Oriental Bittersweet

The leaves and the seeds are used in medicine.

Seed oiliness in this species is more than 50%. It is used for making lamp oil and soap in Yunnan. Many pharmacological studies deal with its effects on the central nervous system and the tranquilizing property of the alkaloidal fractions of the oil.

The variable leaf blade shape led to the creation of three subspecies: Celastrus paniculatus subsp. paniculatus, C. paniculatus subsp. serratus (Blanco) Ding Hou (not in China), and C. paniculatus subsp. multiflorus (Roxburgh) Ding Hou. However, there are so many transi-tional blade forms that it is hard to distinguish between them; therefore, the subspecies are not recognized here.

A large woody climber, bark corky; young shoots marked with lenticels. Leaves very variable, elliptic, broadly ovate, suborbicular, obovate or oblong-ovate, glabrous, 5-11 x 2.5-6.5 cm, base cuneate, obtuse or rounded; apex acute, acuminate or obtuse, rarely emarginate. Panicles terminal, large, (2)5-10 cm long, drooping, pubescent, branching into compound cymes. Male flowers: minute, pale-green; calyx lobes suborbicular, toothed, 1 x 1.5 mm; petals oblong or obovate-oblong, obtuse, entire, 2.5-3 x 1-1.5 mm; disc cupular, sometimes flat, the lobes obscure or slightly triangular; stamens c. 3 mm long, filaments subulate; anthers ovoid, obtuse. Female flowers: sepals, petals, and the disc similar to those of the male flowers; carpel 2-2.5 mm long; ovary globose, style columnar, stigma simple. Capsules 9-12 mm broad, subglobose, trivalved, 3-6-seeded; seeds yellowish-brown, each enclosed in a red fleshy aril.

Large deciduous twining shrubs, stem up to 23 cm in diam.; bark pale brown, rough and cracked, exfoliating in small scales; branchlets pubescent or glabrous, with prominent elliptic lenticels; axillary buds small, 1-2 mm, triangular. Petiole 6-16 mm; leaf blade elliptic, oblong, rectangular, ovate, or obovate to suborbicular, 5-10 × 2.5-5 cm, glabrous, base cuneate, margin serrate, apex mucronate to acuminate; secondary veins 5-7 pairs, rarely abaxially pubescent at axil of veins. Thyrses terminal, 5-10 cm, 1- or 2-ramous; rachis and pedicels occasionally with short tomentum; pedicels 3-6 mm. Flowers greenish, 5-merous, dioecious, 2-3 × 1.2-1.8 mm; sepals free, imbricate, semiorbicular, ciliate; petals oblong to obovate-rectangular. Disk membranous, cupulate, slightly 5-lobed. Stamens ca. 3 mm, inserted on margin of disk. Ovary globose. Capsule 1-1.3 cm in diam., depressed, globose, 3-valved, bright yellow, 3-6-seeded. Seeds elliptic, 3.5-5.5 × 2-5 mm; aril orange-red. Fl. Apr-Jun, fr. Jun-Sep.

Tropical Himalaya, India, Ceylon, Burma, Thailand, Indo-China, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Australia, New Caledonia.

This species has been reported by Lambert from Mirpur in Kashmir (R. R. Stewart, l.c.) but I have not seen any authentic specimen of this from Pakistan.

Distribution: Foothill zone of the Himalayas, India, S. China, S.E. Asia to Austraila.

Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan [Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam; Australia, Pacific islands (New Caledonia)].

150-300 m

Fl. Per. April-June.

Forest slopes; 200-2000 m.

Celastrus dependens Wallich; C. euphlebiphyllus (Ha yata) Kanehira; C. multiflorus Roxburgh (1824), not Lamarck (1785); C. paniculatus subsp. multiflorus Ding Hou; C. paniculatus subsp. serratus (Blanco) Ding Hou; Diosma serrata Blanco; Euonymus euphlebiphyllus Hayata.

Seeds

Celastrus paniculatus is a woody liana commonly known as black oil plant, climbing staff tree, and intellect tree (Sanskrit: jyotishmati ज्योतीष्मती, Hindi: mal-kangani माल-कांगनी, Chinese: deng you teng 灯油藤). This climbing shrub grows throughout India at elevations up to 1,800 m (5,900 ft).

C. paniculatus is a deciduous vine with stems up to 10 cm (3.9 in) in diameter and 6 m (20 ft) long with rough, pale brown exfoliating bark covered densely with small, elongated lenticles. The leaves are simple, broad, and oval, obovate or elliptic in shape, with toothed margins.