Tinospora crispa (L.) Hook.F. & Thomson

Woody climber up to c. 15 m, entirely glabrous. Stems drying striate when young but later becoming very prominently tuberculate, containing an exceed-ingly bitter milky sap, producing very long filiform aerial roots. Leaves: petioles 5—15(—30) cm; lamina broadly ovate to orbicular, base deeply to shallowly cordate, apex usually long-acuminate, 7-14(-25) by 6-12(-24) cm, palmately 5-7-nerved at the base, very thinly papyraceous, domatia usually absent al-though a flat pocket sometimes present in axil of basal nerves beneath. Inflorescences not coetaneous with the leaves. Male inflorescences arising from the older, leafless stems, often a few together, pseudo-racemose, very slender, (5-)9-20 cm long, flowers in 1-3-flowered fascicles. Male flowers on filiform pedicels 2-4 mm; sepals pale green, outer 3 ± ovate, thickened at base, 1-1.5 mm long, inner 3 obovate, unguiculate or acute at base, 3-4 mm long; petals 3, only the outer whorl usually developed (sometimes 1-3 reduced inner petals present), narrowly oblanceolate, flat, lacking papillae, 2 mm long; stamens 6, 2 mm long. Female inflorescences similar to male but shorter, 2-6 cm, with flowers mostly arising singly along the axis. Female flowers: sepals and petals as in male; staminodes 6, subulate, scarcely 1 mm long; carpels 3, ellipsoidal, 2 mm long, stigma very shortly lobed. Infructescences (from Assam and Burma specimens) bearing lateral peduncles 1.5-2 cm terminating in a subpyramidal 2-3 mm long carpophore below which usually persist reflexed ovate sepals 2 mm long. Drupes orange, ellipsoidal, 2 cm long (when fresh), with whitish endocarp, ± ellipsoidal, 11-13 by 7-9 mm, surface obscurely rugulose or almost smooth, with a conspicuous dorsal ridge and with a small elliptic ventral aperture, condyle deeply intrusive into seed-cavity.

In Thailand in mixed deciduous forest and village hedgerows up to 900 m, also cultivated. In the Philippines recorded from primary forest (Mindanao) and at 1000 m (Mindoro: Mt Yagaw). Also cultivated as a medicinal plant in Ceylon and India.

Uses. BURKILL (1935, under T. tuberculata) lists the many medicinal uses of this plant. The Malays drink an infusion of the stem as a vermifuge and of the whole plant to treat cholera.According to CREVOST& PETELOT (1929, l.c.) the species was introduced into northern Vietnam (Tonkin) by the Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul under the name of liane-quinine (= dây ki nin) and it was cultivated by various Christian communities; but it was also known elsewhere in the region. It is used by local people to treat fevers and jaundice. The stem is cut into small pieces and scraped, then it is infused in boiling water, which after cooling is drunk. The stems can also be dried and pounded into a powder, which is used as quinine. This powder mixed with fodder is used to fatten horses and cattle by stimulating their appetite; a similar use is reported from N. Thailand by BÄNZIGER.MERRILL (1918, under T. rumphii) stated that this is perhaps the most generally used medicinal plant in the Philippines. It contains an extremely bitter principle and it is known in the Philippines together with the more common T. glabra as makabuhay, but T. crispa is more effective in use. The bitter principle of makabuhay has been investigated by MARANON ( MARANON Philip. J. Sc. 33 1927 357 ), who found it to be glucosidal. QUISUMBING'S account of the species (as T. rumphii) and its uses in his QUISUMBING Medic. Pl. Philip. 1951 300 deals in part with T. glabra.According to THORNBER ( THORNBER Phytochem. 9 1970 167 ), berberine has been reported in T. crispa, but this could be based on misidentified material of T. glabra.

Plants can be grown from stem cuttings.