1383

 Clidemia   hirta (L.) D. Don

Synonym	:	Clidemia hirta var. chrysantha Cogn.
Family	:	Melastomataceae
Local name	:	English- Koster's curse
Flowering and fruiting period	:	December-March
Distribution	:	Native of South America; naturalised in Paleotropics
Distribution in Kerala	:	Idukki, Kollam, Kottayam, Palakkad, Pathanamthitta, Thiruvananthapuram
Habitat	:	Degraded forest areas
Uses		The leaves are astringent and antispasmodic. A decoction of the leafy branches is taken to reduce excessive menstrual flow.  Infusion is used to treat stomachache, and is also taken as an enema. A decoction of the leaves is used to cicatrize old wounds. Macerated in cold water, the leaves are used to make a woman's antiseptic genital bath to remedy haemorrhaging.
Key botanical characters: Shrubs 0.5-3 m tall; young branches rounded, hirsute. Leaves opposite, 5-16 x 3-8 cm, ovate to oblong-ovate, apex acute to short-acuminate, base rounded to subcordate, subentire to crenulate-denticulate, 5-nerved, upper surface sparsely strigose, lower surface finely bristly, margins ciliate; petioles 0.5-3 cm long. Pedicels 0.5-1 mm long in fruit; hypanthium 3-3.5 mm long, moderately to sparsely finely bristly, usually with a mixture of gland-tipped and stellulate hairs; receptacle bearing a conspicuous ring of fimbriate scales surrounding style. Calyx lobes broadly ovate to truncate in fruit, ca. 0.5 mm long, the linear external teeth projecting 2-4 mm. Petals white, 8-11 mm long, 4-5 mm wide, glabrous. Staminal filaments ca. 2.5 mm long; anthers 3.5-4.5 mm long, dorsal spur at base ca. 0.25 mm long. Berries 6-9 mm long; seeds 0.5-0.75 mm long.