Arisaema erubescens

Arisaema erubescens (Wallich) Schott in Schott & Endlicher, Melet. Bot. 17. 1832.

(Arisaema erubescens (Wall.) Schott; Photo ru.wikipedia.org and zyzydq.com)

Latin Name: Arisaema erubescens (Wall.) Schott

Family & Genus: Araceae, Arisaema

Synonym Name: Arum erubescens Wallich; Arisaema alienatum Schott var. formosanum Hayata; Arisaema biradiatifoliatum Kitamura; Arisaema brevipes Engler; Arisaema consanguineum Schott; Arisaema consanguineum subsp. kelung-insulare (Hayata) Gusman; Arisaema erubescens var. consanguineum (Schott) Engler; Arisaema formosanum (Hayata) Hayata; Arisaema formosanum var. bicolorifolium T. C. Huang; Arisaema formosanum f. stenophyllum Hayata; Arisaema fraternum Schott; Arisaema hypoglaucum Craib; Arisaema kelung-insulare Hayata; Arisaema kerrii Craib (1912); Arisaema kerrii Gagnepain (1941); Arisaema linearifolium J. T. Yin & Gusman; Arisaema oblanceolatum Kitamura; Arisaema tatarinowii Schott; Arisaema undulatum K. Krause; Arisaema vituperatum Schott.

English Name: Blushing Cobra Lily.

Chinese Name: 一把伞南星 yi ba san nan xing

Vietnamese Name: Nam tinh không lông; Củ nưa

Description: Tuber depressed globose, 2-7 cm in diam. Cataphylls 3, dark green, with whitish striae or spots, to 55 cm, acute at apex. Petiole and peduncle green, smooth, unmarked. Leaf solitary, occasionally 2; petiole to 100 × ca. 2 cm, proximal ca. 50 cm sheathing into pseudostem; leaf blade radiate; leaflets 18-23, sessile, green abaxially, dull green adaxially, narrowly elliptic or narrowly linear, 16-28 cm × 2-20 mm, base cuneate, apex long acuminate and caudate, with filiform tail 7-10 cm; veins raised abaxially, impressed adaxially; lateral veins numerous, obliquely ascending. Peduncle shorter than petioles, to 75 cm, free part ca. 9 cm. Spathe green, with indistinct whitish stripes or not; tube cylindric, 6-7 × ca. 1.5 cm, auriculate and recurved at throat; limb deep green sometimes with purple margin outside, pale green inside, triangular-ovate, 8-12 × 4-8 cm, apex acuminate with long purple filiform tail, arching; tail to 35 cm, pendulous. Spadix unisexual; female zone conic, ca. 3.5 × 1.5 cm; ovary green, obovoid; stigma sessile, spherical, pilose; male zone cylindric, 4-4.5 cm × 4-5 mm; synandria dark violet; anthers subsessile, 2 or 3, dehiscent by apical pores. Appendix pale green, cylindric or narrowly conic, ca. 7 cm × 2-4 mm, with some acute neuter flowers at base. Infructescence nodding. Berries red. Flowering: April to May. Fruiting: June to July.

Distribution: Growing under the dank forests of shady slopes. Distributed in Hebei, Henan, Guangxi, Shaanxi, Hubei, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shanxi and etc. The medicinal materials are mainly produced in Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi, Hunan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Hebei.

Cultivation Details:

Species in this genus generally prefer a cool moist peaty soil in the bog, woodland garden or a sheltered border in semi-shade. They prefer a loamy or peaty soil and will tolerate a sunny position if the soil is moist but not water-logged and the position is not too exposed.

Only plant out full sized tubers and mulch them with organic matter in the winter. Plants need protection from slugs.

The plant is paradioecious. The sex depends on nutrition and is therefore variable from one year to another. Smaller plants produce only staminate flowers, whilst larger plants produce either staminate and pistillate flowers simultaneously or pistillate flowers only. Changes in gender expression are directly correlated with size and are also influenced by the environment in which the plants are growing. Reversions in phenotypic gender have been experimentally induced by such factors as removing leaf area or changing soil nutrient levels.

Part Used: Medical part: tuber. Chinese name: Tiannanxing.

Harvest & Processing: Excavated in autumn when leaves become yellow, dig tubers, removed soil, stems, leaves and fibrous roots, rubbed and washed out peel, scraped off bark which cannot removed by rub, rinse, smoked to white by sulfur and sun-dried.

Chemistry: Mainly contains triterpenoid saponins, benzoic acid, starch and amino acids. Flavone-C-glycosides: schaftoside and isoschaftoside. The rhizoma  schaftoside; isoschaftoside; apigenin-6-C-galactosyl-8-C-arabinoside; apigenin-6-C-arabinosyl-8-C- galactoside; apigenin-6,8-di-C-β-D-glucopyranoside and apigenin-6;8-di-C-β-D-galactoside.

Pharmacology: Anti-convulsant, expectorant and anti-tumor, anti-oxidation, fertilization and molluscicidal activity.

Properties & Actions: Bitter, pungent, warm, toxic. Drying dampness to reduce phlegm, dispelling wind to settle fright, dispersing swelling and nodules.

Indications & Usage: Stroke and accumulation of phlegm, facial hemiparalysis, hemiparalysis, epilepsy, infantile convulsion, tetanus, anemophlegmatic vertigo, pharyngitis, scrofula, anthracia, injuries and fractures from falls, bites by snakes and insects. Internal: decocting, 4-7.5g; or made as pills or powders. External: powdered, scattered or triturated for application.

Examples      

1. Removing upper warmer phlegm and dizziness.

2. Dissipating wind and phlegm.

3. Treat vertigo and dizziness, mainly treat pain due to hernia, obstruction, seasonal typhoid fever, and promote Yin.

Edible Uses:

The tubers of several species in this genus are recorded as being edible after treatment. We have no specific information for this species, but the depressed-globose tuber is 2 - 7cm in diameter.

References

- libproject.hkbu.edu.hk

- efloras.org

- theplantlist

- Du SS, Zhang HM, Bai CQ, Wang CF, Liu QZ, Liu ZL, Wang YY, Deng ZW; Nematocidal flavone-C-glycosides against the root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) from Arisaema erubescens tubers; Molecules. 2011 Jun 20;16(6):5079-86

- S.-S. DuN. LeiY.-C. XuL.-X. Wei; Study on flavonoids of Arisaema erubescens; 2005Journal of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences 40(19):1457-1459

- WenshanKe, XiChengaDezhi, Cao Qixiang, SuncQianZhang; Molluscicidal activity of Arisaema erubescens mixed with fertilizers against Oncomelania hupensis and its effect on rice germination and growth; Acta Tropica, Volume 179, March 2018, Pages 55-60