East Asian madder is a prickly, scrambling vine whose red roots have been used to dye cloth in Japan since ancient times. It grows in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan and isn't known to grow wild in the US. The madder used for dye in the West is mostly its relative, common madder (Rubia tinctorum).
Appearance
- Growth form
- A perennial vine with stems reaching about 6 ft (2 m) or more, sprawling over nearby plants. The square stems carry small downward-pointing prickles that help it cling.
- Leaves
- Heart-shaped to long egg-shaped, about 1¼–2¾ in (3–7 cm) long. They look like whorls of four, but two in each set are actually leafy .
- Flowers
- Tiny pale yellow-green flowers in loose clusters; easy to overlook.
- Flowering time
- In Japan it blooms from August to October.
- Fruit
- Round berries about ¼ in (5–6 mm) across that turn black in late fall.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Forest edges
- Fields
- Roadsides
- Range
- Native to southern and eastern China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. It isn't known to grow wild in the US.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Older references may call it Rubia akane, a name now treated as the same species.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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