Code: FPL
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English names: Creeping fig, climbing fig.
Description: Climbing shrub. Stems rooting at the nodes. Leaves alternate, glabrous, of two kinds, one kind shaped like scales and the other obovate. Inflorescence in the axil of the leaves, bearing male flowers above and female below. Fig solitary, pyriform, glabrous, brownish-violet when ripe.
Flowering period: May - October.
Distribution: Grows wild on rocks and tree trunks and is cultivated for covering walls.
Parts used: Fruit and leafy branches. The leafy branches can be harvested all the year round. The fruit is picked in autumn.
Chemical composition: The gum obtained from the plant yields glucose, fructose and arabinose on hydrolysis. The fruit contains proteins and latex.
Therapeutic uses: The aerial parts constitute a systemic remedy and blood reconstituent. They are used in treating chronic dysentery, haemorrhoids, galactophoritis, spermatorrhoea, impotence, menstrual disorders, dysuria, dyschezia, rheumatism, lumbago, osteodynia, boils and impetigo. The daily dose is 8 to 16 g of climbing stems and leaves, in the form of a decoction, extract or alcoholic maceration or 3-6 g fruit, in the form of a decoction, extract or candied fruit.