865

Piper argyrophyllum Miq.,

Family	:	Piperaceae
Local name	:	Malayalam -Kattukurumulaku
Flowering and fruiting period	:	July-February
Distribution	:	Sri Lanka and Western Ghats
Distribution in Kerala	:	Palakkad, Kottayam, Kollam, Idukki, Pathanamthitta, Thrissur
Habitat	:	Semi-evergreen and evergreen forests
Uses	:	It has Anti-Bacterial and Anti-Inflammatory Property
Key botanical characters :. Climbing shrubs. Leaves simple, alternate, , ovate or elliptic, acuminate at apex, acute or rounded at base, oblique, lower side usually covered with white scales, glabrous, basely 7 nerved; petiole 1 cm long; stipule to 1.5 cm long, lanceolate. Spikes slender, leaf-opposed, drooping; bracts oblong, adnate to the rachis with free margins, ciliate; stamens 2. Berry , globose, stigma 4, curved.