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Description
Erect or climbing
shrub, 1.5 - 5 meters high. Leaves are distichous, pale beneath,
oblong to elliptic-oblong, 1.5-4 cm long. Flowers are solitary,
2-3 mm long, green and tinged with purple. Fruit is depressed-globose,
5-7 mm diameters, soft, fleshy, smooth and black when mature.
Distribution
Common in thickets
at low and medium altitudes.
Parts
utilized
Leaves, fruit.
Constituents and characteristics
Leaves contain
a tannic acid, but no alkaloid.
Bark is astringent, diuretic, alterative and attenuant.
Uses
Folkloric
· Decoction
or infusion of dried bark used for dysentery.
· Powdered leaf used for sores, burns, suppurations.
· Fruit is astringent to the bowels; used for diarrhea
in infants.
Other
· Juice of ripe fruit used as ink.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
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