Smilax china

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit, Leaves, Root, Leaves - tea

The root is cooked — large, fleshy and rich in starch, it can be dried and ground into a powder. Roots are harvested by severing the larger ones near the crown and leaving the smaller roots to continue growing. Young shoots and leaves can be eaten raw or cooked as a potherb. The leaves are said to contain rutin, though no quantity was given. The fruit, about 9mm in diameter, is eaten raw to quench thirst. A tea is also made from the leaves.

Where to Find It

It grows in forests and thickets on hillsides and grassy slopes in shady places near streams. In China it can be from sea level to 2000 m. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Asia, Australia, Britain, China, Egypt, Europe, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mediterranean, Middle East, Myanmar, Netherlands, North Africa, Northeastern India, Pacific, Philippines, SE Asia, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam,

How to Identify

A climbing vine. It loses its leaves during the year. The roots are brown and feel woody and grow horizontally. The rhizomes are irregular and like tubers. The stems are branched and 1-5 m long. They are woody with some prickles. The leaf stalk is 0.5-1.5 cm long with narrow wings for more than half the length. There are tendrils. The leaf blade is oval and 3-10 cm long by 1.5-6 cm wide. The flowers are borne in the axil of a young leaf. The flower stalk is 1-2 cm long. There are 10-25 flowers of both sexes. They are yellowish green. The fruit are red berries. They are round and 0.6-1.5 cm wide.

How to Grow

Succeeds in most well-drained soils in sun or semi-shade. Hardy to about -15°c. A climbing plant, supporting itself by means of tendrils and thorns as it scrambles through small trees and shrubs. A young plant is growing and thriving close to a west-facing wall at Kew Botanical gardens. This species is not the true 'China root' of medicine, see the record for S. pseudo-china. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation: Sow seed in March in a warm greenhouse — though this guidance likely applies to tropical members of the genus. Seeds from plants of cooler regions appear to need a period of cold stratification, and some species can take two or more years to germinate. For temperate species, sow in a cold frame as soon as seed is received, or ideally as soon as it is ripe. When seedlings germinate, prick out into individual pots and grow on in a greenhouse for at least the first year, though keeping them in pots for two years is preferable. Plant out into permanent positions in early summer. Divide in early spring as new growth begins; larger divisions can go straight into permanent positions, while smaller ones are best potted up and grown on in a lightly shaded cold frame until well established, then planted out in summer. Cuttings of half-ripe shoots can be taken in July in a frame.

Medicinal Uses

The root is alterative, antiscrophulatic, carminative, depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic and tonic. It is considered useful internally for old syphilitic cases and for certain skin diseases including psoriasis, as well as for rheumatoid arthritis, gout, enteritis, urinary tract infections and skin ulcers. Large doses can cause nausea and vomiting, which is considered beneficial in weakened or depraved conditions resulting from a poisoned state of the blood. The root is harvested in autumn and dried for later use.

Other Uses

A yellow dye is made from the root and leaves using alum as a mordant. With iron sulphate as the mordant, the resulting colour is brown.

Smilax china is a climbing plant species in the genus Smilax. It is native to China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan (including Ryukyu and Bonin Islands), Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and India. It is also known as china root, china-root, or chinaroot, as is the related Smilax glabra.

Other Information

It is sold in local markets in China.

Notes

There are about 300 Smilax species. It is used in medicine.

More from Smilacaceae

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