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Tripterygium wilfordii
Thunder God Vine is a woody climbing vine from southern China, Myanmar and Taiwan, used in traditional Chinese medicine. It is grown mainly as a garden climber in mild climates and is best kept out of reach of people and pets because all parts are poisonous.
Tripterygium wilfordii, or léi gōng téng (Mandarin) (Chinese: 雷公藤, Japanese: raikōtō), sometimes called thunder god vine but more properly translated thunder duke vine, is a vine used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Tripterygium wilfordii has been promoted for use in rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis; however, due to safety concerns this use is not recommended. Evidence is insufficient to deem it effective as a method of birth control for humans. Extracts of the bark T. wilfordii have been used as an insecticide in China for centuries, as documented in Wu Qijun's 1848 Illustrated Catalogues of Plants.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Tripterygium wilfordii 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.
