Mistletoe

Scientific Name :

Azima tetracantha Lam.

Synonym(s) :

Azima angustifolia DC.

Local/Common name(s) :

Yesanku, Mistletoe

Family :

Salvadoraceae

Habit :

Shrubs

Flowering/Fruiting Time :

August-September

Habitat :

Dry deciduous forests, also grown in homesteads

Endemic :

No

Status (IUCN) :

Least concern (LC)

Distribution :

Paleotropics

Nativity :

Indigenous

Uses :

Medicine

Description (Morphology) :

Rambling shrubs; spine axillary, usually 4, straight, to 2.5 cm, grooved, branchlets tetragonous, pubescent. Leaves opposite, 3 x 2 cm, ovate, mucronate, base obtuse, margin thickened, coriaceous, nerves 3 pairs near the base; petiole to 5 mm. Spike axillary and terminal, to 10 cm long; flowers clustered, white, unisexual; bracts 2 x 1 mm, ovate, mucronate, pubescent; calyx 1 mm, campanulate, bilobed, pubescent; petals 4, 2 x 1 mm, oblong; stamens 4, free, alternating with petals, filaments 1 mm, anthers 1 mm, pistillode absent.