What is the difference between Panax notoginseng and Gynura segetum? This article teaches you to tell them apart

Also known as red-backed sanqi, soil sanqi, and blood-breaking elixir.

The source is the root of the Asteraceae plant Gynura segetum (Lour.) Merr.

Plant morphology: perennial herb, 1-1.5 m tall. Stem erect, somewhat succulent, with fine longitudinal ridges. Basal leaves clustered, spoon-shaped, entire or serrate or pinnately divided, purple-green beneath; cauline leaves alternate, oblong, 10-25 cm long, 5-10 cm wide, pinnately divided, lobes ovate to lanceolate, margin shallowly lobed or with sparse serrations, leaf stalk base with 1 pair of false stipules. Flower heads arranged in corymbs; involucre cylindrical, bracts in 2 layers, outer layer filamentous; tubular flowers golden yellow, bisexual. Achenes narrowly cylindrical, brown, ribbed, pappus numerous. Flowering period September-October.

Grows in shady, moist, fertile places; sometimes cultivated. Produced in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Hunan.

Harvesting and processing: dig up the tuberous roots in autumn; cultivated plants are dug up in the 2nd year; used fresh or dried in the sun.

Traits: root surface grayish brown or yellowish brown, mostly with nodular protrusions and intermittent arc-shaped grooves, at the top of the protrusions there are often stem scars or bud scars, and below there are fibrous roots or broken-off parts. Texture firm, not easy to break; white when fresh, pale yellow when dried, with a chrysanthemum heart. Taste sweet and bland, afterward slightly bitter.

Chemical composition: contains gynurine A (seneciphyllinine), gynurine B (seneciphylline).

Nature and flavor: warm in nature, sweet and bitter in taste.

Functions and indications: break blood and disperse stasis, stop bleeding, reduce swelling. Used for traumatic injuries, trauma bleeding, vomiting blood, postpartum blood and qi pain.