Why is Nostoc flagelliforme banned from sale? Latest policy explained
Nostoc flagelliforme, also known as di mao, zhan mao cai, di mao cai and other names, is a type of algae in the order Nostocales, phylum Cyanobacteria. It is named for its black color and slender shape resembling human hair. Since the Han Dynasty, the powerful and wealthy often offered Nostoc flagelliforme as tribute for emperors to eat. It has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, soothing the lungs and resolving phlegm, and regulating the stomach and intestines, and especially has the unique effect of lowering blood pressure. Now let us take a look together at why Nostoc flagelliforme is banned from sale!
Why is Nostoc flagelliforme banned from sale?
The production areas of Nostoc flagelliforme are usually quite poor, and some farmers make a living by digging and collecting Nostoc flagelliforme to sell for money. However, due to excessive harvesting of Nostoc flagelliforme over many years, its wild resources have been severely damaged, and this has led to the degradation of large areas of grassland and land desertification. In 2000, the State Council of the People's Republic of China issued the "Notice of the State Council on Prohibiting the Collection and Sale of Nostoc flagelliforme and Curbing the Excessive Digging of Licorice and Ephedra", adjusting the protection level of Nostoc flagelliforme in the "List of National Key Protected Wild Plants of China" from second class to first class, and requiring that the collection, purchase, processing, sale and export of Nostoc flagelliforme be strictly prohibited.
What are the impacts of collecting Nostoc flagelliforme?
The damage caused by raking Nostoc flagelliforme is extremely great. According to investigation and calculation, producing 1.5 to 2.5 liang of Nostoc flagelliforme requires raking 10 mu of grassland, and the income from 1.5 to 2.5 liang of Nostoc flagelliforme is 40 to 50 yuan, that is, “40 to 50 yuan of income from Nostoc flagelliforme destroys 10 mu of grassland, causing the grassland to have no benefit for 10 years”. In addition, after crowds pour into the grasslands, the economic losses caused by eating, lodging, fuel use and occupation, the annual environmental and economic losses caused by raking Nostoc flagelliforme amount to nearly 10 billion yuan, while the income from Nostoc flagelliforme is only a few tens of millions of yuan. The cost is too great, and the loss outweighs the gain. Moreover, because Nostoc flagelliforme is mainly distributed in the grassland areas of northern China, collecting Nostoc flagelliforme has also become one of the main causes of sandstorms in China.
Where are the production areas of Nostoc flagelliforme?
Nostoc flagelliforme is a wild terrestrial algae unique to the plateau, widely distributed in deserts and poor soils around the world. It is produced in large quantities in the arid and semi-arid areas of China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and Gansu, Qinghai, Shaanxi and other provinces. It grows more abundantly in areas with annual rainfall between 80 and 250 millimeters and with parent material of Tertiary red soil. In addition, it also exists in Russia, the Mongolian People's Republic, Czechoslovakia, France, the United States, Mexico, Morocco, Somalia and Algeria and other countries.