Lindera obtusiloba, the blunt-lobed spice bush,[1] is a species of flowering plant in the laurel family Lauraceae, native to China, Korea and Japan. It is a spreading deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 6 m (20 ft) tall and wide, with glossy aromatic leaves and deep yellow flowers which appear in spring before the leaves.[1] Juvenile leaves are lobed (as the name suggests) and are deep purple. The leaves often turn yellow in autumn.
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Closeup of trunks
Japanese spicebush | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Magnoliids |
Order: | Laurales |
Family: | Lauraceae |
Genus: | Lindera |
Species: | L. obtusiloba
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Binomial name | |
Lindera obtusiloba |
This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[2][3]
Uses
editA Lindera obtusiloba water extract inhibited mast-cell-derived allergic inflammation in vitro and vivo, suggesting it may have possible uses in allergic diseases such as allergic rhinitis, asthma and atopic dermatitis.[4]
The plant contains the anti-histamine compound koaburaside.
References
edit- ^ a b RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1-4053-3296-5.
- ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Lindera obtusiloba". Retrieved 26 June 2013.
- ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 60. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ^ Suh WM, Park SB, Lee S, Kim HH, Suk K, Son JH, Kwon TK, Choi HG, Lee SH, Kim SH.,"Suppression of mast-cell-mediated allergic inflammation by Lindera obtusiloba." Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2011 Feb;236(2):240-6
External links
edit- Dong Wook Lim; Mi-Sook Lee; Song Her; Suengmok Cho; Chang-Ho Lee; In-Ho Kim; Daeseok Han (2016). "Antidepressant-like effects of Lindera obtusiloba extracts on the immobility behavior of rats in the forced swim test". Molecules. 21 (3): 277. doi:10.3390/molecules21030277. PMC 6273877. PMID 26927055.