So-called wild Panax notoginseng and semi-wild Panax notoginseng are all a scam, beware of unscrupulous merchants

Panax notoginseng plays a major role in traditional Chinese medicine, and it is popular for its powerful effects, with more and more people using it. Many people ask: "Is it wild Panax notoginseng?" Just hearing this shows they do not understand Panax notoginseng. Today the editor will explain to everyone whether wild Panax notoginseng actually exists.

Is there wild Panax notoginseng? Yes, but that was several hundred years ago. Here let us talk about the cultivation history of Panax notoginseng. Because of its value and unique effects, Panax notoginseng was transformed from wild to artificial cultivation earlier than most Chinese medicinal herbs. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the "Kaihua Prefecture Annals" recorded: "Kaihua Panax notoginseng, sold in the market, sells well nationwide." Wu Qijun said in "An Illustrated Study of Plant Names and Reality": "When I was in Yunnan, I wrote to the prefect of Guangnan to ask, and the reply said, Panax notoginseng stems and leaves fear the sun and dislike rain, the local chieftains profit from it and also cultivate it diligently... all are planted and grown, not wild plants." It is currently generally acknowledged that Wenshan has a cultivation history of no less than 400 years. Today, more than 95% of the country's Panax notoginseng is produced in Wenshan. Wenshan County has been named by the state as "China's Home of Panax notoginseng." Such a long cultivation history also proves how rare wild Panax notoginseng is. The Panax notoginseng everyone can see on the market today is basically all artificially cultivated. Wild Panax notoginseng can be said to be a rare thing, something that cannot be sought and cannot be counted on.

So what exactly does wild Panax notoginseng look like? To be honest, as someone from Wenshan I have never seen it, and when I asked people around me, they had not seen it either. I only heard that pure wild Panax notoginseng grows in the primeval forests of Wenshan, Yunnan, and its root heads are smaller than those of artificially cultivated Panax notoginseng, and its appearance is naturally somewhat poorer. During cultivation, Panax notoginseng must be carefully tended to grow healthily; with the slightest neglect it will suffer pests and diseases, sicken and die, or rot, and the cultivation process is quite arduous. So the so-called "semi-wild Panax notoginseng" is even more fake.

Below are some so-called wild Panax notoginseng sold by merchants:

First, Gynura japonica

The stem is cylindrical, the surface grayish brown or grayish brown; brittle, easy to break, hollow in cross-section. The leaves are shrunken, often falling off, alternate or nearly opposite, and after flattening appear oblanceolate, with yellow flowers. It is not easy to dry, and after drying is relatively loose, dark brown, with an uneven surface. This is the toxic Gynura japonica, not the "wild Panax notoginseng" those merchants talk about!

Second, Madeira vine ⟧11⟧ It is nearly cylindrical, slightly flattened or curved, and the bulbils are irregularly lump-shaped. The whole body has many tuber-like bud protrusions of varying sizes, and some show scars left by broken buds. The cork layer is slightly thick and coarsely wrinkled, hard and brittle, easy to break, and the cross-section is nearly white, starchy, and after boiling in water the cross-section is yellowish brown. Some people also think this is "wild Panax notoginseng," but in fact it is Madeira vine, commonly seen even by the roadside.

It is roughly cylindrical in shape, slightly flattened or curved, and the bulbils are irregularly lumpy. The whole surface bears many wart-like bud protrusions of varying sizes, and some show scars left by broken-off buds. The cork layer is somewhat thick, coarse and wrinkled; the texture is hard and brittle, breaking easily, with a nearly white, mealy fracture surface that turns yellowish-brown after being boiled in water. Some people think this is "wild Panax notoginseng," but in fact it is Anredera cordifolia (Madeira vine), commonly seen along roadsides.

Third, Panax stipuleanatus

The rhizome is creeping, with nodes, the internodes extremely short, with sunken stem scars, and fine fibrous roots on the nodes; the roots are lump-shaped and spindle-shaped. The stem-base scales are nearly fleshy and persistent; the stem is cylindrical, striped, green, hairless. Be careful when looking: this is Panax stipuleanatus, and it is also not "wild Panax notoginseng" or "semi-wild Panax notoginseng."

Fourth, Panax notoginseng seedlings

Panax notoginseng seedlings are what are usually called one- or two-year-old Panax notoginseng. Seedlings are dug up when the Panax notoginseng in the field gets sick, and to reduce greater losses they have to be dug; or because the cost of cultivating Panax notoginseng is very high, some growers, for economic reasons, cannot continue planting. In order to turn over funds as quickly as possible, they have to dig them early. Some unscrupulous merchants take a fancy to seedlings because they are small, so they use them to pass off as wild Panax notoginseng.

Fifth, winter Panax notoginseng

Winter Panax notoginseng is Panax notoginseng dug after seed retention; its quality is relatively poor, it is rather shrunken, not plump, and has little medicinal effect. Some merchants driven by greed use winter Panax notoginseng to pass off as wild Panax notoginseng.

The wild Panax notoginseng and semi-wild Panax notoginseng promoted online and on the market are actually all passed off using poor winter Panax notoginseng, poorly grown Panax notoginseng seedlings, or Gynura japonica, Madeira vine, Panax stipuleanatus and others that look similar to Panax notoginseng, and they run counter to health. Therefore, when choosing, consumers must not buy blindly just because they hear "wild" or "semi-wild"; not only will it have no effect for treating illness or preserving health, it will instead be counterproductive.