大叶南苏 da ye nan su

Pothos peepla Roxburgh, Fl. Ind. 1: 454. 1820; Monstera peepla (Roxburgh) Schott; Scindapsus peepla (Roxburgh) Schott.

Lianas, medium to large, to 15 m, moderately robust. Stem pale green, terete, 8-12 mm in diam., rooting, internodes 2-5 cm, terete to weakly sulcate on opposite sides, branching usually short but abundant. Leaves tending to cluster at shoot tips; petiole light green, 10-20 cm, shallowly channeled; pulvinus thickened, 8-12 mm; petiolar sheath reaching pulvinus, marcescent; leaf blade oblong, elliptic-oblong, or ovate-oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 8-25 × 4-11 cm, subleathery, base rounded to subtruncate, margin entire, apex abruptly acuminate or acute; primary lateral veins many, parallel, diverging at 45° from midrib. Inflorescences solitary, terminal on lateral free branches; peduncle erect, distally recurved, robust, 8-10 cm; bracts around base early caducous, linear, 6-7 cm, membranous. Spathe gaping and thence spreading at anthesis then caducous, dull orange outside, dull yellow to dull orange inside, elliptic-oblong or oblong in outline, 7-9 cm, apex with rostrum ca. 10 mm. Spadix sessile, ochraceous, pale white, or violet [or yellowish white or yellow], cylindric, 5.5-8 cm, ca. 4/5 of total spathe, 1-1.2 cm in diam. Stamens shorter than ovary during female anthesis; at male anthesis filaments extending to project thecae beyond pistil; anthers elliptic. Ovary tetragonal- or hexagonal-cylindric, ca. 2 × 2 mm; stigma oblong, small. Infructescence initially green, later turning dull orange prior to stylar plates sloughing away, broadly cylindric, 10-13 × ca. 3 cm. Fl. Sep-Oct.

Evergreen forests, valley forests, on trees or on stone walls; 1800-2800 m. Guizhou, Yunnan [Bangladesh, Bhutan, N Cambodia, NE India, Laos, N Myanmar, Nepal, N Thailand, N Vietnam].

The plant is used medicinally for treating fractures, traumatic injuries, rheumatic arthralgia, angina pectoris, bronchitis, and coughs.