天门冬 tian men dong

Melanthium cochinchinense Loureiro, Fl. Cochinch. 1: 216. 1790; Asparagopsis sinica Miquel; Asparagus cochinchinensis var. longifolius F. T. Wang & T. Tang; A. dauricus Link var. elongatus Pampanini; A. gaudichaudianus Kunth; A. insularis Hance; A. lucidus Lindley; A. sinicus (Miquel) C. H. Wright.

Herbs dioecious. Roots with swollen, tuberous part 3--5 × 1--2 cm. Stems climbing, 1--2 m, slightly woody proximally; branches angled or narrowly winged. Cladodes usually in fascicles of 3, subfalcate, 0.5--8 cm × 1--2 mm, flat or slightly 3-angled. Leaf spur sometimes spinescent; spine 2.5--3.5 mm on main stems, minute or indistinct on branches. Inflorescences developing after cladodes, axillary. Flowers of both sexes usually paired, subequal; pedicel 2--6 mm, articulate at middle. Male flowers: perianth greenish, campanulate, 2.5--3 mm; filaments free. Berry green, 6--7 mm in diam., 1- or 2-seeded. Fl. May--Jun, fr. Sep. 2 n = 20*.

Thinly forested slopes, roadsides, waste fields; near sea level to 1700 m. Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Japan, Korea, Laos, Vietnam].

The tuberous roots are used medicinally.