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12(2): Medicinal and poisonous plants 2

Crescentia alata Kunth

This article should be read together with the article on the genus: Crescentia in the Handbook volume indicated above in this database.

Humb., Bonpl. & Kunth, Nov. gen. sp. 3: 158 (1819).

Crescentia trifolia Blanco (1837), Othophora paradoxa Blume (1847), Parmentiera alata (Kunth) Miers (1870).

Philippines: krus-krusan (Tagalog). Thailand: teenpet farang (Bangkok). Vietnam: d[af]o ti[ee]n c[os] c[as]nh.

Crescentia alata originates from Central America and was introduced to the Philippines by the Spaniards; occasionally cultivated throughout South-East Asia.

In the Philippines a decoction of the leaves is employed as an astringent and antihaemorrhagic, and is much used in haemoptysis and dysentery. In Thailand, the leaves are used as astringent, against diarrhoea and dysentery. In Central America, a decoction of the leaves or pulp is prescribed in diarrhoea. The pulp is eaten as a pectoral and for diseases of the kidneys. The grounded fruit pulp is sometimes used as a poultry feed supplement.

A small tree, 5—14 m tall, stem up to 25 cm in diameter, branches crooked, branchlets essentially lacking; leaves simple, oblanceolate, 2—3 cm x 0.5—1 cm, or trifoliolate, leaflets oblanceolate, 1—5 cm x 0.3—1.2 cm, with winged petiole, 2.5—12 cm x 0.3—1.5 cm, all lepidote; flowers solitary or paired, calyx 2-lobed to the base, corolla tube 3—4 cm long, corolla lobes 1—1.5 cm long, 2—2.5 cm wide at mouth of tube, brownish with brown-purple venation; berry more or less spherical, 7—10 cm in diameter. In Central America, Crescentia alata is a characteristic element of dry savannas.

[74] Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1964—1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol. 1 (1964) 647 pp., Vol. 2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
[810] Quisumbing, E., 1978. Medicinal plants of the Philippines. Katha Publishing Co., Quezon City, the Philippines. 1262 pp.
[864] Santisuk, T. & Vidal, J.E., 1985. Bignoniaceae. In: Lescot, M. (Editor): Flore du Cambodge, du Laos et du Viêtnam [Flora of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam]. Vol. 22. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France. 72 pp.
[883] Scogin, R., 1980. Anthocyanins of the Bignoniaceae. Biochemistry and Systematic Ecology 8: 273—276.
[1119] Zavala, M.A., Perez, S. & Perez, R.M., 1997. Antimicrobial screening of some medicinal plants. Phytotherapy Research 11(5): 368—371.

Sri Hayati Widodo

Widodo, S.H., 2001. Crescentia alata Kunth. In: van Valkenburg, J.L.C.H. and Bunyapraphatsara, N. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(2): Medicinal and poisonous plants 2. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea