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Cat's Claw

Uncaria guianensis

Cat's Claw
Photo: Vojtěch Zavadil, CC BY-SA 3.0

Uncaria guianensis is a woody tropical liana (climbing vine) of the Amazon basin, known as cat's claw, from the coffee family Rubiaceae. It needs warm, humid, wet tropical conditions and a support to climb on.

Family
Rubiaceae (Coffee family)
Grows as
Climber
Light
Bright indirect, Part shade
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist in the growing season and water less in the dry season.
Soil
Rich, well-drained, humus-rich loam.
Temperature
22–34 °C; protect below 15 °C.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Trinidad to S. Trop. America
Climate
wet tropical

About

Uncaria guianensis, the cat's claw, is a plant species in the genus Uncaria found in the Amazon biome. Other names for the plant include uña de gato, Paraguayo and vincaria.

Uncaria guianensis contains many phytochemicals ((-)-epicatechin, alkaloid, beta-Sitosterol, campesterol, campherol, catechol, catechutannic acid, chlorogenic acid, ellagic acid, gallic acid, hyperin, oleanolic acid, rutin, stigmasterol, ursolic acid) and proanthocyanidin B1 and proanthocyanidin B2, B type proanthocyanidins, in the root.

Other Uncaria plants

Uncaria perrottetii · Uncaria rhynchophylla · Cat's Claw · Uncaria

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Uncaria guianensis 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.

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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