蜜柑草 mi gan cao

Phyllanthus matsumurae Hayata; P. simplex Retzius var. chinensis Müller Argoviensis; P. simplex var. ussuriensis (Ruprecht & Maximowicz) Müller Argoviensis; P. wilfordii Croizat & F. P. Metcalf.

Annual herbs, up to 60 cm tall, monoecious, glabrous throughout; stem erect, usually branched at base; branches delicate; branchlets angular. Stipules ovate-lanceolate; petiole very short to almost absent; leaf blade elliptic to oblong, 5-15 × 3-6 mm, papery, abaxially white-green, base rounded, apex acute to obtuse; lateral veins 5 or 6 pairs. Inflorescence an axillary fascicle, 1- to several flowered; pedicels ca. 2 mm, filamentous, with several bracteoles. Male flowers: sepals 4, broadly ovate; disk glands 4, free; stamens 2; filaments free; thecae longitudinally dehiscent. Female flowers: sepals 6, oblong-elliptic, reflexed in fruit; disk glands 6, oblong; ovary ovate, 3-celled; styles 3, bifid at apex. Fruiting pedicels short; capsules oblate, ca. 2.5 mm in diam., smooth. Seeds ca. 1.2 mm, tawny, brown tuberculate. Fl. Apr-Jul, fr. Jul-Oct.

Montane slopes, grasslands, wastelands, pathsides. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Heilongjiang, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Shandong, Taiwan, Zhejiang [Japan, Korea, Mongolia, SE Russia].

All parts are used medicinally as an astringent or antidiarrheal.