Rivea hypocrateriformis
(Desr.) Choisy
Midnapore creeper, Clove scented creeper
(c) Rujuta Vinod, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Rujuta Vinod
(c) Aravinth, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Aravinth
(c) Aravinth, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Aravinth
What to Eat
Edible parts: Leaves, Fruit, Flowers
Young leaves and shoots are eaten as a vegetable, typically boiled with chili peppers or salt for flavour. The fruit and flowers are also eaten cooked.
Where to Find It
It is a subtropical plant. It grows along the edges of fields and roadsides. It grows in dry evergreen and deciduous forests. It grows up to 900 m above sea level.
Asia, Himalayas, India, Nepal, Northeastern India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
How to Identify
A climber. It is twining. The stem have silky hairs. The leaves are 3-4 cm long by 3-6 cm wide. They are heart shaped. The leaf stalks are 6 cm long. The flowers can occur singly or in groups in the axils of leaves. They are white and 7 cm across. The fruit is a cone shaped capsule. It is 1.5 cm long by 1 cm wide. There are about 4 seeds.
How to Grow
Grows in the wild in moist, gravelly-loamy soils.
Medicinal Uses
One of the main uses of this plant in Ayurvedic medicine is as a contraceptive. When taken in the very early stages, it can prevent implantation of the foetus and is known to completely interrupt early pregnancy and influence the estrous cycle. The plant is also reported for its ethnomedicinal uses in treating cough, headache, skin disease, malaria etc, as well as treating exteranal conditions such as burns, piles and to relieve pain The roots are given to a woman after parturition. An ethanolic extract of the leaf juice is used to treat rheumatic pain and hair scalp skin diseases. A methanol extraction of the root has shown good antimicrobial activity .
Production
In India the fruit are available August to November.
Notes
There are 3 Rivea species.
Names & Synonyms
Boddikura, Boodhikeerai, Budthi kiray, Common night glory, Fang, Guwal-kakri, Harlu ara ba, Kalmilata, Kulni luta, Masti-ganto, Matli, Musetai kodi, Mustae, Mustai, Niru boddi, Phaangi, Phandi, Phang, Phanji, Sanjvel, Thor-ki-bel
References (20)
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