The Rangoon creeper is a beautiful woody vine known for its sweet, fragrant flowers that change color as they bloom—from white to pink to red. The flowers open at dusk to attract hawkmoths and later draw bees and birds as their colors deepen. Even the fruit of this plant is interesting—ellipsoidal, with five ridges, and said to taste like almonds when ripe.
Native to the forests of South and Southeast Asia, the Rangoon creeper grows in places like India, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Myanmar. It’s now widely cultivated across tropical regions, including parts of China and Vietnam.
Beyond its beauty, the plant also has traditional medicinal uses. Its seeds have long been used to treat intestinal worms, while in Chinese medicine, the dried fruits, leaves, and roots are believed to strengthen the spleen, support the lungs, and help remove parasites.
使君子是一種美麗的木質藤本植物，以其香甜的花朵而聞名，這些花朵在盛開過程中會變色——從白色變為粉紅色再變為紅色。花朵在黃昏時分開放，吸引長喙天蛾，之後隨著顏色加深，又會吸引蜜蜂和鳥類。就連這種植物的果實也很有趣——橢圓形，有五個棱，據說成熟後味道像杏仁。
使君子原產於南亞和東南亞的森林，生長於印度、菲律賓、馬來西亞和緬甸等地。如今，它已在包括中國和越南部分地區在內的熱帶地區廣泛栽培。
除了美觀之外，這種植物還具有傳統藥用價值。它的種子長期以來一直被用於治療腸道寄生蟲，而在中醫中，人們認為它的乾果、葉子和根可以健脾益肺，並有助於清除寄生蟲。
Notes 筆記
- The Rangoon creeper is a woody vine. Its flowers are fragrant and tubular, and their color varies from white to pink to red. The fruit, which is 30 to 35 mm long, is ellipsoidal with five prominent wings. When mature, the fruit tastes like almonds.
- The Rangoon creeper is found in thickets and secondary forests in the Philippines, India, Pakistan, and Malaysia. It has also been cultivated and naturalized in tropical areas such as Myanmar (Burma), Vietnam, and Thailand. According to the Chinese version of Wikipedia, it is found in Taiwan, China, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, and other places. In mainland China, it occurs in the provinces of Chongqing, Sichuan, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian.
- The flower is initially white and opens at dusk, attracting hawkmoths with long tongues for pollination. On the second day, it turns pink, and on the third, it becomes red, attracting day-flying bees and birds. The flower also changes from a horizontal to a drooping orientation.
- The seeds of the Rangoon creeper have been used to treat roundworm and pinworm infections. They are toxic to the parasites and kill them in the digestive tract.
- According to the Chinese version of Wikipedia, the dried and ripe fruits, leaves, and roots can be used in traditional Chinese medicine. In Chinese medicine, it is classified as a deworming, spleen-strengthening, and lung-promoting herb.
- 使君子是一種木質藤本植物。它的花朵芳香，呈管狀，顏色從白色到粉紅色到紅色不等。果實長 30 至 35 公釐，橢圓形，有五個明顯的翅狀突起。成熟的果實味道像杏仁。
- 使君子分佈於菲律賓、印度、巴基斯坦和馬來西亞的灌木叢和次生林。它也在緬甸、越南和泰國等熱帶地區被栽培和移植。根據中文維基百科記載，使君子分佈於台灣、中國大陸、印度、緬甸、菲律賓等地。在中國大陸，其分佈於重慶、四川、廣東、廣西和福建等省份。本種別稱「留球子、留求子、史君子、史君根、吏君子、水君子、水君葉、四君子、四蜀使君子、病疳子、舀求子、君子仁、索子果、郭砸滿、杜蒺藜子、郎姆活、山羊屎、仰光藤」等
- 這種花原本是白色的，在黃昏時分開放，吸引長喙天蛾前來授粉。第二天，花朵變成粉紅色；第三天，花朵變成紅色，吸引白天活動的蜜蜂和鳥類。同時，花朵的姿態也由横的變成下垂方向。
- 使君子種子曾被用於治療蛔蟲和蟯蟲感染。它們對這些寄生蟲有毒性，並且能殺死消化道內的寄生蟲。
- 根據中文維基百科，該植物的乾果、成熟果實、葉子和根莖均可用於中醫。在中醫理論中，它被歸類為驅蟲、健脾、利肺的草藥。使君子的根入藥，味辛、苦，性平，歸脾、肺經，中醫歸類為健脾藥、宣肺藥。中藥名為使君子根，具降逆止咳、殺蟲健脾等功效，主治咳嗽、痢疾、蟲積等治療上
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Combretum indicum
- 維基百科: 使君子
Plants Posts 植物的帖子
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