Latin quis — who, qualis — what, referring to the early uncertainty as to which family this genus belonged.
Spreading or climbing shrubs. Leaves opposite, simple, entire, the stalks sometimes aging to become woody and thorn-like. Flower clusters terminal or axillary with several flowers. Flowers bisexual. Calyx tube with 5 lobes. Corolla tubular, longer than the calyx, with 5 spreading lobes. Stamens 10 in 2 whorls. Fruit with 5 angles.
Grown as the cool-tolerant tropical climber Q. indica for the unusual flowers; widely grown in the tropics but will grow in areas with a little frost. It has naturalised in Qld and the NT.
16 species from the Old World tropics.
Seed or softwood cuttings.
Q. indica sometimes used as a medicine to treat worms.
Source: (2002). Combretaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 3. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 2. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
