Qi Ye Lian

Qi Ye Lian is Schefflera heptaphylla (L.) Frodin (synonym S. octophylla) of the Araliaceae, an evergreen shrub or small tree 2-15 m tall, widespread in southern China, Taiwan, Hainan, and across tropical Asia. The thick, smooth gray bark conceals a fibrous inner bark. Long-petioled palmately compound leaves bear typically seven to nine elliptic to obovate leaflets, each 9-17 cm long, leathery, dark glossy green above and paler below, with entire margins and acuminate tips. Numerous small whitish flowers are crowded in compound terminal panicles of globose umbels, producing globose drupes 4-5 mm across that turn dark purple at maturity. The leaves, root and bark are used in southern Chinese folk medicine and Yao ethnomedicine to dispel wind-dampness, reduce swelling, and relieve pain from sprains, rheumatic complaints, and sore throat.