人参娃儿藤 ren shen wa er teng

Tylophora balansae Costantin; T. pseudotenerrima Costantin.

Lianas usually glabrous except for interpetiolar lines, petioles, calyx, and corolla. Petiole 3-7 mm; leaf blade linear-lanceolate, 5.5-9 × ca. 1.5 cm, base rounded to shallowly cordate, apex acute; lateral veins 4-8 pairs. Inflorescences pendent, 2-8 cm; peduncle 1-5 cm; rachis zigzag, laxly branched. Pedicel 3-10 mm. Sepals lanceolate, ca. 1.5 mm, sparsely hairy, apex recurved; glands 5. Corolla green turning yellow, less often purplish to white, ± rotate, ca. 0.4-1.4(-2) cm in diam.; lobes oblong, to 6 × 1.5 mm, partly papillate-pubescent. Corona lobes ovoid, reaching anther base. Anther appendages rounded; pollinia globose, suberect to horizontal. Ovaries glabrous. Stigma head subapiculate. Follicles lanceo-late in outline, 4.5-11 × ca. 1 cm. Seeds oblong, ca. 8 mm; coma ca. 2.5 cm. Fl. May-Aug, fr. Aug-Dec.

Thickets, valleys. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan [Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam]

The roots are used for the treatment of snake bites and cancerous swellings.