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Accession Data:

Houttuynia cordata Thunb.

  • Common Name: Chameleon Plant, Heartleaf, Giap ca, Dokudami
  • Family: Saururaceae E Meyer.

  • Country of Origin: Japan south to mountains of Java & Nepal
  • Habitat: Shrubberies and damp places, to 2400m in the Himalayas

  • Description: A perennial herb native to mountainous regions of eastern Asia. Grows to 15 inches high with an indefinite spread as a creeping rhizome in moist locations.

    [Vietnamese: diec ca, rau diep ca, vap ca]

  • Uses: The leaves of the chameleon plant are sometimes found in Vietnamese salads and garnishes.. The rhizome, too, is aromatic.

    The plant (Japanese chemotype) contains a variety of flavoids, flavonoid glycosides (afzerin, quercitrin, isoquercitrin) and pyridine alkaloids; the essential oil was found to consist mainly of decanal (capry aldehyd), dodecanal (lauryl aldehyd) and 2-hendecanon (methyl nonyl ketone). (Planta Medica 61, 237, 1995)

Accession Data:

  • Accession # 198501450
  • Source: Unknown
  • Accession Date: 12-31-1985
  • Bench: 2316 - Equisetum
    • Currently: active - healthy
    • Qty: 2 confirmed on 12-09-2024
  • Restrictions:
    • Potentially Invasive Plant - Plants are not to leave Greenhouse!

Classification:

  • Division: Magnoliophyta
  • Class: Magnoliopsida
  • SubClass: magnoliids
  • Order: Piperales
  • SubOrder:
  • Family: Saururaceae
  • SubFamily:
  • Tribe:
  • SubTribe:

Flowering Data:

This accession has been observed in bloom on:
YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003

References (internal):

  • Basal Angiosperms (paleodicots)
  • Spice Plants
  • Invasive Species
  • EEB 3271 - Systematic Botany
  • EEB Greenhouse Holdings native to: China South-Central / Hainan / China North-Central / China Southeast / Tibet / Japan / Korea / Ogasawara-shoto / Taiwan / Assam / Bangladesh / East Himalaya / Nepal / West Himalaya / Cambodia / Myanmar / Thailand / Vietnam /

References (external):

  1. Plants For A Future Website
  2. Gernot Katzer's Spice Dictionary - last visited on 14 November 2002
  3. The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Last accessed on Tuesday, August 23, 2016.
  4. WCSP (2016). World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Last accessed on Tuesday, August 23, 2016.

data regenerated on Mon, 09 Dec 2024 15:15:02 -0500 [bcm v4.0]

Images:

No default accession image assigned

Additional images for this accession:

Click on thumbnails to enlarge

Current Accessions in the Saururaceae

  • Anemopsis californica W/C
  • Houttuynia cordata
W/C = Wild Collected
= indicates flowering in past 14 days
= images available for this accession
= map available for this accession
= accession added within past 90 days
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