Wild Golden Thread Lotus (Anoectochilus roxburghii) Market Price, Differences from Cultivated Plants, and Growing Prospects

Golden Thread Lotus, also known as Bird Ginseng, Golden Grass, etc., is a wild plant commonly found at forest edges, ditch banks, and on rock faces. Because it has effects such as detoxifying and removing dampness, and dispelling wind, it is used as a medicinal herb. At present, many regions are also cultivating it artificially, so how much does wild Golden Thread Lotus cost per jin on the market? What are its growing prospects? What is the difference from artificially cultivated plants?

I. How much does wild Golden Thread Lotus cost per jin on the market?

The price of wild Golden Thread Lotus is very expensive. Fresh goods are usually around 2000 yuan per jin, while dried goods are more than 20000 yuan per jin. Wild Golden Thread Lotus is an extremely rare top-grade wild mountain treasure. It has strict requirements for the ecological environment. In addition, the natural environment has suffered severe damage, long-term large-scale overharvesting by local people and damage by wild animals, plus mountain development, have led to a sharp reduction in the quantity of wild Golden Thread Lotus, making its market price extremely expensive. It has long enjoyed the reputation of “in the north there is cordyceps, in the south there is Golden Thread Lotus.”

II. What are the growing prospects for Golden Thread Lotus?

The growing prospects for Golden Thread Lotus are very broad. We can set everything else aside for the moment and consider only that the development of medicine and pharmacology now creates an ever-growing demand for medicinal materials, and the annual export volume of medicinal materials is still increasing. In fact, this does not mean that the demand for Golden Thread Lotus will also change greatly. The main reason is that Golden Thread Lotus has rather special medicinal properties, and the points where it is used are not especially numerous. Even so, there is still a certain demand for it in pharmaceutical research, and it is also used in other pharmaceutical development. In addition, wild Golden Thread Lotus is basically on the verge of extinction, so cultivating Golden Thread Lotus can just fill the gap in the market.

III. About how much can be earned from growing one mu of Golden Thread Lotus?

The cost and profit of cultivation still need to take specific circumstances into account, because the cultivation of Golden Thread Lotus is rather special. If ordinary cultivation methods are used, the cost of growing one mu is about 45000 yuan, and each mu can yield at most about 60000 yuan. After deducting costs, the net profit is about 15000 yuan. If simple greenhouse cultivation is used, then the cultivation cost is 150000 yuan, and after deducting costs the gain is about 60000 yuan. If new-technology greenhouse cultivation is used, the cultivation cost is 220000 to 230000 yuan, and after deducting costs the gain is about 40000 to 50000 yuan. So specifically, it still depends on which cultivation model you adopt.

IV. What is the difference between wild Golden Thread Lotus and artificially cultivated plants?

1. Wild Golden Thread Lotus: it is generally produced in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, and other places. Wild Golden Thread Lotus from different places has certain differences, mainly in the density of the golden lines and the thickness of the leaves. These are also the conditions by which we ordinarily judge whether Golden Thread Lotus is of superior quality. Therefore, Golden Thread Lotus from Fujian is considered the most superior, followed by Guangdong, Guangxi, and other places.

At present, because wild Golden Thread Lotus is almost already very difficult to gather, the price of wild Golden Thread Lotus is also climbing steadily. Freshly gathered wild Golden Thread Lotus had already reached a price of 1500 yuan/jin in Fujian and other places in 2018.

2. Cultivated Golden Thread Lotus: at present, artificially cultivated Golden Thread Lotus is actually not grown from the seeds of wild Golden Thread Lotus, because wild Golden Thread Lotus has extremely harsh requirements for its growing environment. Golden Thread Lotus needs a moist, shady environment with loose soil, and it has very high requirements for light. Therefore, wild Golden Thread Lotus basically grows in remote, uninhabited deep mountains. This kind of growing environment is very difficult to configure artificially, so it is basically impossible for artificial cultivation to keep wild Golden Thread Lotus seeds alive.

At present, if artificially cultivated Golden Thread Lotus is to achieve the effects and functions of wild Golden Thread Lotus, each plant must be grown for at least more than 2 years. However, much of the Golden Thread Lotus currently cultivated is put on the market after only half a year. This type of artificially cultivated Golden Thread Lotus differs to a certain degree from wild Golden Thread Lotus in terms of effects.

V. How can you tell whether Golden Thread Lotus is wild or artificially cultivated?

1. Because wild Golden Thread Lotus has long lived in deep mountains and old forests, its moist living environment causes the rhizomes of wild plants to be dark green, just like moss.

2. The golden lines of wild Golden Thread Lotus are longer than those of artificially cultivated plants, basically about 2 to 3 times the length of those of artificially cultivated plants, and the leaves are thicker than those of artificially cultivated plants.