蔓剪草 man jian cao

Vincetoxicum chekiangense (M. Cheng) C. Y. Wu & D. Z. Li.

Roots fibrous, fascicled. Stems simple, to 1 m, basal part erect, apical part twining, very sparsely puberulent. Petiole 2-2.5 cm; leaf blade elliptic, 10-28 × 4-15 cm, upper leaves much smaller, thin papery, puberulent or pilose to glabrous, apex acute or acuminate, base acute; lateral veins 5-8 pairs. Inflorescences very slender, umbel-like, sometimes branched, 2-2.5 cm; peduncle to 5 mm, puberulent. Pedicel ca. 7 mm. Sepals ovate-lanceolate, ciliate. Corolla purple or purple-red, rotate, ca. 5 × 11 mm; tube short; lobes ovate-oblong, obtuse, glabrous. Corona lobes triangular-ovate, shorter than or as long as gynostegium, apex obtuse, with an oblong adaxial appendage. Anthers nearly square, appendages rounded; pollinia ellipsoid. Stigma head broadly discoid, somewhat depressed. Follicles lanceolate in outline, ca. 5.5 × 1.5 cm, often solitary. Seeds broadly ovate, ca. 5 × 3 mm; coma 3-5 cm. Fl. May, fr. Jun-Sep.

* Moist thickets, valleys. Guangdong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Zhejiang.

The roots are used for the treatment of traumatic injury and scabies.