A genus of tropical climbing plants with hooked tendrils, belonging to the family Ancistrocladaceae.
From Greek 'ankistron' (fishhook) plus 'klados' (branch or stem), literally 'hook-branch,' forming a scientific genus name.
One Ancistrocladus species produces a rare compound called naphthylisoquinolone alkaloids, which pharmaceutical researchers discovered blocks a protein essential to HIV—inspiration sometimes comes from African hunting poisons!
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