刺五加 ci wu jia

Hedera senticosa Ruprecht & Maximowicz, Bull. Cl. Phys.-Math. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint-Pétersbourg 15: 134. 1856; Acanthopanax cuspidatus var. tienchuanensis G. Hoo; A. senticosus (Ruprecht & Maximowicz) Harms; A. senticosus var. brevistamineus S. F. Gu; A. senticosus f. subinermis (Regel) H. L. Li; A. senticosus var. subinermis (Regel) M. Kitagawa; Eleutherococcus senticosus f. inermis Komarov; E. senticosus var. subinermis Regel.

Shrubs, to 6 m tall. Branches with dense to scattered, slender, terete, bristlelike prickles. Petiole 3-12 cm, slender, sometimes with fine prickles; petiolule of central leaflet (0.6-)1.2-2 cm, usually brownish pubescent; leaflets (3-)5, elliptic-obovate or oblong, 5-13 × 3-7 cm, papery, abaxially pubescent on veins, adaxially with scattered hairs, secondary veins 6 or 7 pairs, conspicuous on both surfaces, base broadly cuneate, margin sharply biserrate, apex shortly acuminate or acuminate. Inflorescence terminal, a solitary or compound umbel, borne on leafy shoots, usually with 2-6 umbels together; peduncles 5-7 cm, glabrous; pedicels 1-2 cm, glabrous or slightly pubescent at base. Calyx subentire or with 5 inconspicuous teeth, glabrous. Corolla purple-yellow. Ovary 5-carpellate; styles united into a column. Fruit ovoid-globose, ca. 8 mm; styles persistent, ca. 1.5 mm. Fl. Jun-Jul, fr. Aug-Oct.

Scrub fields, forests, roadsides, valleys; below 2000 m. Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Jilin, Liaoning, N Shaanxi, Shanxi, Sichuan [Japan, Korea, Russia].

This species is used medicinally.