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Bittervine

Mikania micrantha

Also called Mile A Minute, Climbing Hempweed, Mikania Vine, Chinese Creeper, Mile A Minute Weed

Bittervine
Photo: Jeevan Jose, Kerala, India, CC BY-SA 4.0
Family
Asteraceae (Daisy family)
Grows as
Climber, Perennial
Safety
Toxic
Native range
Trop. & Subtrop. America
Climate
wet tropical

About

Mikania micrantha is a tropical plant in the family Asteraceae; known as bitter vine, climbing hemp vine, or American rope. It is also sometimes called mile-a-minute vine (a moniker also used for the unrelated Persicaria perfoliata).

It is a vigorously growing perennial creeper that grows best in areas in high humidity, light and soil fertility, though it can adapt in less fertile soils. The featherlike seeds are dispersed by wind. A single stalk can produce between 20 and 40 thousand seeds a season.

Uses

It is used to heal cuts and stop minor external bleeding in Fiji but its medicinal properties are still yet to be fully discovered. It is also a very popular local antiseptic medicine in Mizoram State of India, it is known locally as Japan Hlo. Its use has also been reported in the state of Arunachal Pradesh; fresh leaves are pounded and then applied over lacerations to stop bleeding and subsequent healing. In Bangladesh used to treat gastric ulcer and as a local antiseptic.

Other Mikania plants

Mikania andrei · Mikania chimborazensis · Heartleaf hempvine · Mikania cuencana · Mikania harlingii · Mikania iodotricha · Mikania iserniana · Mikania jamesonii · Mikania millei · Mikania · Mikania oreophila · Mikania pulverulenta

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Mikania micrantha by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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