Houttuynia cordata seeds mature in Dec.蕺菜 ji cai. nate; veins 5-7, basal or innermost pair arising ca. 5 mm above base, if 7-veined, then outermost pair very slender or inconspicuous; reticulate veins ± conspicuous. Inflorescences (0.4-) 1.5-2.5(-2.7) cm × (2-)5-6 mm; peduncles 1.5-3 cm, subglabrous; involucral bracts oblong or obovate, (5-)10-15 × (3-)5-7 mm, apex rounded. Bract beneath each flower linear, terete, inconspicuous. Stamens longer than ovary. Capsule 2-3 mm, with persistent styles. Fl. Apr-Sep, fr. Jun-Oct. 2n = 24*, 96.
Ravines, streamsides, forests, wet meadows, slopes, thicket and field margins, trailsides, roadsides, ditch banks; near sea level to 2500 m. Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Bhutan, India, Indonesia (?Java), Japan (including Ryukyu Islands), Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, Sikkim, Thailand].
Leaves used medicinally; shoots eaten as a vegetable.