''Cyphostemma ternatum'' is a

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

climbing

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

that grows up to 2m. It is edible and distributed throughout

Northeast Africa Northeast Africa, or Northeastern Africa, or Northern East Africa as it was known in the past, encompasses the countries of Africa situated in and around the Red Sea. The region is intermediate between North Africa and East Africa, and encompasses ...

South Arabia South Arabia (), or Greater Yemen, is a historical region that consists of the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia, mainly centered in what is now the Republic of Yemen, yet it has also historically included Najran, Jazan, ...

. ''ternatum'' in Latin means "arranged in threes" and alludes to the arrangement of the leaves.

Description

''Cyphostemma ternatum'' is a succulent climbing vine up to 2m tall. Leaves alternate, simple and trifoliolate up to 25 cm long x 30 cm across. Leaves are serrated with a petiole up to 5 cm long. Flowers are pale greenish yellow, 2.5-3mm long; arranged opposite the leaves in

umbel UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...

late

cymes In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a main axis ( ped ...

. Fruit is an ovoid or globose berry, 13 x 11mm, fleshy and ripens bright red.

Habitat

''Cyphostemma ternatum'' grows at near sea level and during the monsoon season. It can be found in bushland, grasslands

riparian forests A riparian forest or riparian woodland is a forested or wooded area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal, sink, or reservoir. Due to the broad nature of the definition, riparian woodla ...

Uses

''Cyphostemma ternatum'' is edible and the leaves were traditionally boiled into a green mush in

Southern Arabia South Arabia (), or Greater Yemen, is a historical region that consists of the southern region of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia, mainly centered in what is now the Republic of Yemen, yet it has also historically included Najran, Jazan, ...

. It has a peppery and acrid taste. The fruit of the ''C. ternatum'' is also edible once they have ripened, but only when the pip has been removed, as the pip is quite hot. The root is edible and can be eaten raw, but is apparently improved by cooking. In traditional herbal medicine, this plant was used to treat cases of footrot in

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

. A poultice of juice of the cooked leaves with salt was applied to the affected part.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15568935 Flora of Africa ternatum