''Reynoutria multiflora'' (

syn. The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...

''Fallopia multiflora'' and ''Polygonum multiflorum'') is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the buckwheat family

Polygonaceae The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The name is based on the genus ''Polygonum'', and was first used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1789 ...

native to central and southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. It is known by the English common names tuber fleeceflower and Chinese (climbing) knotweed. It is known as ''he shou wu'' in China and East Asia. Another name for the species is ''fo-ti'', which is a misnomer. The name ''he shou wu'' means 'the black-haired Mr. He'. It can be difficult to prevent the spread of this vining plant and to remove it once established. The leaves are thin and fragile but the stems, although narrow in diameter, can be very strong.

Description

''Reynoutria multiflora'' is a

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

growing to tall from a woody

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing ...

. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are long and broad, broad arrowhead-shaped, with an entire margin. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are diameter, white or greenish-white, produced on short, dense

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s up to long in summer to mid autumn. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

is an

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

long.

Traditional medicine

''Reynoutria multiflora'' is listed in the

Chinese Pharmacopoeia Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

and is one of the most popular perennial

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

s. Caution must be taken, however, as overconsumption can lead to toxicity-induced hepatitis.

Chemistry

More than 100 chemical compounds have been isolated from ''Reynoutria multiflora'', and the major components have been determined to be stilbenes,

quinone The quinones are a class of organic compounds that are formally "derived from aromatic compounds

uch as benzene or naphthalene Uch ( pa, ; ur, ), frequently referred to as Uch Sharīf ( pa, ; ur, ; ''"Noble Uch"''), is a historic city in the southern part of Pakistan's Punjab province. Uch may have been founded as Alexandria on the Indus, a town founded by Alexand ...

by conversion of an even number of –CH= groups into –C(=O)– groups with any necessary rearrangement of double ...

flavonoid Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans. Chemically, flavonoids ...

s, and others. Its extract contains a stilbene

glycoside In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. ...

. Grech J. N. , Li Q. , Roufogalis B.D., Duke C.C. Novel Ca2+-ATPase Inhibitors from the Dried Root Tubers of Polygonum multiflorum. J Nat Prod-Lloyda 57(12), 1682-1687, 1994.

References

External links

line drawing, Flora of China Illustrations vol. 5, fig. 259, 3-5
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q29032482, from2=Q1802551, from3=Q39600409 Polygonoideae Flora of China Medicinal plants Plants described in 1784

Description

Traditional medicine

Chemistry

See also

References

External links