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Schisandra propinqua (Wall.) Baill.

Modern name

Schisandra propinqua (Wall.) Baill.

Synonyms

Kadsura propinqua Wall.; Sphaerostema propinquum (Wall.) Bl.

A tall evergreen climber with glabrous, angled young stems. Leaves rather thin, ovate-lanceolate, narrowly oblong-ovate or almost elliptic, 2 to 5 in. long, 34 to 2 in. wide, rounded or broad-cuneate at the base, narrowed at the apex, glabrous, finely toothed or almost entire; petiole about 1 in. long. Flowers usually solitary, the outer segments greenish yellow, the inner orange, about 58 in. wide, borne on stalks not more than 1 in. long. Males with up to ten perianth segments, the stamens united into a more or less globose head. Female flowers with more numerous segments than in the male. Mature carpels scarlet, in spikes up to 6 in. long: Bot. Mag., t. 4614.

Native of the Himalaya; in cultivation 1828. It is a tender species, at one time cultivated in greenhouses.

var. chinensis Oliver – Leaves narrow-lanceolate or narrowly lanceolate-oblong, 38 to 1 in. or slightly more wide, sometimes marbled with white. Flowers yellowish, borne in late summer; introduced by Wilson in 1907 from W. Hupeh, China. According to him it is a common species up to about 3,300 ft, growing in rocky places; he saw it always less than 10 ft high. It is hardier than the Himalayan plant and like it is easily distinguished from other species by its short-stalked flowers. Since they open so late, it would probably be necessary to grow both sexes of this variety if fruits are to be seen.


Genus

Schisandra

Other species in the genus