San Diego creeper (Antigoton leptopus)

Ruderal plant from the Mexican tropics, it is a popular ornamental in other regions.

Exquisite for bees and a particularly colorful ornament.

You can purchase it here.

Kingdom : Plantae

Subkingdom: Tracheobionta

Superdivision: Spermatophyta

Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Caryophyllidae

Family: Polygonaceae

Genre: Antigoton

Species: Antigoton leptopus

Common name: San Diego creeper

Identification and description

Habit and lifestyle: climbing plant, tendrils present at the ends of the inflorescences.

Size: 1 – 2 (-10) meters long.

Stem: Internodes 1–10 cm long by 1–4 mm thick, with scattered to dense hairs; ocreases reduced to a thickened line surrounding the stem.

Leaves: Alternate, spiral, simple; petiole 4–30 mm long by 0.5–1.5 mm thick; blades broadly oval to sagittate, 4–12 cm long by 2.4–6 cm wide, papery, with brown hairs, entire to wavy margin, acute to acuminate apex, subcordate to cordate base, pinnate venation.

Inflorescence: axillary and terminal racemose, with flowers grouped and alternate, clusters forming panicles 12 to 20 cm long, the branches of the inflorescence ending in tendrils, lanceolate ochreoles 1 to 3 mm long, with simple or multicellular hairs.

Flowers: bisexual; perianth with 5 segments, ovate-chordate, (4-) 6-12 mm long, pink or pink-red, the three outer ones wider than the inner ones, persistent and accrescent in the fruit; stamens 8, free from the perianth, inserted at the base of the ovary, filaments united in a short tube, filiform, hairless, anthers introrse (opening towards the interior of the flower), bitechic; superior ovary broadly trigonous, unicarpellate, unilocular; one ovule, basal; 3 styles, 3 peltate stigmas.

Fruit: it is an achene enclosed by the perianth, elongated, brown, smooth, shiny, hairless.

Seed: one with three angles, compressed, flat embryo, erect.

Root: tuberculous.

Origin and geographical distribution

Area of ​​origin: native to Mexico and Central America.

Secondary distribution: cultivated in the warm regions of the world.

Distribution in Mexico: Baja California Norte, Baja California Sur, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Jalisco, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Yucatán (Villaseñor and Espinosa, 1998).

Common names used in Mexico: San Diego flower (Oaxaca, Yucatán, Veracruz); San Diego vine (Nuevo León, Oaxaca); May rose (Sinaloa); queen's crown (Tamaulipas); Santa Rosa herb (Morelos); San Miguelito (Sonara, Sinaloa); fulmina (Guerrero, Morelos); San Miguel flower (Sonora); coronilla (Sinaloa). Martinez 1979. He also mentions the following names: chain of love, confit, crown, queen's crown, coronela, jololito and bellisima.

Common names in indigenous languages ​​of Mexico: Coamecate (Morelos, Sinaloa); coamecatl (Guanajuato); cuamecate (Durango, Jalisco), chak lol makal (Yucatec Maya), cuamécatl (Nahuatl), gui – bakushu (Zapotec).

Biology

Life cycle: annual to perennial.

Phenology: Flowering occurs from April to November. In the Bajío region, it flowers and bears fruit year-round.

Ethnobotany

It is used against coughs, fever, or sore throats (it is prepared as a tea with the branches or roots or by applying baths with the decoction of the entire plant), in states in the northern part of the country such as Baja California Sur, Sonora, and Guerrero.

It is suggested to drink the flower decoction on an empty stomach to induce menstruation, and the root decoction, as a drinking water, is suggested to prevent pregnancy (see contraceptive). To combat venereal diseases (see purgation), the stem is crushed and made into a poultice for local application. Its use is also mentioned for cuts and stomach pain.

Pharmacology

The aqueous extract of the stem with leaves exerts a stimulating effect on the rat uterus. The essential oil from the leaves has slight antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum. In a study to detect the antibiotic activity of the ethanolic extract of the root of this plant against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans , no activity was observed.

Spread

Seeds: should germinate in sandy soil, sown superficially, they germinate between 10 to 15 days at a temperature around 20 °C.

You can buy it here.

Roots: These are cut, leaving a bud. They are left to cure for three days to heal the wound. They are then placed in suitable substrates to root. This occurs during the spring.

Bibliography

Martinez Maximino., 1979. Catalogue of vulgar and scientific names of Mexican plants. Fondo de Cultura Economica, Mexico.

http://www.conabio.gob.mx/malezasdemexico/polygonaceae/antigonon-leptopus/fichas/ficha.htm , Heike Vibrans, August 29, 2009, Weeds of Mexico, August 20, 2016.

http://www.medicinatradicionalmexicana.unam.mx/monografia.php?l=3&t=&id=7479 , Atlas of the Plants of Traditional Mexican Medicine, August 20, 2016.

http://www.agrolalibertad.gob.pe/sites/default/files/BELL%C3%8DSIMA2.pdf