A Bear’s Bile?

Thottea grandiflora Rottboell

Common Name: Hempeduk Beruang (Jakun Tribe), Telingok Kelawar (Jakun Tribe), Bunga Semubut

Family: Aristolochiaceae

Description: 

Growth Form: It is an erect shrub that can grow up to 2 m tall. Its branches are round and covered with fine hair.
Foliage: The leaves are alternately arranged and stalked leaves have leathery leaf blades which are in drop-shaped, elliptic or lance-shaped. The size ranges from 15 to 45cm by 19 to 25cm.
Flowers: The cluster of flowers are 1 to 7cm long and are usually found at the lower part of the stem. They are a funnel-shaped perianth with a deep red wine-coloured with some purple blotches.
Fruits: The shape of the fruits are slender capsules that can size up to 15 cm long, and either straight or twisted. They are 4-angled and covered with hair. Its seeds are ellipsoid, 3-angled, with wrinkled surface.

Habit: Shrub

Habitat: It can be natively found in Myanmar, Peninsular Malaysia, and Singapore. It can grow in terrestrial environments such as primary rainforest, secondary rainforest and freshwater swamp forest.

Ethnobotanical Uses:

Plant Part Used: Root

Preparation Method: Decoction in water

Way of Administration: It can be orally consumed by drinking the decocted water of the roots.

Use to treat: The decocted water can be used to treat cough and asthma.

Reference

National Parks-Flora and Fauna Web (2013). Thottea grandiflora Rottboell. Retrieved at 28 May 2018. Available at https://florafaunaweb.nparks.gov.sg/Special-Pages/plant-detail.aspx?id=2508

Photograph

Credit to Ng C. (2017). Available at flickr.com

The leaves of the Thottea grandiflora

The flower of the Thottea grandiflora

Close-up image of the middle part of the flower of Thottea grandiflora

Pokok Hempelas @ Empelas

Tetracera macrophylla

Common Name: Pokok Hempelas (Jakun Tribe), Pokok Empelas (Jakun Tribe), Akar Mempelas Rimba

Family: Dilleniaceae

Description: It is an evergreen climbing plant growing up to 10 metres tall. The shape of the leaves range from elliptical to oblong. The inflorescence is terminal and have a very fragrant smell. It has reddish white petal, red stamens and a carpel with a few rigid hairs at the back. The capsule is globular. The seed is ovoid and the aril is bright red.

Habit: Climber

Habitat: Usually found in Southern China southward to Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Lesser Sunda Islands, Sulawesi and the Philippines.

Ethnobotanical Uses:

• Plant Part Used: Plant sap
• Preparation Methods: Drinking directly once cut in the forest and fed into a cup
• Ways of Administration: About ¼ of a cup once take it and about 2 to 3 times per day until recover.
• Use to treat: The plant saps are used to treat fever and night fever.

The inflorescence of Tetracera macrophylla

Demom Malam

Poikilospermum suaveolens (Blume) Merr.

Common Name: Demom Malam (Jakun Tribe), Ara Jankang, Akar Setawan, Centawan

Family: Urticaceae

Description:

Growth Form: It is a large epiphytic, climbing shrub.
Foliage: The leaves are alternately arranged with stalked leaves. The leaf blade is broadly egg-shaped oblong and its size range from 10 to 60 cm by 2 to 15 cm. It has purplish veins beneath.
Flowers: The flower is tiny with shorter male flowers of 1.5 to 2 mm long and female flowers of 3 to 7 mm long. They are pink in colour. The flowers are borne on branched head-like clusters with smaller male clusters of 2.5 to 3.5 cm wide and female clusters of 5 to 9 cm wide.
Fruits: Its fruits are oblong-obovoid, warty achenes, 3-5 mm.

Habit: Climber, Vine @ Liana

Habitat: It can be found in tropical country-in moist places, rainforests, monsoon forests and near the streams. It can be found in Borneo, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Ethnobotanical Uses:

Plant Part Used: Stem

Preparation Method: The sap of the plant need to be collected.

Way of Administration: It can be orally consumed-drink the collected saps.

Use to treat: It is used to treat night fever.

Reference

National Parks-Flora and Fauna Web (2013). Poikilospermum suaveolens (Blume) Merr. Retrieved on 26 May 2018. Available at https://florafaunaweb.nparks.gov.sg/special-pages/plant-detail.aspx?id=6068

Flora of China. Retrieved on 26 May 2018. Available at http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=242339189

Picture credit to Yeoh Yi Shuen on flickr. Retrieved on 26 May 2018. Available on flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/ys_yeoh/albums/72157629914939776

 

The branch structure of Poikilospermum suaveolens

The young inflorescence of Poikilospermum suaveolens

More mature flower of Poikilospermum suaveolens

Blooming flower of Poikilospermum suaveolens

 

 

Sentoyot

Nepenthes ampullaria

Common Name: Sentoyot (Jakun Tribe), Periuk Kera

Family: Nepenthaceae

Description:

Growth Form: It is a herbaceous to semi-woody climber and it can growing up to 15 m tall. The slender stem bears many short branches with rosettes of leaves at intervals in the lower parts of the stem, but at the higher parts, less branches and more leaves are borne.

Foliage: For the rosette-leaf bearing branches, the leaf blades of the alternate, stalked to stalkless leaves are lance- or spoon-shaped, and are 2–5 by 0.5 cm. At the tips of the rosette leaves are urn- to egg-shaped, 2–10 cm-long pitchers that have narrow lips. The pitchers are also green to almost white, with pink or red spots or blotches. For the leaves in the upper parts of the stem, the leaf blades are narrow and long, being about 25 by 6 cm, with tips that extend to form slender, coiling tendrils. Pitchers almost never form here, but if they do, they are small, funnel-shaped and not as well-developed as the pitchers in the rosette leaves. These upper pitchers are rarely developed and seldom observed, and are thought to be vestigial structures formed as a result of the plant being stressed by very poor soils.

Flowers: Its green, 1.3 cm-wide flowers are borne on shoots that are up to 45 cm long. The small, yellow, petal-less, clustered into erect raceme inflorescences up to 45 cm long. Plants are dioecious, with male and female flowers found on separate plants. Blooming occurs once or twice per year, lasting for several weeks, pollinated by nocturnal insects.
Fruits: Its 2.5 cm-long fruits are capsules that mature from green to brown, splitting when ripe into four halves to release tiny, thread-like seeds that are wind-dispersed.

Habit: Herbaceous

Habitat: It is natively distributed in Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia in Kalimantan, Papua and Sumatera, in Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore and Thailand.

Conservation Status: Least Concern

Ethnobotanical Uses:

Plant Part Used: Roots

Preparation Method: Decoction in water

Way of Administration: It can be orally consumed as a drink.

Use to treat: It can be used to treat asthma and rheumatism.

Reference

National Parks-Flora and Fauna Web (2013). Nepenthes ampullaria Jack. Retrieved on 26 May 2018. Available at https://florafaunaweb.nparks.gov.sg/special-pages/plant-detail.aspx?id=3438

Clarke, C., Cantley, R., Nerz, J., Rischer, H. & Witsuba, A. 2000. Nepenthes ampullaria. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2000: e.T39640A10253611. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2000.RLTS.T39640A10253611.en. Downloaded on 26 May 2018

 

Close-up image of Nepenthes ampullaria

 

 

Lembak

Molineria latifolia

Synonyms: Curculigo latifolia, Curculigo villosa

Common Name: Lembak, Lumbah Rimba, Kepala Puyuh, Weevil Lily, Hill Coconut, Lumbah, Lumbah Bukit

Family: Hypoxidaceae

Description: 

Growth Form: It is a herb that bears rhizome up to 1 m tall.
Foliage: The leaves are alternately arranged, It has long-stalked leaves with leaf blade that are narrow lance-shaped with some purple colour underside of the leaves and its size range from 30 to 105 cm by 5 to 15 cm with a prominent longitudinal ribbing.
Flowers: Its bright yellow flowers are up to 1.3 cm wide, and grow on an erect, 4–10 cm-long stalk from the base of the plant.
Fruits: Its ovoid, hairy fruits are white, 2.5 cm long and contain many seeds.

Habit: Shrub

Habitat: It can be found natively in Eastern Asia such as in Southern China, Bangladesh, Andaman Islands, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, India, Singapore, Lingga Islands, Bangka Island, Borneo, Java, and Celebes.

Ethnobotanical Uses:

Plant Part Used: Fruits

Preparation Method: The fruits can be eaten raw.

Way of Administration:  Orally consumed; eaten raw.

Use to treat: It can be used to treat night fever.

Reference

Emonocot (2013). Molineria latifolia var. latifolia. Retrieved on 25 May 2018. Available at http://e-monocot.org/taxon/urn:kew.org:wcs:taxon:311745

National Parks-Flora and Fauna Web (2013). Molineria latifolia (Dryand. ex W.T.Aiton) Herb. ex Kurz. Retrieved on 25 May 2018. Available at https://florafaunaweb.nparks.gov.sg/Special-Pages/plant-detail.aspx?id=2231

Useful Tropical Plants (2014). Molineria latifolia. Retrieved on 25 May 2018. Available at http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Molineria+latifolia

The DNA of Singapore (2018). Molineria latifolia (Dryand. ex W. T. Aiton) Herb. ex Kurz. Retrieved on 25 May 2018. Available at  https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/dna/organisms/details/420

 

The flower of Molineria latifolia at the base of the shrub

 

The fruit of Molineria latifolia

 

 

Jungle Banana

Musa gracilis 

Local Name: Pisang sum 

Family: Musaceae

Habitat: Grows well under full sun or in a sheltered location with consist moist but well-drained, fertile soils. 

Description: 

Growth Form: Slender banana to 2m tall.
Foliage: Leaves are large, broadly-lanceolate, solid green.
Stems: The stem is a pseudostem, formed by tightly packed leaf sheathes.
Flowers: The small green flowers are enclosed in ovate bracts. The bracts are white, with rosy-purple to pale-purple hues and green tips.
Fruits: Fruits are angled, pale greenish-white to greenish-yellow, measuring about 6 cm long.

Plant Part Used: Stem and flower 

Preparation: Sap collected 

Administration: Oral: drink, applied on tongue

Symptom: Cough

Reference: Flora & Fauna Web. Musa gracilis. National Parks Board Singapore. https://florafaunaweb.nparks.gov.sg/

‘Rotan Semambu’

Calamus scipionum

Common Name: Semambu rattan 

Local Name: Rotan Semambu 

Family: Arecaceae

Habitat:  It is a widespread lowland species rarely occurring above 200 m altitude. It appears to favour better soils such as alluvial soils in the floodplains of rivers. It is very tolerant of forest clearance, and is often found in secondary forest. C. scipionum has not been found in primary lowland dipterocarp forest.

Description: 

Massive clustering rattan climbing to great heights, reaching lengths of 50 m or more. Stem without leafsheaths to 2535 mm in diameter, with rather prominent nodes, and slightly lopsided in transverse section; internodes very long, sometimes exceeding 1 m, with sheaths 50 mm in diameter. Leaf ecirrate to about 2 m in length; leafsheath midgreen, armed with large, triangular, flattened, yellowishbased, black spines to 5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide at the base, and abundant grey indumentum when young; knee conspicuous; ocrea short, quickly tattering; flagellum massive, dark green, frequently exceeding 7 m in length, armed with whorls of black tipped, reflexed spines; petiole to about 30 cm; leaflets about 25 on each side of the rachis, regularly arranged, the lowermost to 40 cm×3 cm, midleaflets to 60 cm×6 cm, the uppermost to 20×3 cm, very sparsely bristly at tips. Inflorescences male and female, superficially similar, to 6 m or more in length with about 7 short to elongated partial inflorescences, sometimes to 1.5 m long, with slender reflexed rachillae in the female, and finely branched rachillae in male. Ripe fruit ovoid, to 14 mm×9 mm, very shortly beaked, covered in 1415 vertical rows of dull green scales. Seed ovoid, about 10 mm×5 mm with scattered pits, the pits penetrating very slightly the otherwise homogeneous endosperm. Seedlingleaf with 4 leaflets displayed in a fan.

Plant Part Used: Stem 

Preparation: Sap collected 

Administration: Oral: drink 

Symptom: Fever 

References: 

Manokaran. 2016. Calamus scipionum. Plant Resources of South-East Asia. http://uses.plantnet-project.org/en/Calamus_scipionum_(PROSEA). 

Fruits

Spines

The plant

 

Ignatius Bean

Strychnos ignatii 

Local Name: Akar Ipoh 

Common Name: Ignatius Bean 

Family: Loganiaceae

Habitat: Open woodlands on limestone, scrub, sometimes along river banks at elevations from 400 – 800 metres. Usually found in dense forest, often in dipterocarp forest on sandy soil or in mixed rain forest, sometimes on river banks

Description: 

It is a creeping plant that climbs to the highest treetops with its hooked, woody tendrils, which are compressed in the middle. The trunk can exceed 10cm in diameter and has a smooth, reddish bark. The thin twigs with felt-like hair bear opposing elliptical or broadly ovate leaves up to 25cm long. The tips of the leaves are shaped in such a way as to allow water or dew to run off. The inconspicuous, greenish flowers are arranged in clustered umbels. The superior ovaries develop pumpkin-like, pale orange-yellow, hard-shelled berries 12cm in diameter. The fruits contain up to 40, densely packed, hard seeds each about 3cm long. They are ovate, irregular in form, matt, grey brown, and very bitter. The plant flowers throughout the year.

Plant Part Used: Stem 

Preparation: Decoction in water, infusion in water

Administration: Oral: drink

Symptoms: Fever, rheumatism

Reference: 

1. Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by Ken Fern, web interface by Ajna Fern with help from Richard Morris. 

2. Strychnos ignatii Berg. in GBIF Secretariat (2017). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist Dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-05-24.

 

Dried fruits

Plant Herbarium

Silver Back Tree

Rhodamnia cinerea 

Local Name: Pelongot

Common Name: Silver back tree 

Family: Myrtaceae

Habitat:  It grows in secondary forests in the lowlands.

Description: 

Growth Form: It is a small evergreen tree up to 15 m tall, with a dense, rounded crown.
Foliage: Its opposite, shortly-stalked leaves have leaf blades that are oblong, 5–15 by 1.8–7 cm, tapering at both ends, and sometimes with long tips. The leaf blades have 3 distinct longitudinal veins, and characteristically silvery or grey undersides owing to the minute silky hairs. In some trees, the leaf blades are green below.
Flowers: Its flowers develop in stalked clusters of up to 6 at each leaf axil. The flowers are white with a reddish centre, very fragrant, and about 1 cm wide, each with 4 petals and sepals.
Fruits: Its 3–8-seeded fruits are small, round berries, silky, and up to 1 cm wide. They are green turning red, then purple and finally black when ripe. The top of the fruit is crowned by remnants of the sepals. Pale yellow, angular, hard seeds are embedded in the fleshy fruit pulp.

Plant Part Used: Plant sap 

Preparation: Drinking directly once cut in the forest and fed into a cup

Administration: About ¼ of a cup once take it and about 2 to 3 times/per day until recover

Symptoms: Fever, tiredness

 

Reference: 

1. National Park Flora & Fauna Web. Rhodamnia cinerea. https://florafaunaweb.nparks.gov.sg/
2. The DNA of Singapore, Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum. https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/.
3. 

   Matured fruits

   

   Flowers

   

   Immature fruit

   

   Leaves and fruits

   

   

   The tree

 

Malayan Ginseng Tree

Rennelia elliptica

Local Name: Sengilur 

Family: Rubiaceae

Description: Small tree or shrub, 1.5-2 m height; stem lignosus; leaves elliptic, 8-23 cm long, glabrous, dark green or pale green coloured; petiole long; inflorescences terminal; flowers white or dark purple coloured, very fragrant; corolla tube purple coloured; infructescence terminal; fruit globose, green coloured.

Plant Part Used: Root 

Preparation: Decoction a few minutes until the water turns to yellowish

Administration: 2 to 3 times until recover and can be consumed as a daily drinks

Treatment: Body weakness, jaundice, tiredness

 

Reference: 

Rennellia elliptica Korth., Ned. Kruidk. Arch. 2(2): 257 (1851). http://www.asianplant.net/Rubiaceae/Rennellia_elliptica.htm

 

Flower