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Botany
· A glabrous, smooth branched shrub 1-2 m high.
· Leaves: opposite, elliptic-ovate, 2-6 cm long, narrowed
and pointed at both ends, shining and short peticled. Stipulate.
· Flowers: large and very fragrant, occurring singly in
the upper axil of the leaves. Calyx green, with funnel-shaped
tube and about 1.5 cm long, 5-angled, or winged and divided into
linear lobes about as long as the tube. Corolla usually double,
white but soon turning yellowish and 5-8 cm wide. Stamens as
many as the corolla lobes. Anthers linear, sessile. Ovary 1-celled,
style stout, clavate, fusiform, or 2-cleft, ovules numerous on
parietal placentae.
· Fruits: ovoid or ellipsoid, 2.5 to 4.5 cm long, 1.5
to 2 cm in diameter, yellow, with 5 to 9 longitudinal ridges.
Maturing about the month of November.
Properties
Antiophthalmic,
emollient, emetic, stimulant, diuretic, antiperiodic, cathartic,
anthelmintic, alterative, antispasmodic, antiseptic, febrifuge.
Distribution
A common garden plant. Only the double-flowered form occurs in
the Philippines.
Parts
utilized
· Parts utilized: roots, leaves, fruits.
· Collect fruits during August to October.
· Roots: rinse, section into pieces, sun-dry.
· Fruits: sun-dry after stemming.
Folkloric
uses
· Decoction
of leaves and flowers used for dyspepsia, flatulences, nervous
disorders and abdominal pains.
· Decoction of bark (50-55 g) used for fevers. dysentery
and abdominal pains.
· Decoction of flowers used as wash for inflammed eyes.
· Poultice of leaves for swollen breasts; may be mixed
with vioileta and other herbs.
· Jaundice, hepatitis
· Fruit is antiseptic; used for tootaches, foul sores.
· Cough, fever.
· Bacillary dysentery.
· Nephritic edema
· Epistaxis, painful outgrowth at the tongue
· Mastitis, furuncle
· Lymph node tuberculosis
· Dosage: use 30 to 60 gms dried roots, 60 to 120 gms
dried fruits in decoction. Fruits may be pulverized and applied
to regions with furuncle, sprains, lymph node tuberculosis with
water or alcohol.
Availability
Wild-crafted.
Common garden plant.
Cultivated for ornamental use.
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