Tian Kui Zi

Semiaquilegia adoxoides, muskroot or Tian Kui Zi, is a small perennial herb in the Ranunculaceae family, native to central and southern China, Korea, and Japan, where it grows in shaded grassy slopes and woodland edges. It reaches 10-30 cm tall, arising from a small spindle-shaped to ovoid black-skinned tuberous root 1-3 cm long. Basal leaves are ternately compound with three lobed, rounded leaflets resembling those of Aquilegia, on slender petioles. Small nodding flowers, white tinged pink to pale purple, 4-6 mm across, are borne on branched scapes in spring, producing follicular fruits. Roots are dug in early summer after the aerial parts wither.