. crispa is medicinally more effective. The account of makabuhay in QUISUMBING () is given under the name T. rumphii BOERL., a synonym of T. crispa, but the description in part refers to T. glabra. QUISUMBING mentions a number of medicinal uses as well as reports of alkaloids: some of these may refer to T. glabra. The species is also used in the Philippines for baiting wild pigs by mixing sliced roots with Ipomoeabatatas.
The alkaloid berberine has been reported in T. crispa (). The material tested, however, may well have been T. glabra since the correctness of its identification is uncertain.

Notes

In his original description of Menispermum glabrum, BURMAN incorrectly cited as a synonym 'Citamerdu' of . RHEEDE'S description, however, clearly implies that his plant had hairy stems and leaves; it is, in fact, part of the basis of the later name Menispermum malabaricum LAMK, which is now a synonym of Tinospora sinensis (LOUR.) MERR.
The type of Menispermum glabrum BURM.f. is a specimen in the DELESSERT Herbarium at Geneva, which was acquired by BURMAN from the herbarium of PRYON.

Citation

FORMAN 1981: p. 414. – In: Kew Bull.: f. 5J-M.
HATUS. 1966 – In: Mem. Fac. Agric. Kagoshima Un.: 30
YAMAMOTO 1944 – In: J. Soc. Trop. Agric.: 95
HALL.f. 1911 – In: Meded. Rijksherb.: 41
BACK. 1930: Onkr. Suiker.: 248
MIERS 1871 – In: Contr. Bot.: 35
Merr. 1912: Fl. Manila: 204
MIERS 1871 – In: Contr. Bot.: 36
PANCHO 1983: p. 279. – In: Vase. Fl. Mt Maki-ling: f. 83
HOOK.f. & TH. 1872 – In: Fl.Br. India: 97
MIERS 1911 – In: Elmer, Leafl. Philip. Bot. 4: 1164
Diels 1910 – In: Pfl. R.: 143
BECC. 1877 – In: Malesia: 139
King 1889 – In: J. As. Soc. Beng.: 378
YAMAMOTO 1944 – In: J. Soc. Trop. Agric.: 95
SANTOS 1928: p. 198. – In: Philip. J. Sc.: t. 5
BACK. & BAKH.f. 1963 – In: Fl. Java: 157
MIERS 1926 – In: Philip. J. Sc.: 368
BACK. 1907 – In: Fl. Bat.: 34
MIERS 1923 – In: En. Philip.: 146
BACK. 1936: Onkr. Suiker.: t. 259
MIERS 1908: Voorl.: 8