Gen info
- Convulvulaceae, commonly called bindweeds or morning glories, is a family of about 60 genera and more than 1,650 species; primarily herbaceous vine, but also including trees, shrubs, and herbs. Tubers of some species are edible, the best known, the sweet potato. (10)
- Convulvulaceae derives from Latin convolvere, meaning "wind", referring to the winding stems of the plants.
- Camonea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Convulvulaceae.
- Etymology: The genus name Camonea has no reported derivation. The specific epithet umbellata derives from Latin, meaning "umbel-like", referring to the plant's umbel-like flower clusters.

Botany
• Kalamitmit is a twining, herbaceous, more or less hairy vine, with slender stems. Leaves are oblong to oblong-ovate, 8 to 12 centimeters long, pointed at the tip and heart-shaped at the base. Inflorescence bears many flowers, and is borne in the axils of the leaves. Sepals are about 6 millimeters long. Corolla is white or yellow, tubular and funnel-shaped, about 3 centimeters long; limb is about 2.5 centimeters in diameter. Capsule is ovoid, smooth, about 1 centimeter long. Seeds are covered with spreading, black or brown hairs.

• An annual twiner, 1-3 m long, sometimes prostrate, terete, softly pubescent or glabrescent, young parts with milky juice. Leaves ovate to oblong, 4-12(-16) cm × 1-6.5(-9) cm, base cordate, rounded or truncate, basal lobes rounded or angular, apex acuminate, both sides sparsely to densely hairy, petiole 1.5-6 cm long. Cymes few- to many-flowered, umbelliform, peduncle 1-4(-7) cm long, bracts minute, caducous. Flower-buds ovoid, pedicel 5-9 mm long, sepals subequal, concave, broadly elliptical or orbicular, 5-7 mm long, corolla funnel-shaped, 2-3 cm long, white, rarely yellow to orange, middle part mid-petaline bands hairy, anthers straight. Capsule ovoid to conical, 10-12 mm high, mucronate by style-base, glabrous or sparsely hairy at top. Seeds 5 mm long, densely hairy with soft, patent hairs. (12)

Distribution
- Naturalized.
- Throughout the Philippines, along roads and in thickets at medium altitudes.
- Native to Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Burkina, Cameroon, Cayman Is., Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Liberia, Mali, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is. (6)

Properties
- Plant considered deobstruent, diuretic and alterative.
- Flowers attract bees, butterflies, and birds.
- Studies have shown antibacterial, cytotoxic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, analgesic properties.

Parts used
Root, leaves, flowers, seeds.

Uses
Edibility
- Young leaves may be mixed with other vegetables and eaten.
Folkloric
- In the Philippines, root decoction drunk for treatment of hematuria. (12)
- Pounded leaves used as poultice for burns and scalds.
- In the Moluccas, poultice of leaves used for sores. Also leaves used as emollient for abscesses and ulcers.
- Decoction of plant used as deobstruent, diuretic and alterative; useful for rheumatism, headaches and neuralgia. Also used for dropping into the ears in cases of auricular ulcers and abscesses.
- In epilepsy, powder of leaves is sniffed up.
- Paste or powder of root, mixed with Java flour and water, applied to swellings.
- In Bengal, seeds are soaked in water to yield a mucilage and used as an aperient or as alterative for cutaneous diseases.
- In Thengal Kacharies of Assam, India, stems applied to cuts. (8)
- In Bangladesh, poultice of leaves used on wounds, burns, and sores. Powder of leaves used for treatment of epilepsy; roots used as laxative; flowers used for eye diseases; whole plant used as diuretic and for treatment of rheumatism, headaches, spasms, fever, convulsion.s, and paralyses.

Studies
• Phenolic Compounds / Allelochemical: Study investigated the potential allelochemicals of the invasive plant Merremia umbellata subsp. orientalis. Results yielded eight phenolic compounds, including a salicylic acid (SA)-derived new natural product, SA 2-O- β-D-(3',6'-dicaffeoyl)-glucopyranoside. Compound 2 showed remarkable inhibition of seed germination of Arabidopsis. (1)
• Cytotoxic / Antioxidant: Study compared the antioxidant potential and cytotoxic activity of Ipomoea pes-caprae and Merremia umbellata. Merremia umbellata showed less cytotoxic activity (less than 75%) compared to Ipomoea pes-caprae (more than 80%). Ipomoea pes caprae showed marginally better antioxidant properties compared to Merremia umbellata. (5)
• Anti-Inflammatory / Antioxidant / Leaves: Study evaluated the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect of total ethanolic extract of M. umbellata leaves. Results showed significant free radical scavenging activities by DPPH, ABTS, and H2O2 assays. There was decreased edema and activity of MPO enzyme in inflamed ears of mice with auricular edema induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). (7)
• Antibacterial Activity / Leaves: Study evaluated the antibacterial activity of ethanolic extracts from calyces of P. angulata and leaves of Merremia umbellata and C. grandiflora against ATCC strains of Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. All the extracts showed activity against the bacterial strains used. (see constituents above) (8)
• Antioxidant / Anthelmintic / Analgesic / Stems: Study evaluated an ethanolic extract of stems for antioxidant, analgesic, and anthelmintic activities in Swiss albino mice. Results showed significant analgesic effect in acetic acid induced writhing at doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg, with similar effect in hot plate method. The extract exhibited significant (p<0.001) anthelmintic activity against Haemonchus contortus of cattle in a concentration-dependent manner in measures of paralysis time and time of death, at concentrations of 25, 50, and 100 mg/mL. In DPPH free radical scavenging assay, extract showed scavenging potential with IC50 of 161.81 µg/mL. (see constituents above) (11)

Availability
Wild-crafted.

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