About Celastrus paniculatus Willd.
Celastrus paniculatus Willd. is a woody liana, also commonly called black oil plant, climbing staff tree, and intellect tree. It has local common names across regions: it is called jyotishmati ज्योतीष्मती in Sanskrit, mal-kangni माल-कांगनी in Hindi, and deng you teng 灯油藤 in Chinese. This climbing deciduous shrub grows throughout India at elevations up to 1,800 m (5,900 ft). Stems of C. paniculatus can reach up to 10 cm (3.9 in) in diameter and 6 m (20 ft) in length. Its bark is rough, pale brown, and exfoliating, and is densely covered with small, elongated lenticles. The plant produces simple, broad leaves that are oval, obovate or elliptic in shape, with toothed margins. Celastrus paniculatus has a poisonous relative that grows in the United States: Celastrus orbiculatus, so careful identification of this plant is important. Seed oil from C. paniculatus is used as a traditional medicine in India's Unani and Ayurvedic medical systems.
