Smilax china
| Smilax china | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 15' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Smilax china (common name: china root)
Propagation: Seed - sow March in a warm greenhouse[1]. This note probably refers to the tropical members of the genus, seeds of plants from cooler areas seem to require a period of cold stratification, some species taking 2 or more years to germinate[K]. We sow the seed of temperate species in a cold frame as soon as we receive it, and would sow the seed as soon as it is ripe if we could obtain it then[K]. When the seedlings eventually germinate, prick them out into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first year, though we normally grow them on in pots for 2 years. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer.
Division in early spring as new growth begins[2]. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.
Cuttings of half-ripe shoots, July in a frame[2].
Cultivation: Succeeds in most well-drained soils in sun or semi-shade[3].
Hardy to about -15°c[3].
A climbing plant, supporting itself by means of tendrils and thorns as it scrambles through small trees and shrubs.
A young plant is growing and thriving close to a west-facing wall at Kew Botanical gardens[K].
This species is not the true 'China root' of medicine, see the record for S. pseudo-china[4].
Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.
Range: E. Asia - China, Japan.
Habitat: Shrub thickets[5] in hills and mountains[6]. Forests, thickets, hillsides, grassy slopes, shaded places along valleys or streams from near sea level to 2000 metres[7].
Edibility: Root - cooked[8][9][10]. Rich in starch[11], the large and fleshy roots can be dried and ground into a powder[12]. The root is harvested by severing larger roots near the crown and leaving the smaller roots to grow on[2].
Young shoots and leaves - raw or cooked[9][13][10][14]. Used as a potherb[15]. The leaves are said to contain rutin, but no details of quantity were given[16].
Fruit - raw. Eaten to quench the thirst[9][10][15]. The fruit is about 9mm in diameter[3].
A tea is made from the leaves[10][14][15].
Medicinal: The root is alterative, antiscrophulatic, carminative, depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic and tonic[1][8][12][5][17][4][16]. It is considered useful when taken internally in the treatment of old syphilitic cases and is also used for certain skin diseases, including psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, enteritis, urinary tract infections, skin ulcers etc[8][2]. Large doses can cause nausea and vomiting, which is valuable in weakened and depraved conditions due to a poisoned state of the blood[8]. The root is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use.
Usage: A yellow dye is made from the root and leaves when alum is used as a mordant[8][4]. With iron sulphate, the colour is brown[8].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall
Flower Type: Dioecious
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Revolutionary Health Committee of Hunan Province. A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press.
- ↑ Ohwi, Jisaburo. Flora of Japan. Smithsonian Institution, 1965.
- ↑ Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Read, Bernard. Famine Foods Listed in the Chiu Huang Pen Ts'ao. Taipei Southern Materials Centre, 1977.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ Kariyone, Tatsuo. Atlas of Medicinal Plants.