Overview of the Latest Distribution of Pseudostellaria heterophylla Producing Areas
Pseudostellaria heterophylla is the dried tuberous root of the Caryophyllaceae plant Pseudostellaria heterophylla (Miq.) Pax, a common Chinese medicinal herb distributed in Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shaanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and other places. Below let us take a look at the distribution of Pseudostellaria heterophylla producing areas!
Distribution of Pseudostellaria heterophylla Producing Areas
The producing areas of Pseudostellaria heterophylla are mainly distributed in Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shaanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Guizhou and other places. It grows in shady and damp places under forest in valleys at an altitude of 800-2700 m, and is also found in Japan and Korea.
Producing Area Environment of Pseudostellaria heterophylla
Pseudostellaria heterophylla mostly grows wild in rock crevices and layers of dead branches and fallen leaves on shady and damp hillsides. It prefers loose sandy loam rich in humus and well drained. It is suited to a mild and humid climate, growing vigorously at an average ten-day temperature of 10-20 degC. It fears the high temperatures and intense sunlight of midsummer; when the temperature reaches above 30 degC, plant growth stalls. In late June the plants begin to wither and enter summer dormancy.
Pseudostellaria heterophylla is strongly cold-resistant and can overwinter safely at a temperature of -17 degC. It likes fertilizer and fears waterlogging; after water accumulates, the roots easily rot. Seeds should not be dried and stored for long; they are best sown as soon as collected, and must meet certain low-temperature conditions to germinate. Therefore, under natural conditions, seedlings from seed can only be seen in spring, while the asexual seedlings grown from seed tubers have already emerged in spring. After emergence, the plants gradually grow faster, branches form on the aboveground part, and the leaves enlarge. The underground stem has the characteristic of “roots forming at the stem nodes”, and as the aboveground part grows, it swells into spindle-shaped tuberous roots.
China's Hometown of Pseudostellaria heterophylla
1. Zherong Pseudostellaria heterophylla: Zherong County is a county under the jurisdiction of Ningde City, Fujian Province. Zherong Pseudostellaria heterophylla is a nationally renowned genuine regional medicinal herb, famous at home and abroad for its crystal yellow color, plump tuberous roots and rich aroma. The price of Pseudostellaria heterophylla in major Chinese medicinal material markets uses the Zherong Pseudostellaria heterophylla price as the benchmark, dominating the price of Pseudostellaria heterophylla in the domestic medicinal material market, and it has long enjoyed the fine reputation of “China's Hometown of Pseudostellaria heterophylla”.
2. Shibing Pseudostellaria heterophylla: Shibing is a county under the jurisdiction of Qiandongnan in Guizhou. With excellent qualities such as good color, good medicinal efficacy and plump individual roots, Shibing Pseudostellaria heterophylla is favored by medicinal merchants everywhere, with a unit price per kilogram about 10 yuan higher than other products nationwide. Its output and output value already account for more than one third of the whole country, and it has the fine reputation of “Southwest Medicine City” and “China's Hometown of Pseudostellaria heterophylla”. It is also the largest producing area of Pseudostellaria heterophylla nationwide and is quite famous in China.