Paederia foetida

Skunkvine
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Gentianales
Family:	Rubiaceae
Genus:	Paederia
Species:	P. foetida
Binomial name
Paederia foetida L.[1]
Synonyms[2]
P. magnifica Noronha (nom. nud.) P. scandens (Lour.) Merr. P. tomentosa Blume Gentiana scandens Lour.

Paederia foetida is a species of plant, with common names that are variations of skunkvine, stinkvine, pilau maile (Hawaiian) or Chinese fever vine.[3] It is native to temperate, and tropical Asia; and has become naturalized in the Mascarenes, Melanesia, Polynesia, and the Hawaiian Islands, also found in North America by recent studies.[2]

Paederia foetida is known for the strong, sulphurous odour exuded when its leaves or stems are crushed or bruised.[4] This is because the oil responsible for the smell, and found primarily within the leaves, contains sulphur compounds, including largely dimethyl disulphide.[5]

Distribution

P. foetida is native to Bangladesh and southern Bhutan; Cambodia; Taiwan and China (in Hong Kong and Macau, and the provinces of Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang); India (in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Telangana, in the northern part of West Bengal, and the Andaman and Nicobar islands); Indonesia; Japan (in Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku prefectures, as well as in the Ryukyu Islands); Laos; Malaysia; Myanmar; Nepal; the Philippines; Singapore; South Korea; Thailand; and Vietnam.[2]

Uses

It is sometimes planted as an ornamental, and has virtue in folk medicine.[2][6] It is also used as a culinary spice in some traditional cooking in North Eastern and Eastern India. In Hainanese cuisine, the leaves are ground into flour and mixed with rice to form noodles used in a sweet soup.[7]

Pests and diseases

The caterpillars of four hawkmoth species are recorded to feed on P. foetida: Neogurelca hyas, Macroglossum corythus, M. pyrrhosticta and M. sitiene.[8]

References

1.  This species was first described botanically and published in Mantissa Plantarum 1: 52. 1767. "Name - Paederia foetida L." Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
2. "Paederia foetida". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
3. "Ecology of Paederia foetida". ISSG Database. Invasive Species Specialist Group (IUCN and SSC. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
4. Chanda, Silpi; Sarethy, Indira P.; De, Biplab; Singh, Kuldeep (2013-12-01). "Paederia foetida — a promising ethno-medicinal tribal plant of northeastern India". Journal of Forestry Research. 24 (4): 801–808. doi:10.1007/s11676-013-0369-2. ISSN 1993-0607. S2CID 5969235.
5. K.C.Wong; G.L.Tan (Jan–Feb 1994). "Steam volatile constituents of the aerial parts of Paederia foetida L. (abstract)". Flavour and Fragrance Journal. 9 (1). Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: 25–28. doi:10.1002/ffj.2730090106.
6. Chanda, Silpi; Deb, Lokesh; Tiwari, Raj Kumar; Singh, Kuldeep; Ahmad, Sayeed (2015-09-03). "Gastroprotective mechanism of Paederia foetida Linn. (Rubiaceae) – a popular edible plant used by the tribal community of North-East India". BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 15 (1): 304. doi:10.1186/s12906-015-0831-0. ISSN 1472-6882. PMC 4557762. PMID 26335308.
7. "Jishiteng Guozai Soup (Chinese Fevervine Herb Soup) | Welcome to Sunny Haikou".
8. Robinson, Gaden S.; Ackery, Phillip R.; Kitching, Ian J.; Beccaloni, George W.; Hernández, Luis M. (2010). "HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants". Natural History Museum, London. Retrieved 2019-09-14.