Barkroot, also known as Lakan Potato, is a shrub that grows 1-4 meters tall. It usually has a single root with few branches. The stems are brown-black in color and sparsely hairy. The leaves are leathery, alternate, and elongated oval or lanceolate in shape, measuring 9-18 cm in length and 2-6 cm in width. They have a gradually pointed apex and a wide acute base. The leaves have 8-10 pairs of prominent veins that arch and connect at the top, and they have short petioles.
Barkroot
【Synonyms】Lakan Potato.
【Source】It is the root of the plant Anluo in the family Sapindaceae.
【Plant Morphology】Anluo
It is a shrub that grows 1-4 meters tall. It usually has a single root with few branches. The stems are brown-black in color and sparsely hairy.
The leaves are leathery, alternate, and elongated oval or lanceolate in shape, measuring 9-18 cm in length and 2-6 cm in width. They have a gradually pointed apex and a wide acute base. The leaves have 8-10 pairs of prominent veins that arch and connect at the top, and they have short petioles.
The flowers are white, solitary, and axillary, with a diameter of 1-2 cm. The sepals are triangular and acute, covered in soft hairs. The petals are oblong-elliptic in shape, with the inner and outer petals being equal in length or the inner petals slightly shorter. They are wide spreading and covered in closely appressed hairs. The plant has numerous stamens and about 7 pistils, or sometimes they are absent. The pistils are hairy, and the stigma is broadly ovate and slightly 2-lobed. The fruit is ovoid, measuring 1 cm in diameter, and turns orange-red when ripe. The flowering period is from April to July, and the fruiting period is from July to December.
It grows in dense forests on the mountainsides. It is distributed in southern Guangdong.
【Collection】It can be collected throughout the year, washed, sliced, and dried.
【Medicinal Uses】The root is thick, with a black outer skin and a powdery inner texture. It has a distinctive aroma.
【Taste and Nature】It is sweet and neutral in nature.
【Functions and Indications】It strengthens the spleen and benefits the stomach, nourishes the kidneys, and stabilizes essence. It is used to treat chronic gastritis, spleen and stomach deficiency, poor appetite, weakness in the limbs, and nocturnal emissions.
【Dosage and Administration】Orally, decoct 15-30 grams.
