Smilax china L.
Family
Smilacaceae
Synonyms
None
Vernacular Names
|
Malaysia |
Gadong china, gadong saberang, akar restong. |
|
English |
China root, Chinese sarsaparilla. |
|
Indonesia |
Gadung cina (General), peundang (Aceh), ghadhung tambha (Madurese). |
|
Philippines |
Sarsaparillang-china (Tagalog), buanal (Igorot), palipit (Bontok). |
|
Vietnam |
Kim chang trung qu[oos]e. |
|
French |
Racine de Chine, squine. |
Geographical Distributions
Smilax china is distributed from Japan and southern China, through the Ryukyu Islands to Laos, Vietnam, northern Thailand, Burma (Myanmar) and the Philippines. Smilax china has long been cultivated in China and Japan as a medicinal plant. The rhizomes are imported into Indonesia and Malaysia.
Description
Smilax china is a climber, up to 5 m long with smooth or sparingly prickly stem and branches.
The leaves are ovate-orbicular, broadly elliptical to ovate-elliptical or narrowly elliptical and measure up to 12 cm long. The petiole is up to 1.5 cm long with the wings of petiolar sheaths rather weakly developed while the tendrils are up to 15 cm long.
The fruit is 10-12 mm in diametre and red at maturity. The seeds are red-purple.
Ecology / Cultivation
In tropical Asia, Smilax china occurs only in scrub vegetation and open forest in mountains above 1000 m altitude, but in more temperate regions, it also grows in the lowlands; in the Philippines, it is found in moss forests at 1600-2400 m altitude.
Line Drawing / Photograph
Read More
1) Safety
References
1. Plant Resources of South-East Asia No.12(1): Medicinal and poisonous plants 1.