Radix Stemonae seed

LATIN NAME: Stemona japonica

COMMON NAME: Radix Stemonae

The stemona is the climbing herb of the old practice, and the small, greenish flowers open along the twining stems. The twining, perennial herb carries the oval to lance-shaped leaves with the fine, parallel veins and the small, greenish or pale-purple flowers on the slender stalks through the late spring, one of the fine, quiet sights of the study collection. The roots have a very long record in the old practice of the warm East, and the plant is a fine, historic presence of the herb collection. It is a plant of the open, sunny to partly shaded, deep, moist, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The stemona is a historic subject of the plant science, and the parallel-veined leaves keep showing up in the work on the old root herbs. The chemistry of the roots, which have a very long record in the old practice of the warm East, has been studied steadily, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the traditional root herbs, the twining monocots and the members of the stemona family. The oval leaves and the twining habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the stemona is a regular subject of the work on the quiet old root herbs of the East.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The stemona is a fine, historic plant of the herb collection and the study garden. The small, greenish flowers open along the twining stems through the late spring, and the roots have a very long record in the old practice of the warm East, dried into the small bundles of the old herb trade. The plant is one of the fine choices for the traditional herb collection, the study planting and the sheltered fence, and it has been written up in the botanical and the herbal papers for the old root record and the quiet ways. It is a fine, historic plant of the open, sunny to partly shaded, deep, moist, well-drained garden.

Keep the roots cool and the stems shaded, and the climbing herb will settle in well against the fence.

To grow the stemona from seed, sow the small, brown seeds a centimetre down in a tray of fine seed compost, keep the tray in a warm, bright spot and water gently, then set the young plants out against the fence or the trellis. The seedlings come up in their own good time and grow on steadily. With the sun or the light shade and the deep, moist, well-drained ground, the stems will climb through the summer.