Bitterroot Restoration

Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Common name: Dhudi-lata(Beng.); Black creeper(Eng.).
Life cycle:
Native Range: It is native to much of China, India, Southeast Asia, and northern Australia.

Ichnocarpus frutescens is a woody shrub with lianas sprawling to 10 meters in maximum length and 6 centimeters in diameter. Their bark produces a creamy white sap. Their leaves are up to 11 centimeters long by 4.5 wide. The inflorescence is a head of several flowers. Each flower has a calyx of densely hairy sepals and a five lobed corolla just under a centimeter long. Their fruit is a follicle which may be over 14 centimeters long. Their roots may be reddish or purple in color.

This plant has a large number of traditional medicinal uses, including treatment for rheumatism, asthma, cholera, and fever. Laboratory studies have demonstrated that extracts of the plant inhibit tumors, protect liver cells from damage in aceteminophen overdose, and correct hyperlipidemia in diabetic rats. It also has analgesic and antiinflammatory properties, reduces fever, and lowers fasting glucose and improves glucose tolerance in diabetes.