Lycianthes biflora
(Lour.) Bitter
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(c) 小铖/Smalltown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by 小铖/Smalltown
Description
A shrub. It is softly hairy. It grows 1.5 m tall. The leaves are of 2 types. The main leaves are oval and 9-15 cm long by 5-7 cm wide. The minor leaves are 2.5-4 cm long by 2-3 cm wide. The flowers occur as several in a group in the axils of leaves. They are purple and white. The fruit are red berries. They are 6-9 mm across. There are many pale yellow seeds.
Edible Uses
The red berries are eaten.
Distribution
It is a tropical plant. It Taiwan it grows from 100-2,300 m altitude.
Where It Grows
Asia, China, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, SE Asia, Taiwan,
Notes
There are about 180 Lycianthes species, mostly in tropical America.
Synonyms
References (2)
- Flora of Taiwan Vol. 4:554
- Kuo, W. H. J., (Ed.) Taiwan's Ethnobotanical Database (1900-2000), http://tk.agron.ntu.edu.tw/ethnobot/DB1.htm
