Pinellia ternata seeds
LATIN NAME: Pinellia ternata
COMMON NAME: Pinellia
The pinellia sheathes the small, green spathes around the slender spadices, the broad, arrow-shaped leaves around them, and the whole plant carries the fine, curious look of the shaded woodland floor. The hardy, perennial herb carries the broad, arrow-shaped, three-lobed leaves on the long stalks, and the small, greenish, hooded spathes with the slender spadices, on the upright stalks, through the early summer, one of the curious, quiet sights of the shaded woodland floor, drawing the bees, to be followed by the small, greenish berries in the short, dense clusters. The rounded tubers have a very long record in the old practice of the cool lands, and the plant is a historic presence of the shaded woodland floor. It is a plant of the shaded, deep, rich, moist, well-drained ground.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The pinellia is a historic subject of the plant science, and the hooded spathes keep showing up in the work on the aroid herbs. The way the small, greenish, hooded spathes with the slender spadices form on the upright stalks has been examined closely, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the aroid herbs, the arrow-shaped leaves and the members of the arum family. The rounded tubers and the curious habit have also made it a fine study herb, and the pinellia is a regular subject of the work on the hooded spathes of the cool world.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
The pinellia is a curious, useful plant of the shaded woodland floor and the study collection. The broad, arrow-shaped, three-lobed leaves on the long stalks carry the curious look of the shaded woodland floor, one of the curious, quiet sights of the shaded woodland floor, drawing the bees, and the rounded tubers have a very long record in the old practice of the cool lands, the prepared tubers coming to the old remedies and the steady practice of the old shops, while the small, greenish, hooded spathes with the slender spadices, on the upright stalks, open through the early summer, to be followed by the small, greenish berries in the short, dense clusters. It is one of the fine choices for the shaded woodland floor, the fern border and the study collection, and it has been written about in the botanical and the scientific papers for the rounded tubers and the very long history. The plant is admired from a distance and grown for its curious habit rather than for the table, so keep it out of reach of children and pets. It is a curious, useful plant of the shaded, deep, rich, moist, well-drained garden.
The pinellia seeds like a leafy, gritty mix in a shaded, cool spot with steady moisture. The young plants are slow but reliable, and they appreciate the deep, rich ground of the woodland border.
To grow the pinellia from seed, sow the small, round seeds evenly across the top of the flat of leafy, gritty soil, water gently, then keep the flat in a shaded, cool spot. The seedlings thread up within a few weeks, and they grow on steadily. With the shade and the deep, rich, moist ground, the hooded spathes will rise over the years.
This plant is TOXIC in raw form (must be processed). Pinellia ternata is known as the herb effective in removing dampness-phlegm, one of the causes of obesity in traditional Chinese medicine. Pinellia ternata water extract (PE) was fed to rats after mixing with diet once a day (400 mg.kg(-1)) for 6 weeks. We investigated its effect on the thermogenesis and fatty acids oxidation with obese Zucker rats. We also determined the gene expression of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha), and PPARgamma coactivator 1alpha (PGC1alpha). The PE treatment lowered the levels of triglyceride and free fatty acids (p<0.05) in blood of the obese rats and the body weight was also reduced slightly. It was also observed that PE significantly increased the expression of both UCP1 mRNA in brown adipose tissue (BAT) (p<0.001) and PPARalpha and PGC1alpha mRNA in white visceral adipose tissue (WAT) (p<0.05 and p<0.001, respectively), which may cause a reduction of obesity.