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Stephania

Stephania

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Ranunculales
Family:	Menispermaceae
Genus:	Stephania Lour.

Species

See text

Stephania is a genus of flowering plants in the family Menispermaceae, native to eastern and southern Asia and Australasia. They are herbaceous perennial vines growing to around 4 m tall, with a large, woody caudex. The leaves are arranged spirally on the stem, and are peltate, with the leaf petiole attached near the centre of the leaf.

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One species, S. tetrandra, is among the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is called han fang ji (漢防己, "Chinese fang ji"). Other plants named fang ji are sometimes substituted for it. Notable among these is guan fang ji (廣防己, "Broad fang ji"), Aristolochia fanchi. This plant tends to contain toxic amounts of aristolochic acid and can cause renal failure and even death; it is used in TCM only with great caution.

Selected species

Stephania aculeata FM Bailey
Stephania bancroftii FM Bailey
Stephania brevipes Craib
Stephania capitata (Blume) Spreng.
Stephania cephalantha Hayata
Stephamia corymbosa (Blume) Walp.
Stephania crebra Forman
Stephania elegans Hook.f. & Thomson
Stephania glabra (Roxb.) Miers
Stephania glandulifera Miers
Stephania gracilenta Miers
Stephania hernandiifolia (Willd.) Walp.
Stephania hispidula (Yamamoto) Yamamoto
Stephania japonica (Thunb.) Miers

Stephania longa Lour.
Stephania merrillii Diels
Stephania oblata Craib
Stephania papillosa Craib
Stephania pierrei Diels
Stephania reticulata Forman
Stephania rotunda Lour.
Stephania sinica Diels
Stephania suberosa L.L.Forman
Stephania subpeltata H.S.Lo
Stephania tetrandra S. Moore
Stephania tomentella Forman
Stephania venosa (Blume) Spreng.

References

Stephania Lour.. Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
Flora of China: Stephania species list
Flora of Nepal: Stephania species list
Flora of Thailand: Stephania species list
Germplasm Resources Information Network: Stephania species list
Stephania suberosa photo