Tu Bei Mu

Tu Bei Mu is the corm-like underground tuber of Bolbostemma paniculatum, a perennial climbing vine in the family Cucurbitaceae endemic to central and northern China. The plant arises from a large, flattened, pale-fleshed bulb-like tuber that is the part collected for medicine; aboveground, slender herbaceous stems climb by means of bifid tendrils to lengths of 2 to 4 metres. The alternate leaves are deeply palmately five- to seven-lobed, with the lobes themselves further toothed or pinnately divided, giving a delicate appearance. Small, greenish-yellow, dioecious flowers are borne in slender, branching panicles in the leaf axils, and develop into ovoid, six-seeded capsules that dehisce by an apical lid. The species favours shaded valleys, scrubby slopes, and forest margins from 300 to 1500 metres elevation.