半枝莲 ban zhi lian

Scutellaria adenophylla Miquel; S. cavaleriei H. Léveillé & Vaniot; S. komarovii H. Léveillé & Vaniot; S. minor Linnaeus var. indica Bentham; S. rivularis Wallich ex Bentham.

Stems erect, 12-35(-55) cm tall, glabrous or sparsely appressed pubescent upward. Petiole 1-3 mm, concave-convex, sparsely pubescent; leaf blade triangular-ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 1.3-3.2 × 0.5-1(-1.4) cm, subglabrous to sparsely appressed pubescent along veins, base broadly cuneate to subtruncate, margin remotely and obtusely shallow dentate, apex acute. Racemes poorly defined, terminal; floral leaves similar to stem leaves, to 8 mm basally, much reduced and elliptic to narrowly elliptic upward, adaxially sparsely pubescent, abaxially sparsely pubescent only on veins; bracteoles needlelike, ca. 0.5 mm, inserted at middle of pedicels. Flowers axillary. Pedicel 1-2 mm, puberulent. Calyx ca. 2 mm, puberulent along veins outside, margin ciliolate, to 4.5 mm in fruit; scutellum ca. 1 mm, to 2 mm in fruit. Corolla purple blue, 0.9-1.3 cm, pubescent outside, sparsely pilose on throat inside; tube saccate in front at base, ca. 1.5 mm wide at middle, gradually dilated to 3.5 mm wide at throat; upper lip semicircular, ca. 1.5 mm; middle lobe of lower lip trapeziform, ca. 2.5 × 4 mm, margin entire; lateral lobes triangular-ovate, ca. 1.5 mm wide, apex acute. Nutlets brown, oblate, ca. 1 mm in diam., warty. Fl. and fr. Apr-Jul.

Margins of rice paddies, streamsides, wet grasslands; 0-2000 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang [India, Japan, Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam]

Used medicinally for traumatic injuries and to reduce inflammation caused by various diseases.