Ba Ji Tian

Morinda officinalis is an evergreen climbing or scrambling shrub in the Rubiaceae, native to southern China and northern Vietnam, where it grows in lowland and lower montane forest, often on shaded slopes and along forest margins. The slender, twining stems can reach several metres in length and bear opposite, elliptic to oblong-lanceolate leaves 6-15 cm long, with entire margins, an acute to acuminate tip and conspicuous interpetiolar stipules characteristic of the family. The fleshy root system is unusual: long, cylindrical roots are repeatedly constricted at irregular intervals, giving them a distinctive moniliform or beaded appearance, with a thick, purplish-brown bark and a paler core. Small, white to pale pinkish, four- to five-lobed tubular flowers are produced in dense terminal or axillary heads. These develop into compound, fleshy, multiple fruits 5-10 mm across, ripening to a bright orange-red colour. It is cultivated commercially in Guangdong and Guangxi.