Cat's Claw

Not a common plant here. Found in the Gangetic plains and the sub-Himalayan tract up to 1000 m alt. s.m. The fruit is used for medicinal purposes and locally in the soles of shoes (chapals).

A branched herb, up to 1.5 m tall. Stem succulent, tomentose-glandular. Leaves opposite, subcordate, 7-15 cm long, 7-20 cm broad, distantly dentate with the veins ending in denticles at the margin, glandular; petiole slightly shorter than or as long as the lamina, glandular. Flowers showy, lilac, mottled red, blue or yellow inside; pedicel c. 1.5 cm long, up to 3 cm in fruit, glandular villous; bracteoles 1-3, oblong, unequal, c. 1 cm long, petaloid or lilac, glandular. Sepals 5, free, oblong lanceolate, unequal, 1-1.5 cm long, glandular. Corolla tube c. 2.7 cm long, gibbous, glandular outside, 5-lobed, the posterior lobe the largest; lobes tinged purple, obtuse. Fertile stamens 2; filaments c. 1.3 cm long, glandu¬lar at the base; anthers bilobed; lobes divergent, oblong, c. 7 mm long, adnate when young to the other anther pair, dehiscing longitudinally; staminodes 2, c. 4 mm long, slightly curved. Ovary globose, 2 mm broad, glabrous, situated on the top of the subglobose disc; placentae intruded to form false septa; style c. 2 cm long, slender, persistent; stigmas 2, sensitive, flat. Capsule c. 3 cm long, more or less ovoid, 2 valved, with the style splitting into 2 curved, lignified and spiny processes.

Herbs erect, 30-100 cm tall. Stems terete, usually woody at base, ca. 2 cm in diam. Petiole 6-18 cm; leaf blade broadly ovate to triangular-ovate, 9-22 X 9-20 cm, base cordate, margin sinuolate-dentate, apex acute. Inflorescences 10-20-flowered; bracts pale red, broadly ovate, 1.2-2.5 X 0.7-1.3 cm, membranous; bractlets ovate-oblong; 0.6-1.5 cm X 4-10 mm. Calyx lobes pale yellow-green. Corolla dark red, white to pale red adaxially, with pale purple-red spots, 3-4 cm; lobes semirounded, with yellow and purple spots adaxially, purple striate abaxially. Filaments white, glabrous, 1-1.5 cm. Capsules ovoid, 3.5-4 X 2-2.5 cm, 0.5-1.5 cm thick, with hooklike apical beak ca. 5 mm, densely glandular pubescent, spiny along suture. Fl. throughout year. 2n = 32, 36.

Tropical and sub-tropical America, Mexico, W. Pakistan, India, Nepal, Burma.

Distribution: Tropical and sub-tropical America, Mexico, India, Burma and W. Pakistan.

S Yunnan [Cambodia, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam; native of Central America, introduced and naturalized elsewhere].

300-1200 m

Fl. Per. August-November.

Forests, roadsides; 500-1500 m.