Bitterroot Restoration

Order: Vitales
Family: Vitaceae
Common name: Hadjorha lata, Harhbhanga lata(Beng.); Granadilla(Eng.).
Life cycle: Perennial
Native Range: It is probably native to India or Sri Lanka, but is also found in Africa, Arabia, and Southeast Asia.

Cissus quadrangularis is a perennial plant of the grape family. It reaches a height of 1.5 m and has quadrangular-sectioned branches with internodes 8 to 10 cm long and 1.2 to 1.5 cm wide. Along each angle is a leathery edge. Toothed trilobe leaves 2 to 5 cm wide appear at the nodes. Each has a tendril emerging from the opposite side of the node. Racemes of small white, yellowish, or greenish flowers; globular berries are red when ripe.

It has been used as a medicinal plant since antiquity. The Ayurveda mentions it as a tonic and analgesic, and prescribes its use to help heal broken bones, thus its name asthisamharaka (that which prevents the destruction of bones). It has also been used to treat osteoporosis, asthma, cough, hemorrhoids, and gonorrhea.