Which medicinal herbs are harvested in autumn? Don't miss the harvest time
It is often said that autumn is a season of harvest. Various kinds of rice, wheat, fruits and so on, many of them ripen and are harvested in autumn. Since medicinal plants are a kind of crop, which Chinese medicinal herbs are suitable for harvesting in autumn?
1. ForsythiaAlso known as Lianke, Qingqiao, etc. Forsythia (Forsythia suspensa) blooms and bears fruit 3—4 years after planting. Generally, after Frost's Descent, when the fruit turns from green to earthy yellow and is about to split, it is harvested. The harvested fruit is sun-dried, impurities are removed, and then it is sun-dried until completely dry to become a commodity.
2. Cassia seed Also known as Caojueming, Fake Mung Bean, etc. In autumn of the same year, in September—October, when the pods turn dark brown, harvest in batches, and finally cut down the whole plant with a sickle, carry it back to sun-dry, beat out the seeds with a wooden stick, remove all impurities, and then sun-dry the seeds until completely dry to become a commodity.
3. Dodder Also known as Bean Parasite, Rootless Grass, etc. Around the Autumn Equinox, when more than 1/3 of the bean plants have withered, the dodder (Cuscuta) fruit shells have also turned yellow. Then cut them down together with the bean plants, sun-dry, thresh, sieve out the seeds with a sieve, remove the fruit shells and impurities completely, and sun-dry to become a commodity.
4. CoixAlso known as Yiren rice, etc. In autumn, in September—October, when the stems and leaves turn withered yellow and 80% of the fruits are light brown or yellow, cut down the whole plant together with the stems, thresh with a threshing machine, sun-dry, remove impurities, winnow away empty shells, sieve clean, then use a rice milling machine to remove the outer shell and seed coat, sieve clean again, and sun-dry to become a commodity.
5. White hyacinth bean Also known as Small Sword Bean, etc. White hyacinth bean (Lablab purpureus) is harvested in September—October, when the pod shell turns yellow-white and shows slight wrinkling; the hyacinth bean flowers are picked in June—July when the buds are about to open. White hyacinth bean: after the pods are harvested, sun-dry them, beat out the seeds with a wooden stick, winnow away impurities, and sun-dry to become a commodity; hyacinth bean flowers: after picking, directly sun-dry to become a commodity; hyacinth bean seed coat: first soak the white hyacinth beans in water until the seed coat swells, then peel it off and sun-dry.
6. Wild jujube Also known as Mountain Jujube, Wild Jujube, etc. The wild jujube tree blooms and bears fruit in the 2nd year after planting. In September—October, when the fruit turns red and is fully ripe, it is harvested; the seed kernel is plump and of relatively high quality. In old producing areas, it is generally knocked down with a bamboo pole. In recent years, experiments have used “ethephon” to promote falling, with very good results. After the fruit is harvested, remove the flesh, crush the jujube pit, separate the jujube shell, extract the jujube kernel and sun-dry to become a commodity; mechanized shell crushing can also be used to process out the seed kernel. 7. Gorgon fruit Also known as Chicken-head Rice, Red Lotus Seed, etc. Gorgon fruit (Euryale ferox) has a relatively long flowering and fruiting period, and the fruits do not ripen uniformly. Generally from late August to September, when the fruits are reddish brown, harvest the mature fruits on the water by boat in stages and batches. If too early, the seeds are not ripe, the yield is low and the quality is poor; if too late, the ripe seeds fall and scatter into the water on their own, making collection difficult. After harvesting, break the prickly outer pericarp with a wooden stick, take out the seeds, wash them clean with clear water, and sun-dry or dry in the shade. Then, crush open the hard shell, winnow the fruit shells clean, remove impurities, and take the clean kernel and dry it to become a commodity.
8. Cornus Also known as Jujube Peel, Medicinal Jujube. Cornus officinalis can only bloom and bear fruit 8—10 years after planting. Harvest at the right time when the fruit peel turns bright red. When picking, prevent breaking the branches and damaging the flower buds, otherwise it will affect the yield of the next year. After the fruit is harvested, promptly remove the twigs, fruit stalks and impurities, spread the fruit on a bamboo tray at a thickness of about 3 cm, bake over a gentle fire until the peel swells and becomes soft, to the extent that the pit can slide out automatically when squeezed out by hand, then immediately take it out and spread it to cool, squeeze out the pit, and sun-dry or bake the flesh to become a commodity.
9. Psoralea Also known as Po Gu Zhi, Black Psoralea, etc. Psoralea corylifolia has a relatively long flowering and fruiting period, and the fruits mature successively from July—October. When 80% of the seeds on the small fruit spikes turn black, they can be harvested. Generally harvest once every 7—10 days, and finally cut back the whole plant together with the stems. In windy weather, harvest should be done in advance, otherwise the fruits are easily blown off by the wind and difficult to collect. After harvest, promptly spread the fruits to sun-dry, thresh and remove impurities, wash clean with clear water, then add 5% salt water and stir-fry until dry and fragrant, take out and sieve away the ash and debris to become a commodity.
10. Platycodon Also known as Bundle Flower, Bell Flower, etc. Generally it is harvested only after two years of cultivation following sowing. Dig it up when the above-ground stems and leaves turn withered yellow. If too early, the yield is low and the quality is poor; if too late, the root bark is difficult to scrape clean and not easy to sun-dry. When digging, do not damage the roots, so as to avoid the juice overflowing. Dig out the root strips, remove the stems, leaves and soil, wash them clean in clear water, scrape off the outer skin while fresh with a piece of broken bowl or a bamboo knife, and sun-dry to become a commodity.
In summary, the ten kinds of Chinese medicinal herbs harvested in autumn listed above mostly belong to fruit and seed medicinal herbs. Why is that?
Fruit-type Chinese medicinal herbs are best harvested when naturally ripe or nearly ripe; seed-type Chinese medicinal herbs are best harvested when the seeds are fully developed and ripe, the grains are plump, and the content of active ingredients is high. And autumn happens to be the season when most fruits ripen and seeds become plump.