Crow-dipper

Crow-dipper (Pinellia ternata), also called ban xia or pinellia, is a tuberous perennial herb of the arum family (Araceae), genus Pinellia, growing 15–40 cm tall. Each year the plant sends up one or two leaves from the tuber; the leaves are trifoliate (three leaflets), ovate-lanceolate, 5–15 cm long, often deeply lobed, on long stalks. At the base (axil) of the leaf stalk a small **bulbil** is usually produced — an important means of vegetative reproduction. The inflorescence is typical of the arum family: a rolled green **spathe** surrounding a **spadix**, with male flowers above and female flowers below and no perianth. The fruit is a small green-yellow berry clustered on the spadix, but the plant spreads mainly by bulbils rather than seed. The whole plant is toxic.

Updated by lebachungtdh@gmail.com · 10/12/2026

Crow-dipper is native to China, Japan and Korea and has since spread widely, becoming a weed in many places, including North America. It prefers moist soil and light shade and often grows by walls, in fields, on waste ground and at forest edges. The tuber contains needle-like **calcium oxalate crystals** together with lectins (pinellin) and alkaloids — eaten raw it causes itching, numbness and a burning sensation in the mouth and throat, so in traditional medicine the tuber must be **processed** (soaked with alum or ginger, fried or boiled) before use. In Chinese medicine the tuber (ban xia) is pungent and warm and toxic: it **dries dampness, transforms phlegm, redirects rebellious qi and stops vomiting**, and is used for phlegmy cough, nausea, vomiting, chest fullness and dizziness, often in the formula Er Chen Tang. The plant is also propagated by bulbils for its medicinal tuber and is occasionally grown in pots as an ornamental. It has not been assessed by the IUCN and is therefore listed as Not Evaluated (NE).

Updated by lebachungtdh@gmail.com · 10/12/2026