Frangipani vine

Description

Chonemorpha fragrans, the frangipani vine or climbing frangipani, is a plant species in the genus Chonemorpha. It is a vigorous, generally evergreen, climbing shrub producing stems 30 m (98 ft) or more long that can climb to the tops of the tallest trees in the forests of Southeast Asia. It has scented, white flowers and large shiny leaves. and it is native to China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand. It is very commonly used in Ayurveda (an Indian root medicine) and it is also cultivated mostly worldwide in frost-free places. Chonemorpha fragrans is a vigorous climber, reaching up to 30 m (98 ft). It can also grow or spread to about 7 m (23 ft) wide, depending on the support.It has a rusty brown,or grey barked stem which is numerously lenticelled. The bark can produce fibre of good quality. It is evergreen in most tropical climates. Elsewhere, in the spring, the fresh new leaves are bright green with a bronze hue. The mature leaves are large, deep green, shiny, and hirsute (hairy), especially underneath They are broadly ovate, orbicular, or elliptic in shape. They have a 2cm long petiole,and they are 15–45 cm (6–18 in) wide and 13–45 cm (5–18 in) long, with 10-12 pairs of lateral, prominent veins. It has terminal (end of stem), clusters of blooms, appearing from spring to autumn, from May to July, or between April and October. They are highly fragrant, and the scent is thought to be very similar to that of the Singapore White plumeria. They have tubular sepals, which are 1 cm long, a white corolla which is 8–10 cm (3–4 in) long.It has a hairy throat, which is yellow. After it has bloomed, between July and September, it produces a lanceolate or oblong seedcase. Inside the seed case, are flat seeds, shortly beaked with long white silky coma. All parts of the plant produce a milk-like substance when damaged. Chonemorpha fragrans contains alkaloids including camptothecin (CPT), chonemorphine, and funtumafrine.Camptothecin is a monoterpene indole alkaloid and several synthetic drugs which are analogs of captothecin are used in chemotherapy for cancer of various types. Chonemorphine is a steroidal alkaloid has been studied in Wistar rats for its possible use for intestinal infections. Chonemorpha fragrans has two sets of chromosomes with a count of 2n=20.