Coscinium fenestratum (Gaertn.) Colebr.

Large liana with yellow wood and sap. Branchlets terete, obscurely ridged or smooth, brownish tomentose at first, later glabrescent, becoming whitish, bearing prominent disciform petiole-scars. Leaves: petioles at first brownish tomentose, 3-16 cm, often conspicuously swollen at both ends, geniculate at base, inserted up to 0.8(-2.7) cm from basal margin of lamina; lamina usually broadly ovate or ovate, rarely subpanduriform with basal, lateral lobes, base broadly rounded, truncate or shallowly cordate, rarely broadly obtuse, apex acuminate, 11-33 by 8-23 cm; upper surface glabrescent, usually drying smooth, midrib and other main nerves sunken, lower surface often whitish tomentellous with fine reticulation visible, palmately 5-7-nerved at base and also usually two pairs of distal lateral nerves, thinly coriaceous. Inflorescences: flowers in several-flowered globose heads 6-7 mm ø on peduncles 10-30 mm, arranged in a raceme 5-11 cm, supra-axillary or from older, leafless stems; inflorescences arising singly or a few together, axis and branches slender, brown tomentose or tomentellous, bracts subulate, 4-5 mm long. Male flowers sessile or with pedicels up to 1 mm; sepals densely sericeous-pilose externally, glabrous within, broadly elliptic to obovate, the inner 3-6 spreading, yellow, 1.5-2 mm long; outermost sepals smaller, 1-1.5 mm long, inserted lower; stamens 6, 1 mm long. Female flowers: sepals as in male flowers; staminodes 6, claviform, 1 mm long; carpels 3, curved-ellipsoidal, 2 mm long, dense-ly pilose; style filiform, recurved. Infructescence with carpophore globose, tomentellous, 7-8 mm ø, bearing 1-3 drupes. Drupes subglobose, tomentellous, brown to orange or yellowish, 2.8-3 cm ø; pericarp drying woody, c. 1 mm thick; endocarp bony, 2.2-2.5 cm ø; wall 3 mm thick covered with anastomosing fibrous ridges; condyle deeply intrusive, thickly clavate. Seed whitish, subglobose, enveloping the condyle; endosperm present and within this are immersed the divaricate, much folded and divided cotyledons.

It is a tropical plant. It grows in the Western Ghats in India. It grows in deciduous and evergreen forests.

Uses. The wood produces a yellow dye (used together with Curcuma in Cambodia). A decoction of the stem and leaves is used medicinally. It has been known in Europe as False calumba, being a substitute for Calumba (Jateorhiza). The plant has alleged antiseptic properties and is used in Malaya to dress wounds and ulcers. The species is used as an ingredient for arrow poisons in Malaya ( BISSET& WOODS Lloydia 29 1966 194 ). According to the notes on S 32149 and 33332 from Sarawak, the effects of intoxication can be avoided if the roots are chewed and the juices swallowed before drinking.GRESHOFF ( GRESHOFF Meded. Lands Pl. Tuin 25 1898 22 ) recorded that the leaves contain picrotoxin-like bitter substances. Like most previous authors, GRESHOFF wrongly applied the name C. blumeanum to the present species. Alkaloids found by JEWERS et al. ( JEWERS et al. Phytochem. 9 1970 663 ) were: palmatine, berberine and jatrorrhizine. The record of the same three alkaloids by THORNBER ( THORNBER Phytochem. 9 1970 163 ) under C. blumeanum probably refers to this species. Further alkaloids were reported by SIWON et al. ( SIWON et al. Planta Medica 38 1980 24 ).

Can be grown by seedlings.