暗消藤 ma lian an

Apocynum juventas Loureiro, Fl. Cochinch. 1: 167. 1790; Streptocaulon griffithii J. D. Hooker; S. tomentosum Wight & Arnott.

Lianas to 8 m, densely tawny pilose except for corolla. Petiole 3-7 mm; leaf blade obovate or broadly elliptic, 7-15 × 3-9.5 cm, leathery or thick papery, base rounded to cordate, apex acute or rounded and apiculate; lateral veins 14-20 pairs, subparallel. Inflorescences 4-20 cm, sometimes thyrsoid; sessile or with peduncle to 8 cm; flowers densely clustered in young inflorescences. Flower buds subglobose to ovoid, ca. 3 × 3 mm. Sepals ovate, ca. 1.3 × 1 mm, acute. Corolla yellow-green outside, yellow-brown inside, glabrous; tube short; lobes ovate, ca. 3 × 1.5 mm. Corona lobes longer than anthers. Ovaries densely pubescent. Follicles oblong or oblong-lanceolate in outline, 7-13 cm × 5-10 mm, horizontal. Seeds oblong, 6-9 × 2-3 mm; coma 3-3.5 cm. Fl. May-Oct, fr. Aug-Dec.

Montane forests, thickets, often clinging to trees; 300-1000 m. Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan [Cambodia, India, ?Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam]

The roots are used medicinally for the treatment of dysentery and stomachache, and the leaves are used externally for the treatment of snake poisoning and abscesses.