''Paris'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s described by

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

in 1753. It is widespread across Europe and Asia, with a center of diversity in China.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> It consists of less than two dozen

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

plants: the best known species is ''

Paris quadrifolia ''Paris quadrifolia'', the herb Paris or true lover's knot, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It occurs in temperate and cool areas throughout Eurasia, from Spain to Yakutia, and from Iceland to Mongolia. It prefers ...

''. Some ''Paris'' species are used in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

for their

analgesic An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic, antalgic, pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used for pain management. Analgesics are conceptually distinct from anesthetics, which temporarily reduce, and in s ...

and

anticoagulant An anticoagulant, commonly known as a blood thinner, is a chemical substance that prevents or reduces the coagulation of blood, prolonging the clotting time. Some occur naturally in blood-eating animals, such as leeches and mosquitoes, which ...

properties, most notably as an ingredient of

Yunnan Baiyao Yunnan Baiyao (or Yunnan Paiyao; ) is a proprietary traditional Chinese medicine marketed and used as a hemostatic product in both human and veterinary alternative medicine. Although Yunnan Baiyao has long been recognized as a pharmaceutical pr ...

. Intense ethnopharmaceutical interest has significantly reduced their numbers. These plants are closely related to ''

Trillium ''Trillium'' (trillium, wakerobin, toadshade, tri flower, birthroot, birthwort, and sometimes "wood lily") is a genus of about fifty flowering plant species in the family Melanthiaceae. ''Trillium'' species are native to temperate regions of No ...

'', with the distinction traditionally being that ''Trillium'' contains species which have trimerous (three-

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

ed) flowers, and ''Paris'' contains species which have 4- to 11-merous flowers. A recent analysis places the genera ''Daiswa'' and ''Kinugasa'' in ''Paris'', though the actual circumscription of the genus is debated.

Etymology

From Latin herba Paris (Herba Paris), Paris herba, from Latin herba and Latin par (“equal”), in reference to the regularity of its leaves, petals, etc. It is neither related to the city

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

nor the

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

Species

The genus consists of the following species:

References

Bibliography

* ** ''P. quadrifolia'' and ''P. incomplete''. * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q162121 Melanthiaceae Melanthiaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus