Vitis martini
hort
Tao wan kon
MBG
MBG
MBG
What to Eat
Edible parts: Fruit
The fruit is eaten, including, in Cambodia, unripe with salt. In the community forest of Khok Bung Preu (northeast Thailand), the wild fruit are one of a number of non-timber forest products gathered by the local people, mainly for sale, with no limit on quantities harvested. The rhizome extracts of Ampelocissus martini included secondary metabolites, specifically flavonoids and phenolics, that function as effective reducing agents and stabilizers during the manufacture of zinc oxide nanoparticles.
Dangerous Lookalikes
This plant can be confused with the following toxic species. Always verify identification carefully before consuming any wild plant.
Canadian Moonseed: No tendrils, single crescent/moon-shaped seed, leaf stem attaches to underside of leaf.
Tao wan kon: Vine with tendrils, round seeds, leaf stem at edge of leaf, bark that peels.
Where to Find It
A tropical plant.
Asia, Indochina, Indonesia, Pacific, Philippines, SE Asia, Thailand,
How to Identify
A vine. It has a tuberous root. The fruit are small black grapes. They occur in large bunches.
Names & Synonyms
References (2)
- Burkill, I.H., 1966, A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol 2 (I-Z) p 2286
- Heyne, K., 1927, p 1007
