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The Elephant creeper (Argyreia nervosa) belongs to Convolvulaceae (the Morning glory family). It is an evergreen woody vine that is distributed from eastern India to Bangladesh. Today, it is cultivated as an ornamental in many tropical regions. It is a vine that grows to over 9 m in length, twining around other trees and other plants. The leaves are heart-shaped and 15-25 cm long with white pubescence on the underside and petiole. From spring to summer, cymes emerge from the leaf axils and produce maouve to pink-colored flowers. In India, young leaves and shoots are used as a vegetable, and the root is used as a tonic and in folk medicine for rheumatism. It is also known as "銀葉朝顔" (silver-leaf morning glory) in Japan.
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