Eleutherococcus trifoliatus (L.) S. Y. Hu (Araliaceae)

Scientific name
Eleutherococcus trifoliatus (L.) S. Y. Hu
Family name
Araliaceae
Local name
Pak-pam
Scandent shrub, c. 2–4 m tall, branches sparsely prickled, usually below the nodes; broad base, recurved. Leaves alternate, palmately compound; petiole up to 5 cm, flattened above, with base slightly dilated, few prickles; leaflets 3–5; petiolules up to 8 mm, articulated with petiole, channelled above; blade up to 3.5 × 2.3 cm, broadly ovate to subrotund, apex acute, base cuneate, margins serrate, chartaceous, glabrous; lateral veins conspicuous on both surfaces, pinnate, reticulation inconspicuous. Inflorescence terminating main or lateral branches, umbel, compound, sessile; primary rays 4–5, rarely solitary, slender (laterals sometimes apparently male), with tiny bracts at bases, occasionally with a few prickles, glabrous, 3–6 cm long; secondary rays (pedicels) numerous, slender, c. 1–1.3 cm. Calyx 5-lobed, teeth minute. Petals 5, ligulate, c. 2 mm long. Stamens 5, filaments c. 2 mm. Ovary turbinate, c. 1.5 mm long, 2-celled; styles 2, approximately halfway connate. Fruit a spheroidal drupe, c. 5 mm across when dry, crowned by persistent bifid style.
Traditional medicinal use
Functionality
Functional constituents
Common shrub in montane forests and thickets, at elevations of 1,100–1,400 m a.s.l. Occasionally grown for young shoots by indigenous peoples of northern Thailand. Propagated by seed sowing, cutting, or layering at a spacing of c. 2 × 2 m.
Young shoots are harvested year-round, and are eaten raw as a side dish or cooked in curries.
Leaves
Leaves
Leaves