Kareelanchi
Scientific Name :
Smilax zeylanica L.
Synonym(s) :
Smilax macrophylla Roxb.
Local/Common name(s) :
Kareelanchi
Family :
Smilacaceae
Habit :
Climber
Flowering/Fruiting Time :
July-January
Habitat :
Moist deciduous and semi-evergreen forests, also in the plains
Endemic :
No
Status (IUCN) :
Distribution :
Indo-Malaysia
Nativity :
Indigenous
Uses :
Medicine
Description (Morphology) :
Climbing shrubs; stem prickly. Leaves simple, alternate, 6-12 x 3-6.5 cm, ovate-oblong or ovate-lanceolate, base rounded, acute to shortly cuspidate at apex, coriaceous, glabrous and glossy, 3-5-ribbed from base; petiole to 2 cm long, tendril from either sides of the petiole. Umbels axillary, 1-3; peduncles 2-3 cm long. Flowers unisexual; pedicels 5-6 mm long; bracts oblong. Perianth 6-partite, free, greenish, c. 7 mm long, oblong. Stamens in male flowers 6, free; filaments flat, apex callose; pistillode 0. Ovary in female flowers 3-lobed, 3-celled; ovules 1 or 2 per cell; style 3-fid; staminodes 3-6. Berry 0.8-1 x 0.6-0.8 cm; seeds 1-3, 3-4 mm across, globose.