What medicinal herb is Clematis chinensis? A list of suitable growing regions in China
Nowadays, Clematis chinensis is becoming more and more popular and has high cultivation value. So what medicinal herb exactly is Clematis chinensis? Which regions in China can grow it? How is it best grown?
What is Clematis chinensis?
Clematis chinensis is a common Chinese medicinal herb in China, with its rhizome used as medicine, and it has effects such as dispelling wind-dampness, promoting urination and menstruation, and relieving pain. In modern clinical practice, its new uses are constantly being discovered, such as treating gallstones, calcaneal bone spurs, heel pain, esophageal cancer, and so on.
At the same time, Clematis chinensis can also be made into pesticide, which has a considerable control effect on pests such as cotton geometrids, cabbage caterpillars, and cutworms.
Which regions in China can grow Clematis chinensis?
Clematis chinensis grows wild on humus-rich hillsides, forest edges, or in shrub thickets, and grows more abundantly in cut-over sites, under sparse forests, and beside gullies. It has no strict requirements for climate and soil, but cool, humid climates and mountain brown earth or sandy loam rich in humus are best. It grows poorly on plots that are too low-lying, prone to waterlogging, or dry.
It is mainly distributed in southern Yunnan, China, Guizhou, Sichuan, southern Shaanxi, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei, Henan, Fujian, Taiwan, China, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, southern Jiangsu, and the area south of the Huai River in Anhui.
How is Clematis chinensis grown?
In production, direct seeding or raising seedlings for transplanting can be used, and raising seedlings for transplanting is preferable.
1. Site selection and land preparation: For growing Clematis chinensis, it is advisable to choose mountain brown earth or sandy loam with deep soil layers, good drainage, and loose fertility; apply 2500-3000 kg of decomposed barnyard manure or compost per mu, plow 20-25 cm deep, level and harrow finely, and make beds or ridges 1.2 m wide.
2. Timely transplanting: In spring, Clematis chinensis is sown by broadcasting to raise seedlings and emerges in about half a month; after emergence, transplant and set out the plants 50-60 days later. For root bud transplanting, before the root buds sprout in spring, cut off the root buds with a knife, then transplant them directly into the field at a plant-row spacing of 30×40 cm.
3. Cultivation and weeding: After the Clematis chinensis seedlings emerge, promptly remove the covering rice straw; when the seedlings are 3-5 cm tall, cultivate and weed once, then cultivate and weed 1-2 more times depending on weed growth, and after field planting, cultivate and weed 2-3 times each year.
4. Water and fertilizer management: During the seedling stage of Clematis chinensis, apply light and small amounts of diluted human manure and urine or other nitrogen fertilizer together with cultivation and weeding; after planting, apply phosphorus-containing fertilizer or compound fertilizer twice; drain promptly in rainy weather and pay attention to watering in dry weather.
5. Trellising and pruning: When Clematis chinensis seedlings are 30-50 cm tall, use branches and other trellis materials to build supports between rows for the plants to climb and grow, avoiding stems and leaves piling up and tangling together, which affects growth due to poor ventilation and light; appropriately cut off overly dense vines to promote root development.
6. Harvesting and processing:
(1) Collection and processing of tender shoots
In early to mid-May in spring, when the seedlings grow to 20-30 cm tall, collect their tender parts, immediately blanch them in boiling water for 10-15 minutes, remove and soak them in cold water for 30 minutes, then remove and eat them immediately, or preserve them in salt or dry them in the sun for later use. They can be picked 2 years after planting; starting from the second year after planting, the yield is 100-150 kg per mu each year.
(2) Harvesting and processing of roots
Generally, they are harvested for medicinal use 3 years after planting. In autumn, when the stems and leaves of Clematis chinensis wither, dig up the rhizomes, remove the stems, leaves, and soil, and sun-dry them. The yield is about 2500 kg of fresh roots per mu, with a drying ratio of 2.5:1.