Uncaria cordata (Lour.) Merr. var. cordata

Ridsdale, C.E. (1978) Blumea 75: 24(1).

Woody climber to 10 m; woody hooks present and used for climbing. Stems square, rusty brown, densely hairy.

Leaf blades about 17 x 10 cm, petioles about 1-1.2 cm long, about 10-11 lateral veins on each side of midrib. Stipules bifid to about half length, narrowly to broadly ovate, about 15 mm long, acute at each apex. Hooks develop from short shoots in the leaf axils, about 1-5-2.5 cm long.

Flowers produced in many-flowered umbels. Umbels about 4-5 cm diam. at anthesis. Peduncles to about 6.5 cm long. Floral bracts at the top of the peduncle are about 10-13 mm long and clothed in hairs. Pedicels about 9-10 mm long. Calyx (hypanthium) hairy, tube about 8 mm long including lobes, lobes about 2 mm long with a pair of glands at the base. Epicalyx lobes much smaller. Corolla hairy, tube about 10-12 mm long, lobes about 2-4 mm long. Anthers about 2 mm long, sessile. Style about 18-20 mm long. Stigma +/- clavate, about 2 mm long.

Fruits borne in umbellate clusters of many fruits to about 9.5 cm diameter. Fruits spindle-shaped, about 15 x 5 mm on a stalk 20-25 mm long. Calyx about 7 mm long including lobes, persistent at the apex of the fruit. Fruits normally opening along one suture. Each seed with a distinct filiform wing or appendage on each side. Seeds about 0.3 mm diam., each wing about 3 x 0.4 mm, i.e. seed + wings about 5-6 mm long. Embryo about 0.15 mm long, radicle longer than the cotyledons.

Features not available.

Occurs in NEQ. Known only from a few collections made on the Bellenden Ker Range. Altitudinal range from 70 to 500 m. Also occurs in Asia and Malesia.