血散薯 xue san shu

Herbaceous and deciduous vines, 2-3 m. Root tuberous, huge, exposed, brown, prominently lenticellate. Branches slightly stout, containing red juice, often purplish red, glabrous. Petiole subequal to or slightly longer than leaf blade; leaf blade triangular-rotund, 5-15 × 4.5-14 cm, papery, both surfaces glabrous, base slightly rounded to subtruncate, apex with mucronate acumen, palmately 8-10-veined, reticulation slender, purple. Inflorescences compound umbelliform cymes, axillary or on short axillary branches with reduced leaves. Male inflorescences with 1-3 orders of branching; cymelets with pedicels often many inserted at end of umbellet pedicel. Male flowers: sepals 6, with purple stripes, obovate to oblanceolate, ca. 1.5 mm, inner whorl slightly wider; petals 3, fleshy, often purple or slightly orange, conchiform, ca. 1.2 mm. Female inflorescences subcapitate; cymelets almost sessile. Female flowers: sepal 1; petals 2, smaller than in male. Drupes red, obovoid, rather flat, ca. 7 mm. Fl. early summer.

● Forests, forest margins, stony places at streamsides. Guangdong, Guangxi, S Guizhou, S Hunan.