''Sarcandra glabra'' is an herb native to Southeast Asia. It is also known as herba sarcandrae or glabrous sarcandra herb. It's common names include the nine-knotted flower and the bone-knitted lotus. Aromatic oils may be extracted from the leaves. This extract has been shown in mice to reduce immunologic attenuation due to stress.

Morphology

Leaf blade elliptic or ovate-lanceolate, 6–17 × 2–6 cm, leathery, margin sharply coarsely-serrate. Stamen baculate to terete; thecae shorter than connective. Stigma subcapitate. Fruit globose or ovoid, 3–4 mm in diam.

Distribution

The plant is distributed in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, Sri Lanka,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, Japan,

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and, in China, Jiangxi, Anhui, Fujian, Guizhou, Guangxi, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangdong, Zhejiang and other places, growing at an altitude of 420 meters to 1,500 meters in area, often grown in wet slopes and valleys of the forest shade. It has not yet been cultivated by artificial introduction.

Use in Japanese culture

The plant is called ''Senryō'' (千両) in Japanese. It is used during

Japanese New Year The is an annual festival with its own customs. Since 1873, the official Japanese New Year has been celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar, on January 1 of each year, . However, some traditional events of the Japanese New Year are par ...

for '' chabana'' decoration, normally along winter jasmine. Others plants used instead of ''Sarcandra glabra'' because of its similarity to it are coralberry trees and ''

Ardisia japonica ''Ardisia japonica'', known as marlberry, is a species of ''Ardisia'' native to eastern Asia, in eastern China, Japan and Korea.Flora of China''Ardisia japonica''/ref> Growth It is a low-growing, spreading very quickly evergreen shrub 20–40& ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2746875 Chloranthaceae Medicinal plants Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine