Detailed Introduction to Gastrodia Varieties and Main Producing Areas

Gastrodia belongs to the orchid family (Orchidaceae), subfamily Epidendroideae, tribe Gastrodieae, subtribe Gastrodinae. To date, about 30 species of this genus have been discovered worldwide. They are distributed in tropical, subtropical, temperate and cold-temperate mountainous regions. From New Zealand and New Caledonia in the east to Madagascar in the west. From Australia and New Zealand in the south to Northeast China and the Far East region of the former Soviet Union in the north. It mainly includes China, India, Thailand, Bhutan, Nepal, Sikkim, Japan, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand, Japan's Ryukyu Islands, the Bonin Islands, Kalimantan Island, the Malay Peninsula of Malaysia, New Caledonia, as well as Korea, the Philippines, the Amur Oblast and Primorsky Krai of the former Soviet Far East, the Kuril Islands and other areas. This genus has not been found on the African continent, in Europe or in the Americas.

Six species of Gastrodia have been found in China, namely Gastrodia elata (G. elata), G. sn8usta, G. gracilis, G. javanica (C. javanica), and G. tuberculata; in addition, according to literature records, a species G. flabilabella is also distributed in Taiwan, China. Among them, G. gracilis and G. javanica are mainly distributed in Taiwan, China, G. tuberculata has been found in the central region of Yunnan Province, and G. sn8usta is distributed in the high mountain areas of Lijiang and Shiping in Yunnan Province and Emei in Sichuan Province. In China's Gastrodia distribution areas, the main species distributed is G. elata.

At present, Gastrodia (G. elata) is widely cultivated in China and has a relatively broad distribution, producing many variations within the species; one can often see Gastrodia with different flower colors, stem colors, tuber shapes and tuber water content. Based on the above characteristics, Zhou Xuan et al. once divided Gastrodia into 4 types, namely the original form - red Gastrodia (G. elata B1. F. elata), green Gastrodia (G. elata B1. F. Viridis MalKino), black Gastrodia (G. elata B1 f. Glauca SChow), and yellow Gastrodia (G. elata B1 f. flavida SChow). In production, the main cultivated types are red Gastrodia and black Gastrodia.

Red Gastrodia, also called red-stem Gastrodia, is distributed in the provinces of the Yangtze River basin, Northeast China, Southwest China, as well as Japan, Korea and the Far East region of the former Soviet Union. In the counties of Hanzhong region in Shaanxi Province, as well as southern Shaanxi, western Henan, northern Sichuan and other places, the main type that grows well and is cultivated is red-stem Gastrodia, distributed in mountainous areas at an altitude of 800-1500 m. The flower stem is flesh-red, the flowers are light ginger-yellow with a slight reddish tinge, the fruit is elliptical and flesh-red, and the tuber is long-elliptical, light yellow, weighing more than 560 g, with a water content of 78-8 tiao; generally 4.5-5.5 g can process 1 kg of commercial product. Commercial Gastrodia has many nodes, and many longitudinal wrinkles that are obvious.

Black Gastrodia, also called black-stem Gastrodia or iron Gastrodia, has a grayish-brown flower stem with obvious white longitudinal stripes. The flowers are yellow-green, the fruit has ridges with alternating light yellow-green and brown stripes, and is an inverted cone shape that is thick at the top and thin at the bottom. The tuber is short-columnar, with an obvious shoulder at the front end, light yellow, the largest can reach more than 1000 g, with a water content of about 71%; generally 3.5-4.5 kg can process 1 kg of dried Gastrodia P. The commercial Gastrodia is firm, with good appearance quality, few nodes and few and inconspicuous wrinkles. Black Gastrodia grows in the Changbai Mountain area of Northeast China, and in the south it is mainly distributed in high mountain areas above 1500 m altitude; in high mountain areas the main cultivated type is black-stem Gastrodia.

In addition to the above two types of Gastrodia, a small number of green-stem Gastrodia are often mixed in the distribution areas of red-stem Gastrodia. The flower stem is yellow-green to blue-green, the flowers are yellow, the fruit is ovoid and green, and the tuber is conical, with a water content between that of red-stem and black-stem. Generally 4-5 kg can be dried to 1 kg, and the seed germination rate and reproduction rate are both high, making it a relatively rare cultivated Gastrodia.

China is one of the main countries in the world for the distribution of wild Gastrodia, from the central Yunnan mountainous area in the south to Shangzhi, Linkou and other counties in Heilongjiang Province in the north; from Lanyu Island in Taiwan, China and Dongning and other counties in Heilongjiang in the east to Cuona and other places in Tibet in the west. Within the range of 22-46 degrees north latitude and 91-132 degrees east longitude, some mountainous areas and humid forest lands are wild Gastrodia distribution areas, and Gastrodia grows relatively abundantly in the mountainous areas along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. It is mainly produced in Sichuan, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Anhui, Henan, Liaoning, Jilin, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, Gansu, Tibet and Taiwan, China, and other places.