Smilax megacarpa

A DC

Da guo ba qia

Smilacaceae Edible: Fruit, Rhizome, Root 16 iNaturalist observations

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Description

A climbing vine. It usually does not have prickles. The stem is branched. It is 10 m long and woody. The leaf stalk is 1.5-5 cm long and has narrow wings. Tendrils are usually present. The leaf blade is oval and 10-20 cm long by 3-12 cm wide. It is papery. There can be 1-3 flowerings stalks together. They are 3-6 cm long. There can be 6-20 flowers on each stalk. The flowers are greenish yellow. The fruit is a dark red berry. It is round and 1.5-2 cm across.

Edible Uses

The dark red berries are conserved and eaten. The rhizome and roots are also eaten.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are conserved and eaten. The rhizome is eaten.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The plant is used in local medicine in Laos, where it plays a role in medicines given after childbirth and against cough.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in forest thickets and shaded slopes from near sea level to 1500 m in southern China. In Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Asia, Cambodia, China, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pacific, Philippines, SE Asia, Thailand, Vietnam,

Notes

There are about 300 Smilax species.

Synonyms

Smilax extensa Wall. ex Hook.f.

Also Known As

Akar kelona, Porpreus, Vor rombers

References (8)

Altschul, S.V.R., 1973, Drugs and Foods from Little-known Plants. Notes in Harvard University Herbaria. Harvard Univ. Press. Massachusetts. no. 374
Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 577
Burkill, I.H., 1966, A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol 2 (I-Z) p 2075
Chen Xinqi, Liang Songyun, Xu Jiemei, Tamura M.N., Liliaceae. Flora of China. p 40
Lim, T. K., 2015, Edible Medicinal and Non Medicinal Plants. Volume 9, Modified Stems, Roots, Bulbs. Springer p 77

Show all 8 references

PROSEA handbook Volume 9 Plants yielding non-seed carbohydrates. p 189
Turreira Garcia, N., et al, 2017, Ethnobotanical knowledgeof the Kuy and Khmer people in Prey Lang, Cambodia. Cambodian Journal of Natural History 2017 (1): 76-101
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew