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Suma

Hebanthe erianthos

Suma
Photo: Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, Public domain

Hebanthe erianthos, known as suma or Brazilian ginseng, is a scrambling climber from South America grown mainly for its medicinal root. It is not a common garden or houseplant, and it grows best in warm, frost-free conditions.

Family
Amaranthaceae (Amaranth & beet family)
Grows as
Climber
Light
Part shade, Bright indirect
Water
Water regularly during the growing season and let the top of the soil dry slightly between waterings.
Soil
Well-drained, fertile soil or loam-based potting mix.
Temperature
20–30 °C; protect below 10 °C
How easy
Moderate
Native range
Peru to Brazil and NE. Argentina
Climate
seasonally dry tropical

About

Hebanthe erianthos (many synonyms, including Iresine erianthos and Pfaffia paniculata), known as suma or Brazilian ginseng, is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae. The specific epithet is also spelt "eriantha", although the basionym is Iresine erianthos.

The root of this rambling ground vine found in South America is used traditionally as a medicine and tonic. Nicknamed "para tudo" in Brasil, which means "for everything", suma is a traditional herbal medicine.

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Hebanthe erianthos 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.

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