WorldFloraDB - Paris polyphylla

Characteristics

Plants 10--100 cm tall. Rhizome 1--2.5 cm thick. Leaves 5--10(--22); petiole (0.5--)1--6 cm; leaf blade variable, usually oblong to lanceolate, 6--15(--30) × 0.5--5 cm, base rounded to cuneate. Peduncle 5--24(--65) cm. Outer tepals (3 or)4--6(or 7), green or yellow-green, narrowly ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, (3--)4.5--7(--11) × 1--4 cm; inner ones usually yellow-green, narrowly linear, shorter or longer than outer ones, 1--1.5(--5) mm wide. Stamens 2 ± as many as outer tepals, (6--)8--12(--14) or sometimes more; filaments 4--10 mm; anthers 5--12 mm; free portion of connective usually 0.5--4 mm. Ovary subglobose, ribbed, 1-loculed, sometimes tuberculate. Style short, base enlarged, purple to white; stigma lobes (4 or)5. Capsule globose, sometimes tuberculate. Seeds enveloped by red, succulent aril. Fl. and fr. Mar--Nov.

More

A perennial plant which grows up to 1 m tall. It spreads to 30 cm across. It has rhizomes or underground stems which are 1-2.5 cm thick. There are 5-10 leaves. The leaf stalk is 1-6 cm long. The leaf blade is usually oblong to sword shaped and 6-15 cm long by 0.5-5 cm wide. The base is rounded or wedge shaped. The flower stalk is 5-14 cm long. (There can be more leaves and longer leaf blades and flower stalks.) The flowers are yellowish-green. The fruit is a capsule which is round. The seeds are in a red soft aril or seed layer. Several varieties of this plant have been described.

Life form

perennial

Growth form

herb

Growth support

free-standing

Foliage retention

deciduous

Sexuality

hermaphrodite

Pollination

-

Spread

-

Mature width (meter)

0.2 - 0.4

Mature height (meter)

0.5 - 0.75

Root system

adventitious-root fibrous-root rhizome

Rooting depth (meter)

-

Root diameter (meter)

-

Flower color

Blooming months

-

Fruit color

Fruiting months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Nitrogen fixer

-

Photosynthetic pathway

c3

Environment

A tropical and subtropical plant. It grows in broadleaved woodlands up to 3,000 metres in the Himalayas. It grows in moist humus rich soil. It can grow in sunlight of partial shade. In China it grows in forests between 100-3500 m altitude in many provinces. It suits hardiness zones 6-9. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

More

Broad-leaved and mixed woodlands to 3000 metres in the Himalayas. Forests, bamboo forests, thickets, grassy or rocky slopes and streamsides, 100-3500 metres in western China.

Light
Soil humidity
Soil texture
Soil acidity
Soil nutriment	-
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

The seed are eaten. The young leaves are eaten as a vegetable.

Uses	brewing medicinal
Edible	leaves seeds
Therapeutic use	Anti-bacterial agents (rhizome), Anthelminthic (unspecified), Bite(Bug) (unspecified), Bite(Snake) (unspecified), Bruise (unspecified), Cancer (unspecified), Constipation (unspecified), Diphtheria (unspecified), Eclampsia (unspecified), Encephalitis (unspecified), Fever (unspecified), Inflammation (unspecified), Puerperia (unspecified), Sore (unspecified), Spasm (unspecified), Tonic (unspecified), Typhoid (unspecified), Vermifuge (unspecified), Boil (unspecified), Ague (unspecified), Bite(Rat) (unspecified), Scrofula (unspecified), Swelling (unspecified), Analgesics (unspecified), Antiparasitic agents (unspecified), Hemostasis (unspecified), Hypnotics and sedatives (unspecified), Spermatocidal agents (whole plant)
Human toxicity	-
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seed. Seed are slow to germinate. It takes about 12 months to produce leaves. Plants can also be grown by division.

Mode	divisions seedlings
Germination duration (days)	-
Germination temperacture (C°)	-
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	-
Minimum temperature (C°)	-
Optimum temperature (C°)	-
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-