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Aristolochia tuberosa is a climbing herbaceous perennial from southern China and Vietnam, grown from tuberous roots and used in traditional medicine. Its toxic aristolochic acid content is the key safety concern, and it is rarely grown as an ornamental.
Aristolochia tuberosa, commonly known as bei she sheng (背蛇生), is a species of herbaceous plant in the family Aristolochiaceae that is native to China and Vietnam.
Plants within the genus Aristolochia, such as Aristolochia tuberosa, contain the compound aristolochic acid. When ingested, this compound has been shown to cause kidney damage and disease, and is associated with increased risk of bladder cancer. Increased regulatory warnings over time have led to the banning or regulation of aristolochic acid-containing products in most countries. However, cases of toxicity are still reported, particularly in parts of Asia and the Balkans.
It occurs in several provinces across southwestern and south-central China, including Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, and Yunnan. It is also native to Vietnam.
In traditional medicine, the tuber of Aristolochia tuberosa, also known as zhu sha lian (珠砂莲), is used for general medicinal treatments and for healing of snake bites.
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Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Aristolochia tuberosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
