The Anredera Cordifolia is regarded as nothing short of a nuisance in some parts of the world. Growing relentlessly, it has been known to smother trees and shrubs that are superior in both size and volume.
But the puny climber in my neighbour’s garden bore no resemblance to the marauding monster I saw on the Internet. It was just a metre in length; a long way off from reaching the end of its bamboo support. I guess the intense heat of the tropical lowlands stunts its growth.
However, I saw what the Anredera Cordifolia was capable of when I was up in the hills. Assuming a different persona under more favourable and cooler conditions, the brash climber grew in abandon, rambling unchecked over beams, fences and shrubs.
Not content with twining over anything in its path, Anredera Cordifolia scions grew where swollen aerial tubers had dropped onto the soft moist ground.
This was a lot more like the menace that was depicted on the net. It’s no wonder then that the spread of the Anredera Cordifolia has to be curbed in some countries. Left unchecked, it is likely to colonise the world.
So we confronted the lush mass of Anredera Cordifolia before us … armed not with machetes or poison but with baskets and bowls.
We spent more than an hour filling our receptacles with fleshy jade green heart-shaped leaves, a portion of which went straight into the frying pan after a quick rinse. We demolished a plateful in the blink of an eye.
I doubt if I’d ever have an issue with overgrown Anredera Cordifolia in my garden. If anything, mine needs a growth booster shot right now.
But if I ever had to control this climber, I’d probably just chomp my way through it.
Care and propagation: Partial sun, moist fertile soil, water generously; propagate using aerial tubers
Someone gave my mother this plant and I never knew the name of it. She said that if you eat a leaf it will get rid of cankor sores. I took the plant after she died for this medicinal property even though I never suffered from cankor sores. When I find someone usually a child who did suffer from these sores I told them to go and eat a leaf; I had it trailing on a change link fence in my backyard. Years later and recently my grandson came down with a sore throat and fever. I feared the new cold virus hitting the mid-west. I told him to eat some leaves. He did and 1/2 hour later his fever and soar throat were completely gone. Next day two of his siblings came down with the same. They however refused to eat the leaves. A day later they succumbed and whalla! Their fever and soar throat were gone. I’ve been looking for shared medicinal info. and have been unsuccessful. Would anyone here have anything to share?
Hello Mary. Thanks so much for the information. Were the leaves cooked or eaten straight fr the plant? I hope you can find the plant again.
You’re welcome typi-, The leaves were eaten fresh off the vine. I as well started to feel soar in my throat shortly after the kids and immediately ate about three leaves and whalla, gone almost immediately. Pretty amazing plant. And, it really doesn’t have much taste, more like watery substance, so it’s easy to eat. My plant is relatively young and so are the leaves because I began anew after our recent move to the mid-west. Used to live near the ocean where it grew prolifically. I grow it indoors here as I’ve learned it will not tolerate the cold.
Hello!
If possible I would like to use one of your beautiful pictures of the Anredera Cordifolia in my book. Please let me know if that suits you. All the best,
Birgit
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