Saururus chinensis Hort. ex Loudon

Species

Angiosperms > Piperales > Saururaceae > Saururus

Characteristics

Glabrous, except for pedicels & rachis. Stem ribbed, pithy, lower part terete, upper part angular; lower leaves amplexicaulous, leaving annular scars, upper ones half-amplexicaulous, stem somewhat zigzag towards the apex, internodes 1-4 cm; lower petioles 6½, upper ones 3-1½ cm long. Leaf blade mostly oblique, base reniform-cordate-truncate, apex acute to slightly acuminate, palmatinervous with 5 larger and 2 feeble nerves, shape ovate-lan-ceate, 8½-12½ by 3½-6½ cm. Spikes straight, bracts in bud pine-like imbricating, 5-8 in fruit to 15 cm long; peduncle glabrous, 1-3 cm. Rachis and pedicels pubescent. Flowers white, fragrant. Bracts ovate to roundish, or broad-spathulate, their blade 1-2 by 1-2 mm, ± ciliate, with brown dots (glands) in the parenchyma, connate with the 1½-3 mm long pedicels and winging these; rachis angular by the decurrent pedicels. Anthers 4 behind the carpels, or 6 (in twos lateral of the carpels), or 8. Filaments ± ⅓-½ (-¾)mm; anthers ± convex, elliptic, ± ¾-1 mm long, extrorse. Cocci 4, tubercled, 1½ mm long; style recurved ca ½ mm. Seed ovoid, fine-reticulate, 5/6-l by ⅔-¾ mm.
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Herbs to more than 1 m high; rhizomes creeping, white, thick. Stems strong, basal part creeping and usually whitish, apical part erect and green. Stipular sheath 2-10 mm, ca. as long as petiole, slightly clasping; petiole 1-3 cm, glabrous; leaf blade ovate to ovate-lanceolate, (4-)10-20 × (2-)5-10 cm, papery, densely glandular, glabrous, base cordate or oblique-cordate, apex acute or acuminate; veins 5-7, basal, if 7-veined, outermost pair slender, ascending and then arched and combined; reticulate veins conspicuous. Apical leaves smaller, 2 or 3 at stem apex, usually petal-like, white at anthesis. Inflorescence an elongated, axillary or terminal raceme, (3-)12-20 (-22) cm; peduncles 0.5-4.5 cm, glabrous; rachis densely pubescent. Bract beneath each flower spatulate, basal part linear and pilose, apical part orbicular and glabrous or sparsely ciliate, small, apex rounded to acute. Filaments slightly longer than anthers. Fruit subglobose, ca. 3 mm in diam., tuberculate. Fl. Apr-Jun, fr. Jun-Jul. 2n = 22*.
A herb. It grows up to 1 m tall. It is often 30-40 cm high. The leaves are oval and pale green. They are 10-13 cm long. The flowers are naked and along a stalk. They are creamy white.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support aquatic free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 0.2 - 0.4
Mature height (meter) 1.0 - 1.1
Root system rhizome
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Low damp places by water. Wet places, ditches, meadows, riverbanks, streamsides, forests, thickets, roadsides and field margins from near sea level to 1700 metres.
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It grows in bogs. In China it grows between 100-1,700 m altitude.
Light 4-9
Soil humidity 7-12
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity 3-7
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 6-8

Usage

Uses. Used as a drug in China (GROFF l.c.).
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The rhizomes/tubers are boiled and eaten.
Uses medicinal
Edible rhizomes roots
Therapeutic use Abscess (unspecified), Arthritis (unspecified), Diuretic (unspecified), Inflammation (unspecified), Rash (unspecified), Refrigerant (unspecified), Sore (unspecified), Swelling (unspecified), Urogenital (unspecified), Calculus (unspecified), Alexiteric (unspecified), Boil (unspecified), Edema (unspecified), Rheumatism (unspecified), Wound (unspecified), Fungus (unspecified), Sedative (unspecified), Tumor (unspecified), Spasm (unspecified), Astringent (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants can be grown by seed or division.
Mode divisions seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Saururus chinensis leaf picture by Yuichiro Katsuro (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Saururus chinensis flower picture by 陽子 竜門 (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Saururus chinensis world distribution map, present in Argentina, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Korea (Democratic People's Republic of), Taiwan, Province of China, and Viet Nam

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:684080-1
WFO ID wfo-0000737187
COL ID 6Y3NV
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Spathium chinense Saururus cumingii Saururus chinensis Saururus loureiroi Saururopsis chinensis Saururus cernuus Saururopsis cumingii