Rhamnaceae FAMILY

Rhamnus parvifolia

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

Species in this genus contain hydroxyanthracene derivatives which have a stimulant laxative effect upon the body, and many species are used traditionally as laxatives. In small doses, and for short periods, these can be safe and effective, but used over long periods they can weaken the body's natural ability to defecate and can have a range of long-lasting negative effects upon the body, including anaemia, malabsorption, haematuria and weight loss. Large single doses can cause severe purging.

Botanical Description

Rhamnus parvifolia is a much-branched, spiny shrub growing around 150 - 200cm tall[ 266 Title Flora of China Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ Publisher Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. Year 1994 ISBN Description An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a dye. It has sometimes been cultivated as the source of a green dye[ 317 Title Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants Publication Author Website http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Terse details of a huge range of useful plants. ], and can be grown as an ornamental and a hedge.

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeE. Asia - Russia (eastern Siberia), Mongolia, northern and central China, Korea, Taiwan

HabitatThickets, grasslands, stony slopes, on open shiny rocks; at elevations from 400 - 2,300 metres[ 266 Title Flora of China Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ Publisher Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. Year 1994 ISBN Description An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available. ]. Bare, exposed, rocky slopes[ 1643 Title Plants collected by R.C. Ching in Southern Mongolia and Kansu Province, China Publication Contributions from the United States National Herbarium Vol. 28 Part 4 pp 563-694, 1943 Author Walker E.H. Publisher Smithsonian Institution Press; Washington. Year 1943 ISBN Description ].