Distylium racemosum Sibold et Zucc.

Distylium racemosum Sibold et Zucc.

Photo Hortus Leiden

Latin Name: Distylium racemosum Sibold et Zucc; Family Hamamelidaceae

Synonym Name: Distylium racemosum var. angustifolium Masam.; Distylium racemosum f. angustifolium (Masam.) H.Ohba; Distylium racemosum var. pendulum Makino; Distylium racemosum f. pendulum (Makino) Okuyama

English Name: Mother-of-mosquitoes Tree, Racemose Distylium, Racemose Mosquitoman, Flowers Acemes Distylium, Isu Tree

Chinese Name: Wenmushu, 蚊母树

Description: Shrubs or trees; young branches stellately lepidote, older growth drying dark brown, glabrous; buds lepidote. Petiole 5–10 mm, sparsely stellately lepidote; leaf blade elliptic or obovate-elliptic, 3–7 × 1.5–3.5 cm, abaxially glabrescent, adaxially drying green, shiny, base broadly cuneate, margin entire, apex obtuse or subacute; lateral veins 5 or 6 on each side, reticulate veins indistinct on both surfaces. Inflorescences 1.8–2 cm; peduncle glabrous. Floral bracts lanceolate, 2–3 mm. Stamen filaments 1.5–2 mm; anthers red, 2.5–3.5 mm. Ovary stellately tomentose; styles 6–7 mm. Fruiting pedicels less than 2 mm. Capsules 1–1.3 cm, stellately pubescent with brown hairs, apex acute. Seeds ovoid, 4–5 mm. Fl. Apr–Jun, fr. Jun–Aug.

Distribution: Growing on hills at altitude 200-300m. Can be cultivated. Distributed in Guangdong, Fujian, Taiwan, Jiangsu, Hainan, Taiwan, Zhejiang [Japan (Ryukyu Islands), Korea].

Cultivation Details: Prefers a sandy soil. A lime tolerant plant, but it prefers a neutral to acid moist humus-rich soil. It prefers to grow under a light woodland canopy.Plants are hardy at Kew but they grow better in the milder areas of Britain. They rarely exceed 2 metres in height in cultivation and are slow growing. The dormant plant is fairly cold-tolerant, but the young growth in spring is subject to damage by late frosts.

Part Used: Medical part: roots and leaves with cecidium.

Harvest & Processing: Can be harvested roots throughout the year, sliced, and sun-dried. Harvested leaves before warm flying out, steeped in Chinese spirits for future use.

Chemistry: Monoterpene glycosides, distyloside A, distyloside B, iso-dihydrodendranthemoside A. Phenolic compounds: (−)-epigallocatechin, 9 salidroside, 10 6″-O-galloylsalidroside, 11 chlorogenic acid methyl ester, 12 and syringin. Brassinosteroids: (22S, 23S)-24-homobrassinolide, brassinolide, 28-norbrassinolide

Pharmacology: Anti-inflammatory

Properties & Actions: Little sour, sweet, neutral. Removing toxin for detumescence, removing stasis and disinhibiting dampness.

Indications & Usage: Scrofula.

References

Chinese Medicinal Material Images Database

efloras.org

Theplantlist

- Kim JA, Yang SY, Wamiru A, et al. New monoterpene glycosides and phenolic compounds from Distylium racemosum and their inhibitory activity against ribonuclease H. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2011;21(10):2840–2844.

- Abe, H.; Marumo, S. (1991), Brassinosteroids in Leaves of Distylium racemosum Sieb. et Zucc.; ACS Symposium Series Vol. 474, Chapter 2, pp 18-24

- Jong-Heon Han, Kyuhee Park et al., Anti-inflammatory Effects of Distylium racemosum Extract in a Mouse Model of Allergic Asthma; Thieme; Planta Med Int Open 2018; 5: e48–e54