Combretum sundaicum Miq.

Scandent shrub or liana up to 30 m. Young branchlets usually densely ferrugineous-scaly, otherwise glabrous or nearly so. Leaves opposite, chartaceous or papyraceous, usually broadly elliptic, sometimes nearly suborbicular, densely scaly but individual scales usually not very conspicuous in dried specimens (but occasionally conspicuous), often minutely verruculose on the upper surface, up to 15 by 10 cm (usually c. 11 by 7 cm in herb.), acuminate at the apex (rarely rounded, rarely caudate), rounded or obtuse at the base; petiole up to 2 cm long, often rather slender, usually densely (sometimes sparsely) ferrugineous-scaly, glabrescent. Inflorescence a terminal panicle of capituliform spikes or racemes, rhachis densely covered with reddish, golden-brown or greyish scales, otherwise usually glabrous. Bracts subtending the flowers, filiform, 1-2 mm long, soon caducous. Flowers greenish-white, 4-merous, subsessile. Lower receptacle (ovary) densely scaly otherwise glabrous, 3 mm long. Upper receptacle densely scaly otherwise glabrous or nearly glabrous, narrowly tubular, 5 mm long, somewhat expanded at the apex and terminating in 4 triangular acute calyx-lobes 2½ by 1½ mm, often reflexed in mature flowers. Petals 4 obovate to suborbicular, glabrous, 7½-2 by 1-2 mm, shortly unguiculate. Stamens 8 inserted at the margin of the disk; filaments 3 mm; anthers 0.8 mm long. Disk narrowly infundibuliform, margin free for about ½ mm, rather densely piloss. Style 8 mm. Fruit suborbicular in outline, somewhat glutinous, especially when young, with 4 thin flexible wings up to 1½ cm broad, not conspicuously lepidote; stipe 2-3 mm.

Open bush vegetation and forest margins from sea-level up to 250 metres. Dense woods, dry thickets on sandy soil at elevations of 300-600 metres in southern China.

Uses. It has been used as a cure for opium-craving but is probably of little real value, the supposed effect now being considered mainly psychological.

Can be grown by seedlings.