The alias of the Chinese medicine Guanzhong is Guanjie and Heigouji.
Scientific name: Cyrtomium fortunei
Aliases: Guanjie, Heigouji
Family and genus: A perennial herbaceous fern of the family Dryopteridaceae and the genus Cyrtomium
Morphological characteristics:
Plant height 30-70cm. The rhizome is thick and upright. The leaves are clustered, odd-pinnate compound leaves, with 10-20 pairs of pinnae, sickle-shaped lanceolate, dark green on the surface and light green on the back. The sori are round, borne on the back or at the top of the veinlets and arranged in two rows along the midrib, with a round-reniform indusium.
Distribution area:
Distributed in all provinces (regions) north and south of our country; also found in Japan and Korea. It is widely distributed in North China, Northwest China, and various places south of the Yangtze River in our country, and is common along the coast of Laoshan, Shandong.
Growth habits:
It prefers to grow under forest shade, in limestone crevices, by roadsides, or in damp and shady wall cracks.
Drought-tolerant and cold-tolerant, robust by nature, and easy to cultivate. It likes diffuse light, can tolerate short periods of weak light, and has strong shade tolerance. The suitable growth temperature is 10-18°C.
Propagation methods:
Division or spore propagation are both easy to succeed with. Division propagation is carried out in spring together with repotting, but it easily damages the plant shape. Spore propagation produces strong growth vigor and a better plant shape.
Cultivation management:
The potting soil is made by adding 1/3 fine sand and a small amount of calcareous fertilizer to leaf mold. During the growth period, apply liquid fertilizer twice a month, keep the potting soil moist at all times, and spray water on the leaves every day to increase air humidity. It can be grown indoors for a long time in a place with bright scattered light; in winter it should receive more sunlight, and the potting soil should be kept slightly dry.
Plants in this family are a relatively advanced group among leptosporangiate ferns, with about 14 genera and more than 1200 species; our country has about 13 genera and more than 1000 species.
Landscape uses:
Guanzhong is a good indoor potted foliage plant and can be used to decorate halls and meeting venues; its leaves can be used as cut foliage.
Guanzhong has an open and spreading plant shape and deep green leaves. In gardens, it is suitable for arranging in rockery crevices and shaded house corners, and is also suitable as ground cover under sparse shrub forests and on shaded slopes by pond banks. The leaves can be paired with fresh flowers in vases, and it can also be potted for ornament, to decorate guest rooms, meeting venues, and so on.
In addition, its rhizome is also a famous traditional Chinese medicine.