Cissus quadrangularis L.

Veldt-grape (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Vitales > Vitaceae > Cissus

Characteristics

A climber with a fleshy four angled stem. It grows to 3 m long. It can be 10 m long. Leaves only occur on young shoots and the rest of the plant is leafless. The plant has tendrils by which it attaches to objects. These are opposite the leaves. The inner branches are thinner with a wavy edge, and these are constricted at the nodes. The leaves occur at the nodes. The leaves are simple, rounded and have teeth around the edges. Sometimes the leaves have 3 lobes. Leaves can be 20 cm long. The flowers are arranged in clusters. They are small and green or yellow. These clusters can be 5 cm long. The fruit is red to black and round. It can be 10 mm across.
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Climber. Stems and branches green, succulent, quadrangular, winged but wings never corky, frequently leafless. Leaves simple. Flowers yellow.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support climber
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality -
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 0.5 - 1.0
Mature height (meter) 2.0 - 3.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

A tropical plant. It occurs in the Ethiopian highlands. The minimum temperature is 15°C. In Thailand it occurs in forests and coastal regions. It grows in the hottest part of India. It grows in hot arid places. It grows between sea level and 1,950 m above sea level. It grows in woodland and savannah. It can grow in arid places. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.
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Scrub; thicket; Acacia woodland; grassland with scattered Combretum etc; termite mounds; riverine thicket; coastal forest edges; sandy banks of rivers; outwash gully in dense mixed thicket; at elevations from near sea level to 2,250 metres in Africa
Light 7-9
Soil humidity 1-5
Soil texture 2-6
Soil acidity 2-8
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 10-12

Usage

Young leaves and shoots are used in curries. They are also used in the preparation of papadams. Fresh stem pieces are pickled. The stems can be stored for 10 days. The fruit are eaten. The seeds are used for cooking oil. The ash of the plant is used as a substitute for baking powder.
Uses environmental use fiber food gene source invertebrate food material medicinal oil poison social use vertebrate poison
Edible fruits leaves seeds shoots stems
Therapeutic use Anthelmintics (aerial part), Asthma (aerial part), Eye diseases (aerial part), Fractures, bone (aerial part), Hemorrhoids (aerial part), Hypotension (aerial part), Pain (aerial part), Ulcer (aerial part), Antifungal agents (leaf), Anti-inflammatory agents (leaf), Appetite stimulants (leaf), Digestive system diseases (leaf), Earache (leaf), Fractures, bone (leaf), Inflammatory bowel diseases (leaf), Pain (leaf), General tonic for rejuvenation (leaf), Digestive system diseases (root), Dysentery (root), Fractures, bone (root), Appetite stimulants (shoot), Asthma (shoot), Burns (shoot), Hemostasis (unspecified), Digestive system diseases (shoot), Dyspepsia (shoot), Inflammatory bowel diseases (shoot), Pain (shoot), General tonic for rejuvenation (shoot), Scurvy (shoot), Whooping cough (shoot), Wounds and injuries (shoot), Otorrhea (shoot), Colonic diseases (shoot), Abdominal pain (stem), Anthelmintics (stem), Anti-bacterial agents (stem), Anti-infective agents, local (stem), Anti-inflammatory agents (stem), Antirheumatic agents (stem), Appetite stimulants (stem), Arthralgia (stem), Asthma (stem), Burns (stem), Contraceptive agents (stem), Cough (stem), Diarrhea (stem), Diuretics (stem), Dysentery (stem), Dyspepsia (stem), Ear diseases (stem), Earache (stem), Edema (stem), Epistaxis (stem), Eye diseases (stem), Fractures, bone (stem), Hemorrhage (stem), Hemorrhoids (stem), Insect bites and stings (stem), Intestinal diseases, parasitic (stem), Joint dislocations (stem), Menstruation disturbances (stem), Pain (stem), Scurvy (stem), Sprains and strains (stem), Ulcer (stem), Wounds and injuries (stem), Otorrhea (stem), Alterative (unspecified), Dyspepsia (unspecified), Poison(Arrow) (unspecified), Saddle-Sore(Veterinary) (unspecified), Sore(Veterinary) (unspecified), Stomachic (unspecified), Fracture (unspecified), Rheumatism (unspecified), Poison (unspecified), Analgesics (unspecified), Anorexia (unspecified), Anthelmintics (unspecified), Anticonvulsants (unspecified), Antimutagenic agents (unspecified), Aphrodisiacs (unspecified), Appetite stimulants (unspecified), Asthma (unspecified), Cardiotonic agents (unspecified), Cathartics (unspecified), Colic (unspecified), Digestive system diseases (unspecified), Diuretics (unspecified), Edema (unspecified), Epilepsy (unspecified), Epistaxis (unspecified), Eye diseases (unspecified), Eye drops (unspecified), Fever (unspecified), Flatulence (unspecified), Fractures, bone (unspecified), Gastrointestinal diseases (unspecified), Graves ophthalmopathy (unspecified), Helminthiasis (unspecified), Hemoptysis (unspecified), Hemorrhage (unspecified), Hemorrhoids (unspecified), Hypertension (unspecified), Inflammation (unspecified), Laxatives (unspecified), Leprosy (unspecified), Low back pain (unspecified), Menorrhagia (unspecified), Menstruation disturbances (unspecified), Neoplasms (unspecified), Osteoporosis (unspecified), Pain (unspecified), General tonic for rejuvenation (unspecified), Scurvy (unspecified), Skin diseases (unspecified), Ulcer (unspecified), Wounds and injuries (unspecified), Otorrhea (unspecified), Rheumatoid arthritis (unspecified), Antifungal agents (whole plant), Anti-obesity agents (whole plant), Asthma (whole plant), Diabetes mellitus (whole plant), Dysmenorrhea (whole plant), Dyspepsia (whole plant), Fractures, bone (whole plant), Heart diseases (whole plant), Hemorrhoids (whole plant), Malaria (whole plant), Neoplasms (whole plant), Osteoporosis (whole plant), Pain (whole plant), Peptic ulcer (whole plant), Scurvy (whole plant)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants are easily grown from cuttings of the stem. It can be grown from seed.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) 30 - 180
Germination temperacture (C°) 21 - 23
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) 1
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Cissus quadrangularis habit picture by Arvind Kulkarni (cc-by-sa)
Cissus quadrangularis habit picture by susan brown (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Cissus quadrangularis leaf picture by Arvind Kulkarni (cc-by-sa)
Cissus quadrangularis leaf picture by susan brown (cc-by-sa)
Cissus quadrangularis leaf picture by Augustin Soulard (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Cissus quadrangularis flower picture by Sindhu Babussmc (cc-by-sa)
Cissus quadrangularis flower picture by Arvind Kulkarni (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Cissus quadrangularis fruit picture by udo_junker (cc-by-sa)
Cissus quadrangularis fruit picture by udo_junker (cc-by-sa)
Cissus quadrangularis fruit picture by Herwig Mees (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Cissus quadrangularis world distribution map, present in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Bangladesh, Botswana, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Comoros, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guadeloupe, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guam, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Mali, Myanmar, Mozambique, Mauritania, Martinique, Mauritius, Malawi, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Réunion, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, eSwatini, Chad, Togo, Thailand, Taiwan, Province of China, Tanzania, United Republic of, Viet Nam, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:870042-1
WFO ID wfo-0000606737
COL ID VKWL
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 629341
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Cissus succulenta Cissus tetraptera Cissus bifida Cissus edulis Cissus quadrangulus Cissus quadrangula Cissus tetragona Cissus triandra Vitis succulenta Vitis quadrangularis Cissus quadrangularis

Lower taxons

Cissus quadrangularis var. pubescens Cissus quadrangularis var. aculeatangula