BEAUTIFUL AND USEFUL CREEPER

The creeper above is Quisqualis indica. It is also known as the Chinese honeysuckle, Rangoon Creeper, and Combretum indicum. This vine with beautiful red flower clusters was growing healthily on the fence of the Tow Boh Keong Temple in Ayer Tawar. In Malay, it is known as Akar Dani.

The Rangoon Creeper not only looks pretty, it is used as an herbal medicine. Decoctions of the root, seed or fruit can be used to get rid of expel parasitic worms or relieve diarrhea. The fruit decoction can be used for gargling. The fruits are also used to combat nephritis. Leaves can be used to relieve pain caused by fever. The roots are used to treat rheumatism. This creeper is both pretty and useful.