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Litsea cubeba

Common name:	Mountain Pepper	Family:	Lauraceae
Author:	(Lour.)Pers.	Botanical references:	266
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - China.
Habitat:	Sunny slopes, thickets, sparse forests, roadsides, watersides, 500 - 3200 metres in Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Litsea [P], Nd [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Laurales. Laurel family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China Hainan Indochina

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 7m. . It is in flower from March to April, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Edible Uses

Fruit Root.

Root[177].
Fruit[177]. The source of an essential oil, it is also used as a flavouring[177].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiphlogistic Expectorant.

Antiphlogistic, expectorant[147].
The root, stem, leaves and fruits are all used as medicine for eliminating windevil and dispelling the cold in the body, allaying swelling and pain[266].
The fruit is used as medicine is known as 'Bi Cheng Qie'[266].

Other Uses

Essential Oil Wood.

The flowers, leaves and fruit walls are used for extracting an essential oil rich in citral which is used as a perfume and in medicine[266].
The fruit core contains 61.8% of oil which is used for industry[266].
The wood is used for general furniture and construction, etc[266].

Cultivation details

We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain. However, judging by its native range, it could succeed outdoors at least in the milder areas of the country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.

Propagation

Seed -

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for the family Lauraceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Litsea+cubeba
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Litsea+cubeba

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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.