Stephania

Stephania is a genus of flowering plants in the family Menispermaceae, native to eastern and southern Asia and Australasia. They are herbaceous perennial vines growing to around 4 m tall, with a large, woody caudex. The leaves are arranged spirally on the stem, and are peltate, with the leaf petiole attached near the centre of the leaf.

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One species, S. tetrandra, is among the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is called han fang ji (漢防己, "Chinese fang ji"). Other plants named fang ji are sometimes substituted for it. Notable among these is guan fang ji (廣防己, "Broad fang ji"), Aristolochia fanchi. This plant tends to contain toxic amounts of aristolochic acid and can cause renal failure and even death; it is used in TCM only with great caution.

Selected species

References

• Stephania Lour.. Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
• Flora of China: Stephania species list
• Flora of Nepal: Stephania species list
• Flora of Thailand: Stephania species list
• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Stephania species list
• Stephania suberosa photo