About Stemona tuberosa Lour.
Stemona tuberosa Lour. is a species of flowering plant in the family Stemonaceae. Hornets have an important role in the seed dispersal of this plant. A hornet will bite off a seed that still has its elaiosome attached, then carry the seed roughly 100 meters away. At this new location, the hornet chews off the elaiosome and leaves the seed abandoned. The abandoned seed is then likely to be carried into an ant nest by ants. This species is native to Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, South-Central China, Southeast China, Hainan, India, Laos, the Lesser Sunda Islands, the Maluku Islands, Myanmar, New Guinea, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Known as bǎi bù in Chinese (Chinese: 百部), Stemona tuberosa is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine. It is used to treat Pediculus capitus and Phthirus pubis, and treatment with this herb typically causes only low skin irritation.
