Chinese moonseed

Japanese: オオツヅラフジ（英語表記）Chinese moonseed

A deciduous, creeping woody plant of the Menispermaceae family with one genus and one species. It is also known as Tsuzurafuji and Aokazura. It is dioecious. The leaves are alternate, broadly ovate to circular, with 3-7 lobes, and long petioles. In July, the panicles grow in the leaf axils and produce many small pale yellow flowers. There are six sepals and six petals, and the male flowers have 6-12 stamens, while the female flowers have three stamens and three pistils. The drupes ripen to black in October. It is distributed in Honshu (west of Kanto), Shikoku, and Kyushu, and extends to Taiwan and China. The rhizomes and stems contain the alkaloid sinomenine, which is called boi in traditional Chinese medicine and is used as an anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and diuretic drug.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

1属1種のツヅラフジ科の落葉つる性木本。ツヅラフジ，アオカズラの名もある。雌雄異株。葉は互生し，広卵形から円形，3～7裂し，葉柄は長い。7月ごろ，葉腋（ようえき）からでる円錐花序に淡黄色の小さな花をたくさんつける。萼片6枚，花弁6枚，雄花ではおしべ6～12本，雌花では仮雄蕊（かゆうずい）3本，めしべ3本。10月ごろ，核果が黒色に熟す。本州(関東以西)，四国，九州に分布し，台湾，中国にまで及ぶ。根茎，茎はアルカロイドのシノメニンsinomenineを含み，漢方で防已（ぼうい）と称され，消炎，鎮痛，利尿に効く薬として利用されている。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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