Common or Indian Madder
Rubia cordifolia
Among a roadside tangle of vines on the Elgeyo Escarpment, Iten, Kenya. July 2014.
LEAVES: There are three or four leaves at each stem node. The blade is heart-shaped and supported on a long petiole.
VINE: Long slender stems are angular in cross-section and have minute backward facing hooks that aid the plant in clinging to supports.
FLOWERS: The white flowers are small and borne in panicled clusters.
RANGE: Warm temperate regions in Asia, Europe and Africa. Madder was once cultivated extensively for the red dye contained on roots.
FRUIT:
UNARMED.