Phytolacca decandra Linnaeus.

Herbs perennial, 1-2 m tall. Root obconic, thick. Stems erect, sometimes reddish purple, terete. Petiole 1-4 cm; leaf blade elliptic-ovate or ovate-lanceolate, 9-18 × 5-10 cm, base cuneate, apex acute. Racemes terminal or lateral, 5-20 cm. Pedicel 6-8 mm. Flowers ca. 6 mm in diam. Tepals 5, white, slightly red. Stamens, carpels, and styles 10; carpels connate. Infructescence pendent. Berry purple-black when mature, oblate. Seeds reniform-auricular, ca. 3 mm. Fl. Jun-Aug, fr. Aug-Oct. 2n = 18*, 36*.

This species is used medicinally.

Cultivated. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [native to North America; widely naturalized in Asia and Europe].