Common Name: Heart-leaved moonseed
Vernacular Name: ചിറ്റമൃത്
Systematic position:
Class- Magnoliopsida
Subclass- Ranunculidae
Order- Ranunculales
Family- Menispermaceae
Genus- Tinospora
Species- T. cordifolia
Description: It is a large, deciduous, extensively-spreading, climbing vine with several elongated twining branches. Leaves are simple, alternate, and exstipulate with long petioles up to 15 cm long which are roundish and pulvinate, both at the base and apex with the basal one longer and twisted partially and half way around. It gets its name heart-leaved moonseed by its heart-shaped leaves and its reddish fruit. Lamina are broadly ovate or ovate cordate, 10–20 cm long or 8–15 cm broad, seven nerved and deeply cordate at base, membranous, pubescent above, whitish tomentose with a prominent reticulum beneath. Flowers are unisexual, small on separate plants and appearing when the plant is leafless, greenish-yellow on axillary and terminal racemes. Male flowers are clustered, but female flowers are usually solitary. It has six sepals in two series of three each. The outer ones are smaller than the inner. It has six petals which are smaller than sepals, obovate, and membranous. Fruits aggregate in clusters of one to three. They are ovoid smooth drupelets on thick stalks with sub terminal style scars, scarlet or orange colored.
Flowering and Fruiting: Flowering occurs in May–June, while fruiting is witnessed in September–October.
Economic Importance: Tinospora cordifolia has an importance in traditional ayurvedic medicine used for ages in the treatment of fever, jaundice, chronic diarrhea, cancer, dysentery, bone fracture, pain, asthma, skin disease, poisonous insect, snake bite, eye disorders.
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinospora_cordifolia