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Family Moraceae
Malais-is
Malaisia scandens (Lour.) Planch.
BURNY VINE
Niu jin teng

Scientific names Common names
Alchornea scandens (Lour.) Mull.Arg. Hiñgi (Tag.)
Caturus scandens Lour. Hinggiu (Tag.)
Malaisia scandens (Lour.) Planch. Hinguin (Tag.)
Malaisia tortuosa var. scandens (Lour.) Bireau Malais-is (Tag.)
Trophis scandens Hook. & Arn. Saba (Tag.)
Accepted Infraspecifics Sadak (Ilk.)
Malaisia scandens subsp. megacarpa P.S.Green Salimpagot (Tagb.)
Malaisia scandens subsp. scandens Sigid (P. Bis.)
  Burney vine (Engl.)
  Burnie vine (Engl.)
  Crow ash (Engl.)
  Fire vine (Engl.)
Alchornea scandens is an accepted name species. KEW: Plants of the World Online

Other vernacular names
CHINESE: Niu jin teng, Buo fan guo teng.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Doi a.

Botany
Malais-is is a vine or climbing shrub reaching a height of 4 to 8 meters, smooth except for young branchlets and inflorescences. Leaves are leathery, oblong-ovate to elliptic-oblong, 4 to 10 centimeters long, 2.5 to 4 centimeters wide, smooth, somewhat rough or sandpapery on the undersurface, with entire or obscurely toothed margins, the tip pointed and the base rounded or pointed. Female inflorescence is densely hairy. Fruit is oval, 6 to 7 millimeters long, red, stalkless, occurring in clusters on the axils of leaves, and 1 to 2 to each receptacle.

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- In thickets and forest at low and medium altitudes from northern Luzon to Mindanao and Palawan.
- Also native to Australia, Borneo, Caroline Is., China, Fiji, Hainan, Jawa, Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maluku, Marianas, Myanmar, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Queensland, Samoa, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, Vanuatu, Vietnam.
(3)

Properties
- Rubbing against the stem can cause a burning sensation.

Parts used
Leaves.

Uses

Edibility
- Seeds eaten raw or cooked.
- Flesh is reportedly edible.
Folkloric
- Decoction of leaves administered to women after childbirth.
Others
Rope: Vine is used for tying purposes, as in construction of fish corrals. Bark fiber can be made into rope; used as string for dillybags and fishing nets.


Studies
Calcium Crystals:
In a study of mature leaves of nine species of Moraceae, Malaisia scandens was observed to have both calcium oxalate and calcium carbonate crystals. The presence or absence of crystals is one of the important characters for understanding evolutionary relationships of plant species. (2)

Availability
Wild-crafted.

Updated March 2023 / March 2018 / November 2014

PHOTOS / ILLUSTRATIONS
IMAGE SOURCE: / Trophis scandens foliage and flowers / 5 August 2012 / Mark Marathon / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license / Click on image to go to source page ./ Wikimedia Commons
OTHER IMAGE SOURCE: / File:Trophis scandens old flower spikes.jpg / 8 December 2012 / Mark Marathon / Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license/ Click on image to go to source page ./ Wikimedia Commons
Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Malaisia scandens (Lour.) Planch. / Chinese names / Catalogue of Life, China
(2)
Calcium crystals in the leaves of some species of Moraceae / Chi-Chih Wu and Ling-Long Kuo-Huang / Bot. Bull. Acad. Sin. (1997) 38: 97-104
(3)
Alchornea scandens / KEW: Plants of the World Online
α(5)

DOI: It is not uncommon for links on studies/sources to change. Copying and pasting the information on the search window or using the DOI (if available) will often redirect to the new link page. (Citing and Using a (DOI) Digital Object Identifier)

                                                            List of Understudied Philippine Medicinal Plants
α(5)

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