Family: Convolvulaceae (Morning Glories)
Chuuk: Ruke or rukuruk
Kitti: omp
Kosrae: oa
Mwoakilloa: soan oahp
Pingalap: oahp
Pohnpei: tahpw
Used for boil (Chuuk: mach, Kosrae: facf, Pohnpei: umpwos or mwpwos, Yap: lot). Brings the boil to a head, resolving the boil faster.
Kosrae. Shrue Kilafwasru. The leaves can be squeezed into water, two drops of coconut milk added, and then drunk to treat productive deep chest cough. Leaves can also be used to treat sunburn in babies. September 2005
Shrue Eleshe: Skin rash can be treated by pounding the leaves and applying the juice to the rash. Pound and squeeze the leaves on the head for headache. The same leaf juice added to a few drop of oil and combed into your hair will also make your hair black, long, and strong. You should apply this to your hair prior to sunrise or after sunset only. February 2004.
Francisca Sohl: Small young leaves can be appied to boils to help resolve boils. Women pregnant in the ninth month should chew four or six (but not five) of the young growing tip end of a stem. The tendrils are used in an unspecified way to strenthen the bonds between lovers, bring them together. A saying is associated loosely with this: The bond of marriage is thin and fragile while the bond to children is not easily broken. There seemed to be the inference that omp has a part that breaks easily like the bond of marriage, another part that does not break easily, like that of parent to child. February 2004.
Climbing vine
Leaves: simple, alternate blade cordate, rarely loped, 2-10 cm long.
Flower: axillary, up to 7 cm long.
Calyx: 5 unequal, oblong to suborbicular sepals, 6-10 mm long.
Corolla: funnel form, lavander, 5-loped, 3-4.5 cm long.
Stamens: 5 stamens, ovary superior, contains 4 seeds.
Specimen collected and web page created by: Darwin Peter, October 1998.
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