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Description: Flagellaria indica is a member of the small family Flagellariaceae. Although species classified as belonging to this family superficially resemble bamboo species, their growth form of is quite different from any grass; Flagellariaceae species are woody vines or lianas that climb from their ground level base to reach “tropical rainforest canopies using leaf tendrils and terminates in a showy white panicle with small but complete, densely packed flowers” (Hepfer and Linder 2014:159). Indeed, Flagellariaceae species are regarded as vine relatives (or a small “sister group”) of grass-like plants in the families of Joinvilleaceae, Ecdeiocoleaceae and Poaceae, and this may be “indicative of the ancestral habitat of the graminid [grass-like] clade.” Flagellaria is the only genus in the family Flagellariaceae, and there are only four (or perhaps five) species within this genus. “Although four species are usually accepted in this monogeneric family, Flagellaria has never been revised taxonomically and species delimitation is understood poorly, especially for the Pacific,” where this genus has its highest degree of diversity; for example, three of the recognized four or five species occur in the Islands of Fiji (Hepfer and Linder 2014:159). Like the other species in its genus, Flagellaria indica is a creeping vine or liana but also a strong climber utilizing its long tendril-tipped leaves, often growing up to about 15 m (45 ft) tall. The genus name of this species refers to the long flexible whip-like shoots of these climbing plants; and indeed, F. indica, is an extensive, relatively slim but tough woody vine or liana that ascends trees. The cane-like stems of F. indica are up to about 2 cm (0.8 in) wide; and its leaves are about 9-30 cm (4-12 in) long and 2-3 cm (1 in) wide with the tip originating from the midrib and coiled upwards to form a slender tendril. In addition, F. indica has very short or absent petioles which clasp the stems at the base of the leaf blades. Its tiny, creamy, white flowers are produced in large terminal panicles, and its small, pea-sized, greenish-red or light brown fruits are about 6-8 mm (0.2 in) in diameter, normally with only a single seed in each fruit.
Distribution: Flagellaria indica is one of four or five species in the genus Flagellaria, and is a climber native to tropical and subtropical regions including Africa, Indo-Malaysia, Australia and a variety of islands in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans. This rattan-like plant is found occasionally in thickets and woods, more often in lower canyon regions of some forests on the high islands of Micronesia.
General Uses: Collectively the native use of the small number of closely related species in the genus Flagellaria has been reported from throughout the geographical distribution. For example, the culms (stalks or stems) of F. guineensis are used to make woven products in forests of the Lusikisiki district of Transkei, South Africa (Cawe1999). Far away from Africa, utilization of Flagellaria culms has reportedly been used by Australian aborigines as a source of rope, and as contraceptive; similarly, in some areas of New Guinea the stem of these plants have been apparently been used as a contraceptive, and are thought to cause sterility in women (Cambie and Brewis 1997:38, also see Powell 1976:146, Cribb and Cribb 1981). In addition, the leaf buds specifically of F. indica are also said to produce sterility among women in Vanuatu in tropical Remote Oceania (Bourdy and Walter 1992:179). However, experimental use of a solvent of the leaves of F. indica failed to show any significant anti-fertility activity when administered to rats (Barnes et al. 1975:135-140). Use of Flagellaria as a source of internal medicine has also been reported from New Guinea by Holdsworth and Balun (1992) as well as by Novy (1997) from Madagascar. More recently, F. indica has been for its anti-dengue properties; dengue fever is caused by the arthropod-borne flavivirus named dengue virus which is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. This study (see Abd Kadir 2013) indicated that F. indica has a significant potential effect on the dengue virus. According to Christophe (2006:657), F. indica “is quite often used to wash the hair promote hair growth in the Asia-Pacific, on a probable account of its hair-shaped tendrils.” Moreover, in Fiji the culms of a Flagellaria species have been reportedly utilized for roof construction (Degener 1953; for more detail on the uses of Flagellaria outside of Micronesia see Fern 2014-2018).
Uses in Palau: Tuyama (1941) referred to the use of the stems of Flagellaria indica as substitute material for “ropes” when “cane” was not available and which were “used as baskets for fishing.” According to Kitalong et al. (2011:68): “Both Flagellaria indica (bangernguis) and Leucaena leucocephala (telentund)” [an invasive alien species] have been used to make “bean bags” in Palau.
Uses in the Mariana Islands: As noted above, Flagellaria indica is found occasionally in thickets and woods, more often in lower canyon regions of some forests on the high islands of Micronesia; and this applies, more or less, to the Mariana Islands. For example, Fosberg et al. (1975:18) reported on the “extentive” distribution of F. indica in the northern Marianas Islands as a “tough liana, climbing in trees by means of curling leaf-tips, occasional in thickets and woods in canyon bottoms.” On Guam, F. indica reportedly occurs commonly in “the savannah, but perhaps more frequently [is] found in the limestone community” (Moore and McMakin 1979:20; also see Stone 1970:106); Mueller-Dombois and Fosberg (1998:276), noted that on the upper limestone terraces of the Mariana Islands, F. indica, along with other species can be found around “the edges of clearings and along roads…festoon the margins of the forest.”
Uses in Chuuk: Flagellaria indica is known as Nikésúk in Chuuk (Goodenough and Sugita 1980:240). Little has been recorded about the traditional uses of F. indica among the Chuukese.
Uses in Pohnpei: According Balick and his colleagues (2009:279-281), Flagellaria indica (“false rattan” known in Pohnpeian as idahnwel)has many uses on this island. Among its uses include utilization of the whole plant which is sometimes used as thatch for roofing buildings and “as cordage to hold a thatched roof together” in which case “the leaves are taken off the stems and the stems are used to tie leaves of [the coconut palm or the nipa palm] onto a roof frame.” In addition, the stem of F. indica sometimes “used as a crossbar in the roof thatch.” Furthermore, the stem is traditionally “split and used to weave house walls, baskets, cabinets, and floors,” as well as to support the vine growth of cultivated yams (mainly the Greater Yam, Diocorea alata); in this case, the yam plants are tied to the split stems of F. indica (Idahnwel). Moreover, in Pohnpei, F. indica is used to make a special medicine (winien koaloalamwahu) to help treat sadness or depression (koaloalamwahu) in a variety of ways as a “calmative” and “charm.” Often in combination with plant parts from other species, leaves of this climbing plant are used on Pohnpei to treat arthritis, to wean a baby from breast feeding; and among the babies it is used medicinally to treat infant shock, excessive crying, diarrhea, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, and feverishness (for more details about the traditional uses of F. indica in Pohnpei see Balick et al. 2009:279-281).
Uses in Kosrae: Geographically, Kosrae Island is the eastern edge of the native range of Flagellaria indica. Here, the stems of the vine are traditionally used in house construction. Known in Kosrae as Tok, the stems of F. indica have long been used to weave leaf thatch of Nipa palm (Nypa fruticans, Fahsuc in Kosraean) to the cane-like stems of Phragmites karka (Loa in Kosraean). These sections of woven palm leaf thatch are used as covering for the traditional Kosraean house: “El tiyactkihn tok soko” (“a kind of plant; vine, used as a thread for sewing thatch,” see Lee 1987:143). Based on his intermittent field work in Micronesia from 1933-1941, Hosokawa (1954:356) listed F. indica as one of “about 7 species of lianas in the [Kosrae rain forests dominated Campnosperma brevipetiola or Horsefieldia nunu], among which “Freycinetia ponapensis Martelli, a root-climber, grows predominantly attaching its stems along trunks of big trees” with several other “subordinate” liana species, such as Derris elliptica Benth., Piper ponapense C. DC. and Flagellaria indica L. among which “most of the individuals of those species usually climb up to the canopy.”