Botany
A liana, ie, a woody, perennial, climbing plant with a very long stem growing from the ground level to the canopy of trees. The stems are about 5 cm thick, with a gray bark and yellow wood. Leaves are leathery, smooth, and broadly ovate, 16 cm wide and 16 cm long, the tip abruptly pointed, the base obtusely round or subtruncate, with 5 veins radiating from the base, with one or two lateral nerves in the midvein. Inflorescence is pendulous and spicately panicled, clustered along the stems. Flowers are fragrant, yellowish, crowded and stalkless.

Distribution
In thickets and forests, at low and medium altitudes.

Constituents and chemical properties
Stems yield a yellow dye, berberine.
The plant yields several alkaloids: berberine, jatrorhizine, columbamine nad shobakunine.
Germicide.
Stomachic, febrifuge, emmenagogue, abortive, antiperiodic, diaphoretic (much of these due to the berberine).

Parts used and preparation
Bark, roots, and stems.

Uses
Folkloric
Itching and tropical ulcers: Apply decoction of plant on the affected area.
Decoction of wood used to clean wounds.
Decoction of roots and stem used as febrifuge, tonic. Also used as abortive.
Used as expectorant.
Others
Stems used for its yellow dye (berberine), a single plant yielding as much as one kilo of berberine.

Availability
Wild-crafted.