箭根薯 jian gen shu

Clerodendrum esquirolii H. Léveillé; Schizocapsa itagakii Yamamoto; Tacca esquirolii (H. Léveillé) Rehder; T. minor Ridley; T. paxiana H. Limpricht.

Rhizomes subcylindric, thick. Petiole 10--30 cm; leaf blade oblong to oblong-elliptic, 20--50(--60) × 7--14(--25) cm, glabrous or abaxially pubescent, base rounded-cuneate to cuneate, apex shortly caudate. Scape long; involucral bracts 4, dark purple, outer 2 ovate-lanceolate, inner 2 broadly ovate; umbels 5--7(--18)-flowered. Perianth lobes purplish brown, lanceolate. Stigma 3-lobed. Berry purplish brown, ellipsoid, ca. 3 cm, fleshy, 6-ridged, with persistent perianth lobes. Seeds reniform. Fl. and fr. Apr--Nov.

Forests, valleys, along rivers; 200--1300 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hunan, SE Xizang (Mêdog Xian), Yunnan [Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam].

A vulnerable species in China.