Common Name: China Root

General Information

Smilax china is a deciduous climbing shrub producing a cluster of branched, sparsely prickly stems from 1 - 5 metres long[]. The stems scramble through the surrounding vegetation, supporting themselves by means of their prickles and tendrils.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of a dye.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

E. Asia - eastern and southern China, Japan, Korea, northeast India, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines.

Habitat

Shrub thickets[] in hills and mountains[]. Forests, thickets, hillsides, grassy slopes, shaded places along valleys or streams; at elevations from near sea level to 2,000 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Climber
Height	4.50 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Smilax china is hardy to about -15°c[].
Succeeds in most well-drained soils in sun or semi-shade[].
A young plant is growing and thriving close to a west-facing wall at Kew Botanical gardens[].
This species is not the true 'China root' of medicine, see the record for S. pseudo-china[].
A dioecious species - both male and female forms must be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Edible Uses

Root - cooked[, , ]. Rich in starch[], the large and fleshy roots can be dried and ground into a powder[]. The root is harvested by severing larger roots near the crown and leaving the smaller roots to grow on[].

Young shoots and leaves - raw or cooked[, , , ]. Used as a potherb[]. The leaves are said to contain rutin, but no details of quantity were given[].

Fruit - raw. Eaten to quench the thirst[, , ]. The fruit is about 9mm in diameter[].

A tea is made from the leaves[, , ].

Medicinal

The root is alterative, antiscrophulatic, carminative, depurative, diaphoretic, diuretic and tonic[, , , , , , ]. It is considered useful when taken internally in the treatment of old syphilitic cases and is also used for certain skin diseases, including psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, enteritis, urinary tract infections, skin ulcers etc[, ]. Large doses can cause nausea and vomiting, which is valuable in weakened and depraved conditions due to a poisoned state of the blood[].
The root is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use.

Other Uses

A yellow dye is made from the root and leaves when alum is used as a mordant[, ]. With iron sulphate, the colour is brown[].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a warm greenhouse[]. This note probably refers to the tropical members of the genus, seeds of plants from cooler areas seem to require a period of cold stratification, some species taking 2 or more years to germinate[]. We sow the seed of temperate species in a cold frame as soon as we receive it, and would sow the seed as soon as it is ripe if we could obtain it then[]. When the seedlings eventually germinate, prick them out into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first year, though we normally grow them on in pots for 2 years. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer.
Division in early spring as new growth begins[]. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.
Cuttings of half-ripe shoots, July in a frame[].