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Cissampelos

Cissampelos
Photo: Francisco Manuel Blanco (O.S.A.), Public domain

Cissampelos is a genus of climbing or trailing vines in the moonseed family (Menispermaceae), used in herbal medicine and, historically, as arrow poison. It is mostly grown as a wild or medicinal plant rather than an ornamental, so care guidance is general for tropical climbers.

Family
Menispermaceae (Menisperm family)
Light
Bright indirect, Part shade
Water
Water when the top of the soil feels dry, and less in winter.
Soil
Well-drained, fertile mix with some organic matter.
Temperature
18–30 °C; protect below 10 °C
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Toxic: Roots, stems and leaves contain alkaloids related to curare, which can cause paralysis and are dangerous if eaten; the plants were used as arrow poison.

About

Cissampelos is a genus of flowering plants in the family Menispermaceae. Various species of this genus have a history of use in various traditions of herbal medicine. Moreover, many of these plants were used as curare applied as arrow poison during hunting.

Cissampelos pareira is used in Chinese herbology. The species is also known as abuta in Ayurvedic medicine. The Maasai people of Kenya use Cissampelos mucronata as a forage for their cattle.

Other Cissampelos plants

Velvetleaf

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cissampelos by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

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