Schisandra

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Ordo: Austrobaileyales
Familia: Schisandraceae
Genus: Schisandra
Subgenera: S. subg. Pleiostema – S. subg. Schisandra – S. subg. Sinoschisandra

Species: S. arisanensis – S. bicolor – S. chinensis – S. elongata – S. glabra – S. glaucescens – S. grandiflora – S. henryi – S. incarnata – S. lancifolia – S. longipes – S. micrantha – S. neglecta – S. parapropinqua – S. perulata – S. plena – S. propinqua – S. pubescens – S. pubinervis – S. repanda – S. rubriflora – S. sphaerandra – S. sphenanthera – S. tomentella
Name

Schisandra Michx. (1803), nom. cons.

Type species: S. coccinea Michx. = S. glabra (Brickell) Rehder
Synonyms

Homotypic
Schizandra DC., orth. var.
Stellandria Brickell, Med. Repos. 6(3): 327. 1803, nom rej.

Heterotypic
Maximowiczia Rupr., Bull. Cl. Phys.-Math. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint-Pétersbourg ser. 2. 15: 124, 142. 1856.
Sphaerostema Blume, Bijdr. 22. 1825.

References

Michaux, A. 1803. Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 218.
Rehder, A.J. 1944. Schisandra Michaux, nomen genericum conservandum. J. Arnold Arbor. 25: 129–131.
Saunders, R.M.K. 2000. Monograph of Schisandra (Schisandraceae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 58:100.

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Spaltkörbchen, Beerentrauben
English: Magnolia Vine
suomi: Palsamiköynnökset
日本語: マツブサ属
polski: Cytryniec
русский: Лимонник

Schisandra, the magnolia vine, is a genus of twining shrubs that generally climb on other vegetation. Various authors have included the plants in the Illiciaceae[3]

Schisandra (also spelled Schizandra) is native to Asia and North America, with a center of diversity in China.[2][4][5]

Some species are commonly grown in gardens as ornamentals. It is a hardy deciduous climber which thrives in almost any kind of soil; its preferred position is on a sheltered, shady wall. It may be propagated by cuttings of half-matured shoots in August.

Despite its common name "magnolia vine", Schisandra is not closely related to the true magnolias.

Uses

Its dried fruit is sometimes used medicinally. The berries of S. chinensis are given the name wu wei zi in Chinese (五味子; pinyin: wǔ wèi zi), which translates as "five flavor fruit" because they possess all five basic flavors in Chinese herbal medicine: salty, sweet, sour, pungent (spicy), and bitter. In traditional Chinese medicine it is used as a remedy for many ailments: to resist infections, increase skin health, and combat insomnia, coughing, and thirst.[6]
Species

accepted species[2]

Schisandra arisanensis - S China incl Taiwan
Schisandra bicolor - Guangxi, Hunan, Yunnan, Zhejiang
Schisandra chinensis - Russian Far East, NE China, Korea, Japan
Schisandra elongata - Java
Schisandra glabra - Hidalgo, United States (LA AR MS AL TN KY GA FL SC NC)[7]
Schisandra glaucescens - Chongqing, Hubei
Schisandra grandiflora - Tibet, Sikkim, Nepal, Bhutan, Assam, Uttarakhand
Schisandra henryi - S China
Schisandra incarnata - Hubei
Schisandra lancifolia - Sichuan, Yunnan
Schisandra longipes - Guangdong, Guangxi
Schisandra macrocarpa - Yunnan
Schisandra micrantha - Manipur, Yunnan, Myanmar
Schisandra neglecta - Sikkim, Nepal, Bhutan, Assam, Myanmar, Yunnan
Schisandra parapropinqua - Guizhou, Yunnan
Schisandra perulata - Thailand, Vietnam
Schisandra plena - Arunachal Pradesh, Yunnan
Schisandra propinqua - China, Assam, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Java, Bali
Schisandra pubescens - Sichuan, Hubei
Schisandra pubinervis - Hubei, Sichuan
Schisandra repanda - Korea, Japan
Schisandra rubriflora - Arunachal Pradesh, Yunnan, Myanmar, Sichuan
Schisandra sphaerandra - Sichuan, Yunnan
Schisandra sphenanthera - China
Schisandra tomentella - Sichuan

Chemistry

The extract of S. rubriflora, a native of the Yunnan province, was found to contain complex and highly oxygenated nortriterpenoids called rubriflorins A-C.[8]
See also

Schisandra chinensis
Kadsura japonica

References

Michaux, André. 1803. Flora Boreali-Americana 2: 218–219, pl. 47.
Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Hutchinson, J. 1973. The Families of Flowering Plants, ed. 3. Oxford. Pp. 161-162. Smith, A. C. 1947. The families Illiciaceae and Schisandraceae. Sargentia 7: 1-224.
Flora of North America vol 3
Flora of China Vol. 7 Page 41 五味子属 wu wei zi shu Schisandra Michaux, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2: 218. 1803.
Panossian A., Wikman G. Pharmacology of Schisandra chinensis Bail.: An overview of Russian research and uses in medicine . Journal of Ethnopharmacology. Vol 118/2 pp 183-212. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2008.04.020
Biota of North America Program 2013 county distribution map, Schisandra glabra
Xiao, W.-L. et al.. J. Nat. Prod. 2007, Web release : May 10th.