Celastrus paniculatus

Shrub/ Woody climber

Flowering class: Dicot Habit: Climber

Flowering and fruiting: December-May

Flowering: April-June. Fruiting: June-September.

Large deciduous twining shrubs, stem up to 23 cm in diam.; bark pale brown, rough and cracked, exfoliating in small scales; branchlets pubescent or glabrous, with prominent elliptic lenticels; axillary buds ca. 1-2 mm, triangular. Leaves simple, alternate, spiral; stipules lacinate; petioles ca. 6-16 mm long; lamina ca. 5-17 x 2-10 cm, obovate-orbicular, elliptic to ovate-oblong, rounded or acute at base, bluntish or shortly acuminate at apex, crenate-serrulate along margins, glabrous, pubescent beneath, coriaceous; secondary nerves 4-8 pairs. Inflorescences in terminal drooping panicles ca. 15 cm long, pubescent; Flowers ca. 3-4 mm across, pale greenish; Male flowers: ca. 2 mm long, sepals 5-lobed; lobes semi-orbicular, ciliate; petals ca. 3 mm long, oblong to obovate-oblong; stamens ca. 3 mm long; anthers ovoid; ovary sterile, columnar; disc cupular; lobes obscure; Female flowers: sepals, petals and disc as in the male flowers; stamens sterile; ovary globose; style columnar; stigma 3-lobed. Capsule ca. 1-1.3 cm in diam., bright yellow, depressed, globose, 3-valved. Seeds 3-6, ca. 3-5 x 2-4 mm, brownish, smooth, arillate.

Moist deciduous and semi evergreen forests

Tropical and temperate forests

Distributed up to an altitude of 1250 m.

Medicinal

The seed is aphrodisiac, bitter, emetic, laxative and stimulant. It is used in the treatment of rheumatism, leprosy, gout, fevers and paralysis. The crushed seeds, a decoction of the seeds or the fixed oil from the seed are applied as a poultice, or taken internally. Credited with stimulant and diaphoretic properties, they are applied to relieve fevers, joint and muscular pains, and paralysis. The oil from the seed is a powerful stimulant. It is used in the treatment of beriberi. The seed oil is a major component in various products to relieve rheumatic and muscular pain. The oil is an ingredient of many more herbal medicines, claiming to enhance the nervous and mental system. It is also considered to be analgesic, aphrodisiac, diaphoretic, emetic, emmenagogue, stimulant and tonic. The leaf sap has been used as an antidote for opium poisoning. The root is used as an antimalarial and antipyretic. The wood is used in the treatment of tuberculosis. The bark is abortifacient. The juice from the bark is used in the treatment of indigestion. The stem bark is used as an antidysenteric and a decoction of the stem as a diuretic in the treatment of kidney disorders. The fruits are considered antiflatulent, a blood tonic and a relief for fainting.