山文竹 shan wen zhu

Herbs dioecious. Roots 2--4 mm thick basally, thickening toward tip. Stems climbing, to 1 m or more; branches slender. Cladodes in fascicles of 3--7, needlelike, 6--12(--15) × ca. 0.3 mm, irregularly grooved. Leaf spur spinescent; spine 4--6 mm on main stems, 1--2 mm on branches, woody, sharp. Inflorescences developing with cladodes. Male flowers: paired; pedicel 4--5 mm, articulate at middle; perianth greenish white, subglobose, ca. 2 mm in diam.; filaments free. Berry 5--6 mm in diam., usually 1-seeded. Fl. Jun--Jul, fr. Aug.

* Thickets, grasslands, lake margins; near sea level to 200 m. Guangdong, Guangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi.