Flueggea suffruticosa is a deciduous shrub of northeastern Asia with long, arching branches; it isn't native to the US. It makes securinine, a strongly active natural chemical, and has a long history in traditional Chinese medicine. In summer it bears tiny greenish-yellow flowers along its slender branches.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A deciduous shrub usually 3–10 ft (1–3 m) tall, with upright stems and long, slender branches that arch outward. The whole plant is hairless.
- Leaves
- Simple, alternate, oval leaves about 3/4–2 in (2–5 cm) long in cultivated plants, dull green above and pale, slightly bluish-white beneath.
- Flowers
- Very small (about 1/10 in, 2.5 mm), greenish-yellow flowers in the leaf joints of new shoots. Male flowers come in clusters of a dozen or more; female flowers are single on longer stalks.
- Fruit
- A three-parted capsule about the size of a peppercorn that turns brown when ripe.
Where it lives
- Range
- Native to northeastern Asia, including China, Mongolia, the Russian Far East and Siberia, Korea, and Japan. British sources record it in cultivation since 1783, grown mainly for its graceful shape rather than its flowers.
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- Male and female flowers grow on separate plants.
Cautions
- Cautions
- Contains securinine and related , which are strongly active chemicals.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- In traditional Chinese medicine it is called yī yè qiū; its twigs and leaves were used for back pain and numb limbs, though there's no scientific evidence that they work.
- In 2026, researchers at the University of York reported that the gene the plant uses to make securinine looks more like a bacterial gene than a typical plant gene.
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