Pithecoctenium is a Bignoniaceae

Bignoniaceae

The Bignoniaceae, or Trumpet Creeper Family, is a family of flowering plants comprising about 650-750 species in 116-120 genera. Members of the family are mostly trees and lianas , shrubs and more rarely herbaceous plants. As climber plants, they are twine climbers or tendril climbers, and rarely...

 genus of some 20 species of climbing shrubs occurring in the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 and Tropical South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 from Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 to Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. Leaves are opposite with 3 entire and stalked leaflets, the terminal leaflet sometimes being modified into a tendril

Tendril

In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem, leaf or petiole with a threadlike shape that is used by climbing plants for support, attachment and cellular invasion by parasitic plants, generally by twining around suitable hosts. They do not have a lamina or blade, but they can photosynthesize...

. The genus has distinctive prickly capsules.

Pithecoctenium crucigerum (L.) A.H. Gentry has become an invasive weed in Australia. Chemical investigation of methanol

Methanol

Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with the formula CH3OH . It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to, but slightly sweeter than, ethanol...

 extracted from this species yielded the iridoid

Iridoid

Iridoids are a class of secondary metabolites found in a wide variety of plants and in some animals. They are monoterpenes biosynthesized from isoprene and they are often intermediates in the biosynthesis of alkaloids. Chemically, the iridoids usually consist of a cyclopentane ring fused to a...

 glycoside

Glycoside

In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to a non-carbohydrate moiety, usually a small organic molecule. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. These can be activated by enzyme...

 theviridoside along with five phenylethanoid glycosides (verbascoside

Verbascoside

Verbascoside is a phenylethanoid and a caffeic acid sugar ester. It can be found in species in the Lamiales order Verbascoside is a phenylethanoid and a caffeic acid sugar ester. It can be found in species in the Lamiales order Verbascoside is a phenylethanoid and a caffeic acid sugar ester. It can...

, isoverbascoside, forsythoside B, jionoside D and leucosceptoside B), these last all active against DPPH

DPPH

DPPH is a common abbreviation for an organic chemical compound 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl. It is a dark-colored crystalline powder composed of stable free-radical molecules...

.

'Pithecoctenium' translates to 'Monkey Comb', a rather whimsical view of the prickly fruit.