Uvaria grandiflora Roxb. ex Hornem.

Uvaria grandiflora Roxb. ex Hornem., Hort. Bot. Hafn. Suppl. 141 (1819).

Uvaria grandiflora Roxb. ex Hornem.; Photo Nguyen Van Canh

Uvaria grandiflora Roxb. ex Hornem.; Photos Lavender Jaro Dang 

Vietnamese name: 

Bù dẻ tía, Bù dẻ hoa to, Chuối con chồng.

Chinese name: 

大花紫玉盘 da hua zi yu pan

Indonesia: 

kalak, pisang akar (Malay), tali pisang (Moluccas)

Malaysia: 

akar larak, larak tahi kuching, akar pisang-pisang tandok

Philippines: 

banauak

Thailand: 

kluai muu sang (peninsular), kluai phangphon (Trat). 

Latin name: 

Uvaria grandiflora Roxb. ex Hornem. 

Family: 

Annonaceae

Synonym name:

Unona grandiflora Lesch. ex DC.

Unona setigera Blanco

Uva grandiflora (Lesch. ex DC.) Kuntze

Uvaria cardinalis Elmer

Uvaria flava Teijsm. & Binn.

Uvaria grandiflora var. tuberculata (King) Sinclair

Uvaria platypetala Champ. ex Benth.

Uvaria purpurea Blume

Uvaria purpurea var. alba Scheff.

Uvaria purpurea var. flava (Teijsm. & Binn.) Scheff.

Uvaria purpurea var. subbiflora Miq.

Uvaria purpurea var. tuberculata King

Uvaria rhodantha Hance ex Walp.

Uvaria rubra C.B.Rob.

Description: 

Shrubs to 10 m tall, climbing, densely stellate pubescent to ferruginous tomentose throughout. Petiole 5-8 mm; leaf blade oblong-obovate, 7-30 × 3.5-12.5 cm, papery to thinly leathery, secondary veins 10-17(-24) on each side of midvein and at ca. 60° to midvein, base shallowly cordate, apex acute, shortly acuminate, or sometimes caudate. Inflorescences leaf-opposed, cymose, 1(-3)-flowered; bracts 2, ovate to obovate, ca. 3 × 2.5 cm. Flowers 7-10 cm in diam. Pedicel 0.5-5 cm. Sepals broadly ovate, 2-2.5 × 2.5-3.5 cm, connate for basal third, membranous, inside glabrous, apex obtuse to acute. Petals dark red to vermilion red, turning purplish with age, obovate to oval-obovate, 4-4.5 × 2.5-3.5 cm, puberulent. Stamens oblong to linear, 6-7 mm; connectives apically truncate, glabrous. Carpels oblong to linear, ca. 8 mm; ovules 30-50 per carpel, in 2 series; stigmas apically involute and 2-cleft. Monocarp stipes 1.5-3 cm; monocarps orange, cylindric, 4-6 × 1.5-2 cm, slightly constricted between seeds, fleshy, apex mucronate; epicarp not spiny, minutely tomentose. Seeds pale brown, ovoid, flattened. 

Flower and fruid season: 

Flower March-November, fr. May-December. 

Distribution: 

This species is distributed in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam. In VietNam, found in  Thanh Hóa, Quảng Bình (Bố Trạch, Ba Rền), Quảng Trị, Thừa Thiên - Huế (Phú Lộc, Sông Hai Nhánh), Đà Nẵng (Tourane), Quảng Nam (Cù Lao Chàm), Khánh Hòa (Hòn Tre), Đồng Nai (Biên Hòa).

Ecological: 

Open forests, thickets; at an elevation of 400-1000 m.

Edible Uses:

The fruits are aromatic, eaten raw or preserved. Fleshy. The orange fruit is composed of distinct carpels (fruitlets); each fruitlet is berry-like, cylindrical, 4 - 5.5 m long. 

Medicinal Uses:

The fruits are aromatic, eaten raw or preserved. Leaves and roots are applied in traditional medicine against stomachache, abdominal pains, skin diseases. Climbing stems said to be good substitute for rattans. 

Reference: 

- theplantlist.org

- efloras.org

- ipni.org

- uses.plantnet-project.org

- tropical.theferns.info