Skip to main content

Lesser balloon vine (Cardiospermum halicacabum)

Ketipes or Lesser balloon vine (Cardiospermum halicacabum) is a species of plant in the Sapindaceae, herbaceous, climbing up to 10 meters, very dense and perennial, stems cylindrical, green, grooved, bald to slightly hairy.

C. halicacabum has triangular leaves, 5-6 cm long, spread on the stem, divided into stalks and pinnate leaves. The edges of the leaves are serrated.

Dlium Lesser balloon vine (Cardiospermum halicacabum)


The flowers are fan-shaped, four white to yellowish petals ovate and 3 mm long, the upper two are each decorated with hairy scales and the lower two have large leaf-shaped scales and two glands.

The fruit capsule is pear-shaped, membranous, almost round or wide, 3-5 cm in diameter, green and brown when ripe. The capsule has three chambers, each with one black seed, kidney-shaped, 6 mm in diameter and at the base there is a heart-shaped white aryl with a width of 5 mm.

The green part of the plant is eaten as a vegetable. The root is used as a diuretic, pain reliever, emetic, laxative, rubefacient, rheumatism, nervous diseases and hemorrhoids. The leaves are used for amenorrhea, lung complaints and skin eczema.







Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Sapindales
Family: Sapindaceae
Genus: Cardiospermum
Species: Cardiospermum halicacabum
Variety: Cardiospermum halicacabum var. halicacabum, Cardiospermum halicacabum var. microcarpum

Popular Posts

Mashpi walkingstick (Trychopeplus mashpiensis) from Chocó, Ecuador, based on males, females and eggs

NEWS - Researchers report Mashpi walkingstick ( Trychopeplus mashpiensis Conle, Valero & Hennemann, sp. nov.) from the Chocó ecoregion of northwestern Ecuador is new to science based on its unique body ornamentation and egg structure morphology. Trychopeplus Shelford 1909 is a genus of Neotropical stick insects (Phasmida Leach 1815) known for its remarkable morphological adaptations that allow it to blend in almost perfectly with epiphytic lichens in its habitat. These adaptations make Trychopeplus one of the most cryptic stick insect genera. The genus was described to distinguish the Neotropical species from Pericentrus Redtenbacher 1908 based on morphological differences and distinct geographic distribution compared to the type species Pericentrus moewisi Redtenbacher 1908. Pericentrus is known to be restricted to East and South Asia, whereas Trychopeplus is endemic to the Neotropics. Oskar Conle from the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology in Germany, Pablo Valero from the Un...

Giant shield bug (Pycanum alternatum)

Giant shield bug or pycanum rubens ( Pycanum alternatum ) is a species of animal in Tessaratomidae, has a large shield covering the back, shiny green-blue-brown colored and appears to have a powder or wax layer, inhabiting the leaves of plants in open forests or bushes . P. alternatum is also called a stink bug because of its ability to release pungent aromas when disturbed. These insects live solitary with a partner and usually the mother gather in a family together in nymphs. White eggs are attached under the leaves of the plant. Nymphs can be found in the same host as their parent. The nymph has a flat rectangular shape with a large vein in the middle like a flat leaf. Nymphs having striking colors are light green, orange and red. Color may represent various stages of development or gender. The initial stage has a small size and red color. It grows in a bigger size and turns orange then ends in green. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Hemipter...

Purwaceng (Pimpinella pruatjan)

Purwaceng or purwoceng or antanan gunung or Viagra of Java ( Pimpinella pruatjan or Pimpinella priatjan ) are small termas growing horizontally in Apiaceae, growing in villages on Dieng Plateau, Central Java Province, Indonesia, at 1,500 to 2,000 meters above sea level, the roots have medicinal properties for aphrodisiacs and are usually processed in powder form for a mixture of coffee or milk. P. pruatjan grows flat on the ground but does not propagate, small leaves are reddish green for 1-3 cm in diameter. This plant is only found in Java and grows in high mountain areas. A low population where industrial demand is very high results in increasingly scarce. Another place that is likely to become a purwaceng habitat is the Iyang Mountains and the Tengger Mountains in East Java Province. Efforts to multiply and cultivate have a big problem where these plants have difficulty producing seeds. In vitro propagation research through tissue cultivation has been carried out to overcome ...