Did you know that the Madhumalti or Rangoon Creeper, an ornamental plant, also grown in houses, with flowers blooming in eye-catching colours from white to pink to red in that order, have an appealing aroma?

Madhumalti or Rangoon Creeper

Did you know that the Madhumalti or Rangoon Creeper, an ornamental plant, also grown in houses, with flowers blooming in eye-catching colours from white to pink to red in that order, have an appealing aroma?

The Madhumalti or Rangoon Creeper is an ornamental plant, with the botanical name Combretum Indicum in the family of Combretfaceae (Rangoon creeper family); Combretum Indicum is derived from the name of its genus and its synonyms are Quisqualis indica, Quisqualis grandiflora, Quisqualis sinensis. The plant is creeper in nature, a ligneous vine growing upwards through the canopy to heights of 2 m and up to 8m. Plant's stems twine to the left. Its flowers in clusters, mystically fragrant, changes its colour as its blooms with white at dusk on the first day then to pink to red and finaly fading with darker maroon after three days. Its fragrance features notes of natural Tuberose and Jasmine. The white colored flowers attract pollinators with long tongues such as hawk moths. The vibrant red color of these flowers attracts day-flying polinators such as solitary bees , honey bees , flies and sun birds. The largest amount of nectar is present in the white flower on the morning of first day of bloom. The inflorescence usually opens up a few new flowers at the same time, so multiple colours are always present on a plant. The orienation of the flowers changes from upwards or horizontal to pendulus. 

Rangoon Creeper, also known as Burma creeper or Chinese Honeysuckle, has many vernacular names in India such as: Madhavi lata in Assamese; Madhu Malati मधु मालती, Jhumka Bail in Hindi; Sandhya rani ಸಂಧ್ಯಾರಾಣಿ, Rangoon kempu hoo ರಂಗೂನ್ ಕೆಂಪುಹೂ, Rangoon kempu malle ರಂಗೂನ್ ಕೆಂಪುಮಲ್ಲೆ in Kannada; Parijat in Manipuri; Vilayati chambeli in Marathi: Irangun malli in Tamil: Madhumanjari in Bengali; and Radha Manoharam in Telugu.

The Plant better known as Quisqualis indica, is found abundatly growing throughout the secondary forests of tropical areas such as India, the Philippines, and Malaysia. It occurs in shrubs, and tree savanna forest margins along stream banks, from sea level upto 1800 m altitude. 

Commonly grown as a garden ornamental for its woody vines, flowers and fragrance, the leaves of the plant are elliptical with an acuminate tip and a rounded base with green to yellow-green color. The leaves grow from 7 to 15 centimeters and their arrangement is opposite. Its fragrnat flowers are tubular and their color varies from white to pink to red. It bears fruits of 30 to 35 mm length and ellipsoidal in shape with five prominent wings. The fruit tastes like almonds when mature. The plant prefers full sun but light shade is tolerated. Once established it is a fairly drought tolerant and evn tolerant of temporary floods. Stem cutting is the best way to propagate this plant.

Its seeds contain the chemical Quisqualic acid, which is an agonist for the AMPA receptor, a kind of glutamate receptor in the brain. The chemical is linked to excitotoxicity (cell death).

All parts of this plant have many herbal uses in folk medicine. Its reported medicinal uses could be listed as: juice of its leaves for skin problems such as boils and ulcers; applied on the forehead to reduce headaches; a decoction of its leaves used to get relief from pain while urinating; its dried seeds are used to treat intestinal worms and parasites; ripped and roasted fruits to treat diarrhoea and fever; fruits of the creeper used to reduce inflammation of kidneys or treat nephritis.

Plant's long and flexible stems are used to make baskets, fish weirs, and fish traps. Its fragance has found a place in the popular perfume Gucci Bloom, Alessandro Michele’s first women’s scent. 

The Madhumalti, Jhumka Bel, Rangoon creeper or Combretum indicum plants with its cluster of flowers in differnt shades with their mystical fragrance provide a spectacular and delighful show in house gardens.

- Narasipur Char