Difference between revisions of "Phytolacca americana (PROSEA)"

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<big>''[[Phytolacca americana]]'' L.</big>
 
<big>''[[Phytolacca americana]]'' L.</big>
 
__NOTOC__
 
__NOTOC__
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:Protologue: Sp. pl. 1: 441 (1753).
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:Family: Phytolaccaceae
 
:Family: Phytolaccaceae
  
 
== Synonyms ==
 
== Synonyms ==
  
*''Phytolacca decandra'' L.
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*''Phytolacca decandra'' L. (1763).
  
 
== Vernacular names ==
 
== Vernacular names ==
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== Uses ==
 
== Uses ==
  
Young shoots, when cooked, are used as a vegetable. The red fruits have been used to colour wine, but are slightly toxic. All parts, especially the roots, are used medicinally as narcotic, emetic and purgative. The plant is a common ornamental in temperate climates.
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The roots in particular have numerous medicinal uses in Indo-China; they are also used in Chinese medicine. Young shoots are cooked and eaten as a vegetable. The red fruits can be used to colour wine and foods, but the toxic substances must be removed. ''P. americana'' is a common ornamental in temperate climates.
  
 
== Observations ==
 
== Observations ==
  
*Perennial herb, up to 4 m tall, with branched stems and tuberous roots.
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*A perennial branched herb up to 3 m tall, often with purplish stems, roots tuberous.
*Leaves ovate-lanceolate, 10-40 cm × 4-12 cm.
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*Leaves elliptical to ovate-lanceolate, up to 30(-40) cm × 12 cm.
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*Flowers in racemes generally longer than leaves, bisexual, stamens about 10, in 1 whorl, carpels about 10, united in fruit.
 
*Fruit a berry, subglobose, 1.2 cm in diameter, 10-lobed, dark red, in racemose infructescences.
 
*Fruit a berry, subglobose, 1.2 cm in diameter, 10-lobed, dark red, in racemose infructescences.
  
The plant is often distributed by birds which eat the fruits.
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''P. americana'' occurs in Laos up to 2000 m altitude. In Indo-China it is a relic of former cultivation for the dye from the fruits. The plant is often distributed by birds which eat the fruits.
  
 
== Selected sources ==
 
== Selected sources ==
  
33, 47, 57, 70.
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33, 47, 57, 70. Vegetables
 +
 
 +
80, 298, 390, 424, 425, 436, 450, 507, 538, 590, 703, 755, 797, 816, 900, 1035, 1057, 1298, 1356, 1660. Medicinals
 +
 
 +
== Authors ==
 +
 
 +
*Razali Yusuf
  
  
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[[Category:Medicinal plants (PROSEA)]]
 
[[Category:Vegetables (PROSEA)]]
 
[[Category:Vegetables (PROSEA)]]
 
[[Category:PROSEA]]
 
[[Category:PROSEA]]

Revision as of 21:29, 11 May 2016

Logo PROSEA.png
Plant Resources of South-East Asia
Introduction
List of species


Phytolacca americana L.

Protologue: Sp. pl. 1: 441 (1753).
Family: Phytolaccaceae

Synonyms

  • Phytolacca decandra L. (1763).

Vernacular names

  • Pokeweed (En)
  • Raisin d'Amérique, morelle à grappe (Fr)
  • Laos: kub nyuj (Hmong)
  • Vietnam: thương lục.

Distribution

Originating from North America, now cultivated worldwide and sometimes naturalized. In South-East Asia particularly in Indo-China.

Uses

The roots in particular have numerous medicinal uses in Indo-China; they are also used in Chinese medicine. Young shoots are cooked and eaten as a vegetable. The red fruits can be used to colour wine and foods, but the toxic substances must be removed. P. americana is a common ornamental in temperate climates.

Observations

  • A perennial branched herb up to 3 m tall, often with purplish stems, roots tuberous.
  • Leaves elliptical to ovate-lanceolate, up to 30(-40) cm × 12 cm.
  • Flowers in racemes generally longer than leaves, bisexual, stamens about 10, in 1 whorl, carpels about 10, united in fruit.
  • Fruit a berry, subglobose, 1.2 cm in diameter, 10-lobed, dark red, in racemose infructescences.

P. americana occurs in Laos up to 2000 m altitude. In Indo-China it is a relic of former cultivation for the dye from the fruits. The plant is often distributed by birds which eat the fruits.

Selected sources

33, 47, 57, 70. Vegetables

80, 298, 390, 424, 425, 436, 450, 507, 538, 590, 703, 755, 797, 816, 900, 1035, 1057, 1298, 1356, 1660. Medicinals

Authors

  • Razali Yusuf