攀援天门冬 pan yuan tian men dong

Asparagus trichophyllus Bunge var. trachyphyllus Kunth.

Herbs dioecious. Roots tuberous, subcylindric, 0.7--1.5 cm thick, fleshy. Stems climbing, 20--100 cm; branches striate-ridged, ridges usually cartilaginous denticulate. Cladodes in fascicles of 4--10, 4--12 × ca. 0.5 mm, subterete, slightly flattened, irregularly grooved, usually cartilaginous denticulate. Leaf spur not or only slightly spinescent; spine 1--2 mm. Inflorescences developing after cladodes. Flowers of both sexes in clusters of 2--4; pedicel 3--6 mm. Male flowers: perianth pale purplish brown, campanulate, ca. 7 mm; filaments adnate to perianth segments for ca. 1/2 their length. Female flowers: perianth ca. 3 mm. Berry red, 6--7 mm in diam., 4- or 5-seeded. Fl. May--Jun, fr. Aug. 2 n = 40*.

Thickets, open grassy slopes, field margins; 800--2000 m. Hebei, Jilin, Liaoning, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi [Kazakhstan, Korea, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan].