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Food - Tender young shoots - cooked as a vegetable. Medicine - It is one of the most important herb in Ayurvedic medicine for dealing with problems connected women's fertility. The rhizome is a soothing tonic that acts mainly on the circulatory, digestive, respiratory and female reproductive organs. The root is alterative, antispasmodic, aphrodisiac, demulcent, diuretic, galactagogue and refrigerant.
Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan
It grows under broad-leaved forests along streams or valleys at altitudes of 1500-2200 m asl.
The tips of young spears are edible and can be harvested but become toxic as they mature. Used frequently in Ayurvedic medicine
Perennial climber, reaching up to 7 m tall, with a tuberous rootstock.
Slender, green stems with striations, becoming woody and brown with age, twining for support.
It has tiny scales at the base of the stems. Green, needle-like cladodes emerge in clusters of 2-6 from these scales. These are 0.8-1.5 cm long and very thin (0.1-0.3 cm wide), with a slightly triangular shape, tapering at both ends.
It has a tiny, white flowers with six petals, measuring about 5-6 mm across. These inconspicuous flowers have short stalks and bloom in clusters.
Round, purple berries develop after flowering, each 4-6 mm in diameter. These contain 2-5 round seeds.
Flowering: June – July
Fruiting: August – September