三七 san qi

Aralia quinquefolia (Linnaeus) Decaisne & Planchon var. notoginseng Burkill, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1902: 7. 1902; Panax pseudoginseng Wallich var. notoginseng (Burkill) G. Hoo & C. J. Tseng.

Herbs, perennial, 20-60 cm tall. Rootstock fleshy, roots 1 to numerous, fusiform. Leaves 3-6, verticillate at apex of stem, palmately compound; petiole base without stipule or stipulelike appendages; leaflets obovate or obovate-oblong, 3.5-13 × 1.5-7 cm, membranous, both surfaces sparsely setose on veins, base oblique, margin biserrate, setose, apex acuminate or long acuminate. Inflorescence a solitary, terminal umbel 80-100(or more)-flowered; peduncle 7-25 cm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent; pedicels 1-2 cm, slender, slightly pubescent. Filaments ca. as long as petals. Ovary 2-carpellate; styles 2, united at least to middle, divergent in fruit. Fruit red, compressed globose-nephroid, ca. 1 cm in diam.; seeds 2, triangular-ovoid, slightly 3-ridged, thickness 5-6 mm. Fl. Jul-Aug, fr. Aug-Oct. 2n = 24.

Forests; 1200-1800 m. SE Yunnan; cultivated in Fujian, SW Guangxi, Jiangxi, Zhejiang [N Vietnam].

This species is used medicinally.