Description

Family: Bignoniaceae
Genus: Tynanthus
Species: panurensis, fasciculatus
Synonyms: T. elegans, Schizopsis panurensis, Tynnanthus panurensis
Common Names: Clavo huasca, clove vine, white clove,
clavohuasca, cipó cravo, cipó trindade

Clavo huasca is a large, woody vine that grows up to 80 m in length and is indigenous to the Amazon rainforest and other parts of tropical South America. It produces very small, white flowers (which are pollinated by bees and butterflies) and elongated, flat, bean-like fruits. The vine bark and root has a distinctive, clove-like aroma (as do the leaves, somewhat), earning its common name clove vine or white clove. The vine, when cross-sectioned, has a distinctive “Maltese cross” design in the wood (with a darker, reddish color as the background and a golden color in the heartwood). Two species of plants are sold in herbal commerce as “clavo huasca” – the true Tynanthus vine, and another, completely different, Mandevilla genus vine.