BotanyShrub or small tree; evergreen; usually spiny; straggling or climbing; to 7 metres tall.
Use: medicinal; ornamental; leech repellent.
Region: east Asia, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines.
Habitat: thickets in secondary forests; low to medium elevations; succeeds in full sun or partial shade; prefers a moist but well-drained soil, clay soils.