About Mikania scandens (L.) Willd.
Mikania scandens (L.) Willd. is a perennial herb that grows as a branching vine. Its leaves grow in opposite arrangements at swollen stem nodes. The leaf blades are triangular or heart-shaped, sometimes toothed, and reach up to 15 centimeters long and 11 centimeters wide. Its flower heads are clustered in panicles; each individual flower head measures about half a centimeter long, and is enclosed in narrow phyllaries that are sometimes purple-tinged. The flowers themselves can be pinkish, purplish, or white. The fruit is a dark, resinous achene around half a centimeter long, including its pappus made up of white or purplish bristles. This plant is cultivated as a cover crop and livestock fodder. It is also grown as an ornamental, and used in butterfly gardens. In traditional medicine systems of the Indian subcontinent, it is used to treat gastric ulcers, wounds, and insect bites and stings.
