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Smilax china L.

China Root

Modern name

Smilax china L.

A deciduous rambling shrub, with round stems sparingly armed with slightly recurved prickles. Leaves 2 to 3 in. long, very variable, roundish ovate, or broadly oval, or sometimes broader than long, ending in a short abrupt point, the base tapered or truncate or slightly heart-shaped, five- or seven-veined; stalk 13 to 1 in. long. Flowers yellowish green, often numerous in umbels, the main-stalk of which is about 1 in. long. There are often over twenty flowers in an umbel. Fruits 38 in. in diameter, globose, bright red.

Native of China, Japan and Korea; introduced by Philip Miller from China shortly before 1759, and again by Wilson in 1907. It has a large, fleshy root-stock, said to be eaten by the Chinese. It also yields a drug known as ‘China Root’, once highly esteemed as a remedy against gout, though it is likely that other Chinese species were used for the same purpose (Norton, in Pl. Wils., Vol. III, p. 4).


Genus

Smilax

Other species in the genus