火炭母 chinese knotweed (polygonum chinense)

火炭母是香港很粗生的植物，我卻很珍重。

一來是本土原生植物，二來植物易認且漂亮，三，多年前因一位婆婆認識她。

那是一次在大嶼山的村落之行。走到一條尚有人煙的舊村，在行人徑碰見那婆婆，她站在自己屋前的矮牆，見到我們一班人，便閒聊起來，指著墻上的植物問我們認識嗎？跟著便在葉間摘下什麼放到嘴內，說到：「這是火炭毛(粵音第一音)，(果)酸湄湄，全棵都是寶。」

的確，中藥將火炭母全株入藥，有清熱利濕消滯之用。花、果、嫩莖葉均可食用。

當下，細心打量這植物，發現這草本攀懸植物很標緻，小小白花花瓣有質感，而且光線底下呈剔透，那些小果更微妙，包裹在宿存的花被之內，黑中透紫，帶光澤。

爾後，走到比較靜的路邊山邊，都發現這美麗小植物的蹤影。雖然常見，每次皆不禁讚美她。這植物很容易辨認，葉面常有 v 型的白或深色的斑紋，而其莖呈嫩紅色。

this plant is very common in this city. it is a hong kong and chinese native.

don’t overlook this perennial climber even though it is everywhere. it has many pretty features:

Its stems are glabrous and red-brown.

you can easily recognise chinese knotweed amid a luxurious pasture because many of its leaves wear a faint and sometimes more than that white or darker green v on each of the blade.

and then it gives white flowers and black achene. the attractiveness come from the slightly translucence of these colours.

adding to all these, the plant is edible and of medical values.

火炭母 chinese knotweed (polygonum chinense) – kingdom: 植物界 plantae | (unranked): angiosperms | (unranked): eudicots | (unranked): core eudicots | order: caryophyllales 蓼目/石竹目 | family: polygonaceae 蓼科 | genus: polygonum 蓼屬 | species: p. chinense 火炭母   (source: wiki)

 

reference: flora of china