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Malabar Gulbel
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Malabar Gulbel
ative Photo: Prashant Awale
Common name: Malabar Gulbel, Chinese tinospora • Assamese: hoguni-lota • Hindi: गिलोय giloy, गुलंचा gulancha, gurch • Kannada: Sudarsana balli • Malayalam: Pee-amerdu, Kattu amirthu • Marathi: gulvel, vhadli-amrutvel • Nepali: गुरुज Guruj • Sanskrit: Vatsadani, Sudarsana, Amrta • Tamil: potchindil • Telugu: tippatega
Botanical name: Tinospora sinensis    Family: Menispermaceae (Moonseed family)
Synonyms: Campylus sinensis, Tinospora malabarica

Malabar Gulbel is a deciduous, climbing shrub with stem prominently having scattered lenticels. It is now considered a threatened plant. Bark is papery, greyish white. Latex is watery. Tender branches have distinct white hairs. Leaves are alternate, broadly ovate 7-17 x 4-13 cm, base heart-shaped, tip long-pointed, sparingly velvety in upper surface and densely velvety in lower surface, basal nerves 5-7. Leaf stalk is up to 10 cm long, hairy. Flowers are formed in racemes from the axils of fallen leaves and also on the old stem, greenish yellow, many, 5 mm across. Male and female flowers are seen separately in the same plant. Round fruits occur in clusters of 1-3, about 1.5 cm across, turning orange-red when ripe. Flowering: December-February.

Identification credit: Neil Soars
Photographed in Mumbai.
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