Is Sedum aizoon the same as Panax notoginseng? What is the difference between the two?
Sedum aizoon is not Panax notoginseng. Sedum aizoon is also known as Tusanqi, Feicai, Hanisanqi, etc. It is a perennial herb of the genus Sedum in the Crassulaceae family. It can be used as medicine and is also used in flowerbeds, flower borders, and ground cover, but it needs isolation. In rock gardens, other plants are mostly used as edging plants. It can also be potted or grown in hanging baskets, to regulate air humidity and accent platforms and courtyards, etc.
Sedum aizoon is a perennial succulent herbaceous plant, hairless, and can reach up to 80 cm in height. The rhizome is thick, nearly woody, and the aboveground stems are upright and unbranched. The leaves are alternate or nearly opposite. The corymbose cyme is terminal, sessile or nearly sessile. The petals are yellow, oblong-lanceolate, with a short pointed tip. The follicles are 5 in number and arranged in a starlike pattern. The seeds are smooth, with narrow wings along the margin, wider at the apex. The flowering period is June to August, and the fruiting period is August to September.
Sedum aizoon prefers light and a warm, humid climate. It is drought-tolerant, cold-tolerant, and not tolerant of waterlogging. It has no strict requirements for soil and can grow in ordinary soil, but grows better in sandy loam and humus loam. The optimum growth temperature is 15°C to 20°C. It is produced in Sichuan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, Shandong, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, and other places. It is also distributed from the Urals in the Soviet Union to Mongolia, Japan, and Korea.
The whole plant of Sedum aizoon is used medicinally. It has the effects of stopping bleeding, relieving pain, dispersing blood stasis, and reducing swelling. Taken in water or steeped in wine, it treats various kinds of bleeding. Fresh material is crushed and applied externally for sores, boils, and carbuncles. In Nantong and other places, relevant medical research units use the plant's water decoction and injection to treat various internal bleeding disorders, with remarkable curative effects.
Sedum aizoon is also a health vegetable. The fresh edible parts contain protein, carbohydrates, fat, crude fiber, carotene, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, iron, oleanolic acid, sitosterol, alkaloids, sedoheptulose, flavonoids, organic acids, and many other components. It has no bitter taste and a good mouthfeel. It can be stir-fried, stewed, made into soup, served cold, etc. It is a delicious dish on family tables in the 21st century. Eating it often can enhance human immunity and has a good dietary therapeutic and health-care effect.