Rhus chinensis (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Rhus chinensis Miller

Protologue: Gard. Dict. ed. 8: sub n. 7 (1768).

Family: Anacardiaceae

Synonyms

• Rhus semialata Murray (1784),
• Rhus javanica auct. non L.

Vernacular names

• Chinese gall, nutgall (En), Chinese sumac (Am)
• Indonesia: batu babru, kayu pora, martipos (Sumatra)
• Thailand: sung, ma liam hin, som phot (northern)
• Vietnam: muối, ngũ bội, diêm phu mộc.

Distribution

Widely distributed in temperate and subtropical Asia, India, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand to Indo-China, Taiwan, Ryukyu Islands and Japan; in Malesia indigenous in Sumatra and cultivated in Java.

Uses

In Peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia, the leaf galls imported from China are used in traditional Chinese medicine as an astringent and styptic, and also in poultices to cure sores. In Java, they are an ingredient of several "jamus" apparently for their astringent properties. In Vietnam, the leaf galls are used as an astringent and prescribed in diarrhoea and sometimes paralysis. The fruits are edible and used as a condiment. In India, the fruits are used in the treatment of colic, intestinal worms and dysentery and an infusion is drunk for diarrhoea. In China, the dried galls are applied to treat burns.

Observations

• A small tree or shrub, 4-12 m tall, stem 6-18 cm in diameter.
• Leaves imparipinnate with 4-6 pairs of leaflets, rachis 10-30 cm long, winged or not, petiole 8-11 cm long, leaflets ovate-oblong, ovate or lanceolate, 5-15 cm × 2.5-8 cm, base unequal, cuneate, apex acute or acuminate, crenate-dentate, lower surface tomentose and distinctly papillose, without domatia.
• Inflorescence usually terminal, paniculate, up to 15-20 cm (female) or 30-40 cm long (male), branches up to 25 cm long.
• Flowers unisexual, white or pale yellow-green, calyx lobes triangular, petals broadly elliptical or oblong, about 2 mm × 1-1.5 mm, stamens 2 mm long, staminodes 1-1.5 mm long, ovary globose, densely puberulous.
• Drupe subglobose, about 5 mm diameter, densely puberulous, exocarp separating from mesocarp in ripe fruits.

R. chinensis is found in primary and secondary forest and thickets from 900-1200 m altitude.

Selected sources

• [135] Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol. 1 (A—H) pp. 1—1240, Vol. 2 (I—Z) pp. 1241—2444.
• [215] Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1948—1976. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials & industrial products. 11 volumes. Publications and Information Directorate, New Delhi, India.
• [312] Flore du Cambodge, du Laos et du Viêtnam [Flora of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam](various editors), 1960—. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France.
• [407] Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van Indonesië [The useful plants of Indonesia]. 3rd Edition. 2 volumes. W. van Hoeve, 's-Gravenhage, the Netherlands/Bandung, Indonesia. 1660 + CCXLI pp.
• [573] Kuo, S.C., Teng, C.M., Lee, L.G., Chiu, T.H., Wu, T.S., Huang, S.C., Wu, J.B., Shieh, T.Y., Chang, R.J. & Chou, T.C., 1991. 6-Pentadecylsalicylic acid; an antithrombin component isolated from the stem of Rhus semialata var. roxburghii (R. chinensis). Planta Medica 57(3): 247—249.
• [574] Kuo, Y.C., Sun, C.M., Tsai, W.J., Ou, J.C, Chen, W.P. & Lin, C.Y., 1999. Blocking of cell proliferation, cytokine production and gene expression following administration of Chinese herbs in the human mesangial cells. Life Sciences 64(23): 2089—2099.
• [647] Mansfeld, R., 1986. Verzeichnis landwirtschaftlicher und gärtnerischer Kulturpflanzen (ohne Zierpflanzen) [Register of agricultural and horticultural plants in cultivation (without ornamentals)]. Schultze-Motel, J. et al. (Editors). 2nd Edition. 4 volumes. Springer Verlag, Berlin, Germany. 1998 pp.
• [739] Nguyen Van Duong, 1993. Medicinal plants of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Mekong Printing, Santa Ana, California, United States. 528 pp.
• [786] Perry, L.M., 1980. Medicinal plants of East and Southeast Asia. Attributed properties and uses. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States & London, United Kingdom. 620 pp.
• [909] Shimomura, H., Sashida, Y., Nakata, H. & Imamura, M., 1982. Plant growth inhibitors from methanol extract of gallae rhois. Shoyakugaku Zasshi 36(2): 132—133. (in Japanese)
• [988] Taniguchi, S., Yazaki, K., Yabuuchi, R., Kawakami, K., Ito, H., Hatano, T. & Yoshida, T., 2000. Galloylglucoses and riccionidin A in Rhus javanica adventitious root cultures. Phytochemistry 53(3): 357—363.
• [1115] Yukawa, T.A., Kurokawa, M., Sato, H., Yoshida, Y., Kageyama, S., Hasegawa, T., Namba, T., Imakita, M., Hozumi, T. & Shiraki, K., 1996. Prophylactic treatment of cytomegalovirus infection with traditional herbs. Antiviral Research 32(2): 63—70.
• [1128] Zheng, Y.N. et al., 1997. Screening of anti-platelet and anti-atherosclerotic from Chinese medicines. Journal of Jilin Agricultural University 19(1): 55—58. (in Chinese)

Main genus page

• Rhus

Authors

• S. Aggarwal