Cyclocodon lancifolius

Cyclocodon lancifolius is a herbaceous plant that can be a perennial or annual. It has upright stems that are usually branched. At maturity, the stems range from as little as 30 cm (1 ft) to as much as 3 m (9.8 ft) tall, and can be woody at the base. Its stems are hollow and plants are usually hairless on all parts. The leaves of Cyclocodon lancifolius are most often attached on opposite sides of the stems, but occasionally may be in whorls of three leaves. They range in shape from ovate, ovate-lanceolate, to lanceolate, egg shaped, to like the head of a spear. They measure 5–15 cm (2–6 in) long and 1–5 cm (0.4–2.0 in) wide. Its fruit is a purple-black berry 5–10 mm (0.20–0.39 in) in diameter with numerous seeds. The seeds are elliptic and flattened.

The range of Cyclocodon lancifolius reaches from northeast India to through Southeast Asia to Japan. Adjacent to and east of India, its range includes Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, Laos, and Vietnam. In the Indonesian archipelago it grows in Borneo, Java, the Maluku Islands, New Guinea, Sulawesi, and Sumatera. In mainland China, it is known from Chongqing, south Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, southwest Hubei, both southern and western Hunan, southern Jiangxi, Sichuan, and southeast Yunnan. It is also found on the islands of Hainan and Taiwan. Lastly, it is reported from the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, and on the Philippines. The species grows in a variety of habitats including forests, thickets, and grasslands at altitudes up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft).

The berries of Cyclocodon lancifolius are edible. The roots and leaves of the plant are used in folk medicine by ethnic minorities in Guizhou and Hunan Provinces in China.

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