Description

Indian Ipecac is a genus of climbing plant or vine, first described as a genus in 1810. It is native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Africa, and Australia. Most of the species are perennial lianas.  This perennial climber is indigenous to India and mainly occurs on plains, hilly slopes, and the outskirts of the forests of eastern and southern India. The plant is used by the common people in certain regions of India for the treatment of various diseases including bronchial asthma, cancer, dysentery, hay fever, inflammation, rheumatism, arthritis, and dermatitis.

Characteristics:

Indian Ipecac is a slender, hairy or glabrous branching climber, producing stems up to 1.5 metres tall from a short rhizome that is 3 - 4mm thick. The plant is used locally as a source of fibre and medicines. Indian Ipecac is a small, slender, much branched, velvety, twining or climbing herb with yellowish sap. It is mostly found in the sub-himalayan tract from Uttarakhand to Meghalaya and in the central and peninsular India. Rootstock is 2.5-5 cm, thick. Leaves, 6-11 cm long, 3.8-6 cm wide, are ovate-oblong to elliptic-oblong, with a narrow tip, heart-shaped at base, thick, velvety beneath when young, smooth above. Leaf stalks are up to 1.2 cm long. Flowers are small, 1-1.5 cm across, in 2 to 3-flowered fascicles in cymes in leaf axils. Sepal tube is divided nearly to the base, densely hairy outside. Sepals are lanceshaped. Flowers are greenish- yellow or greenish-purple, with oblong pointy petals. Fruit is a follicle, up to 7 x 1 cm, ovoid-lanceshaped. Flowering: August-December.

Medicinal Uses:

It is traditionally used as a folk remedy in certain regions of India for the treatment of bronchial asthma, inflammation, bronchitis, allergies, rheumatism and dermatitis. The plant has also been employed to cure cold, psoriasis, whooping cough, seborrhea, anaphylaxis, respiratory infections,