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Botanical name |
Cissus quadrangularis |
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Other names |
Veld vine; devil's backbone; Cissus tetragona or C. succulenta; vitis quadrangularis |
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Family |
Vitaceae, the grape family |
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Dimensions |
Rambling succulent climber reaching several meters of four-angled, rambling stems |
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Description of stem |
Sturdy green stems up to more 3 cm in diameter, narrowing at the end of each section, supported by tendrils, leaves (on young sections only) and flowers appear at the section joints, or nodes |
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Description of leaves |
Short-lived broad and fleshy lobed green leaves towards the ends of some stems |
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Description of flowers |
Small greenish or cream flowers in spring |
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Description of seed/fruit |
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Description of roots |
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Variation |
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Propagation and cultivation |
Grows easily from small cuttings |
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Tolerances |
Drought tolerant; not very frost resistant |
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Uses |
Medicinally for healing bone ailments, including osteoporosis, obesity, stomach ulcers and in cancer treatment; also used in bodybuilding |
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Ecological rarity |
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Pests and diseases |
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Other |
The name, asthisamharaka (that which prevents the destruction of bones) has been given to this plant in old India for one of its medicinal uses |
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Location |
Dry woodland areas |
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Distribution |
Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces, but widespread inland in Southern Africa |
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Country |
South Africa, Southern Africa, probably widely throughout Africa, e.g. Sudan and from Arabia to India |
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