''Asparagus cochinchinensis'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

, sometimes called "Chinese asparagus", in the subfamily

Asparagoideae Asparagoideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales, according to the APG III system of 2009. The subfamily name is derived from the generic name of the type genus, ''Asparagus''. The group ha ...

of the family ''

Asparagaceae Asparagaceae (), known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, '' Asparagus officinalis''. This family includes both ...

''. No subspecies are listed in the

Catalogue of Life The Catalogue of Life (CoL) is an online database that provides an index of known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It was created in 2001 as a partnership between the global Species 2000 and the American Integrated Taxono ...

Range and description

''Asparagus cochinchinensis'' is distributed in eastern Asia including the Philippines and Japan; named after the southern region of Vietnam, in

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

''A. cochinchinensis'' is called ''thiên môn đông'', the latter similar to ''tian men dong'' (天門冬) in Chinese. This is a trailing plant, growing up to 2.5 m long; leaves are

phyllode Phyllodes are modified petiole (botany), petioles or leaf stems, which are leaf-like in appearance and function. In some plants, these become flattened and widened, while the leaf itself becomes reduced or vanishes altogether. Thus the phyllode co ...

s, 15-25 mm long. The flowers are axillary and the white berries are often in pairs. The roots and stems are used in traditional Chinese and Korean medicine.Lee DY, Choo BK, Yoon T, Cheon MS, Lee HW, Lee AY, Kim HK (2009). Anti-inflammatory effects of ''Asparagus cochinchinensis'' extract in acute and chronic cutaneous inflammation. ''Journal of Ethnopharmacology''. 121 (1): 28–24. ()

Gallery

Asparagus cochinchinensis.jpg HK Sheung Wan Tung Wah Hospital Chinese plant Asparagus Cochinchinensis Aug-2012.JPG

References

Phạm Hoàng Hộ (2003) ''Cây Cỏ Việt Nam: an Illustrated Flora of Vietnam'' vol. III (entry: 9629B) publ. Nhà Xuẩt Bản Trẻ, HCMC, VN.

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q8207156 Flora of Indo-China cochinchinensis Taxa named by João de Loureiro