What is the difference between Caodoukou and Caoguo? Teach you to easily tell the two apart
The names Caodoukou and Caoguo are so similar that many people are quite confused about how to tell the two apart before they have seen the actual plants, and may even be fooled by unscrupulous merchants the first time they buy them. So where exactly is the difference between Caodoukou and Caoguo?
1. Different genus and species
Caodoukou is a plant of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae), the genus Alpinia, the species Alpinia katsumadai. It is mainly distributed in China's Guangdong and Guangxi regions, growing in mountainous areas or dense forests. Caoguo is a plant of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae), the genus Amomum. It is distributed in China's Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou and other provinces and regions, cultivated or wild under sparse forests, growing at an altitude of 1100-1800 m.
2. Different appearance
The Caodoukou plant reaches up to 3 m tall. Its leaves are linear-lanceolate, with a gradually pointed tip and a short sharp point, a gradually narrowed base, asymmetrical sides, and hairy margins; both surfaces are hairless, or rarely the leaf underside may bear very sparse coarse hairs. The raceme is terminal and erect; the inflorescence axis is pale green and covered with coarse hairs; the bracteoles are milky white, broadly elliptic, with coarse hairs at the base that gradually decrease upward until hairless. The calyx is bell-shaped, with irregularly toothed apex; the corolla lobes are slightly rolled inward at the margins and fringed with hairs. The lip is triangular-ovate, with colored stripes radiating from the center to the edges.
The Caoguo stem is clustered and reaches up to 3 m tall; the whole plant has a pungent aroma, and the underground part somewhat resembles ginger. The leaves are long elliptic or oblong, with a gradually pointed tip and a gradually narrowed base, dry membranous margins, smooth and hairless on both surfaces, and no stalk or a short stalk. The spike is unbranched. The peduncle is 10 cm long or longer, covered with dense scales; the scales are oblong or long elliptic. The bracts are lanceolate with a gradually pointed tip; the bracteoles are tubular, split on one side to the middle. The lip is elliptic, with a slightly toothed apex.
3. Different effects
The seeds of Caodoukou contain volatile oil and carry a natural aroma, and can be used for anti-inflammatory and antibacterial purposes. In medicinal use, it is used for abdominal distension and fullness due to dampness obstructing the spleen and stomach, especially suitable when cold-dampness predominates, and is often applied in combination with Chuan, Puganshiren (Amomum villosum), and Chenpi (dried tangerine peel). For vomiting due to stagnant cold-dampness, it is often used in combination with Banxia (Pinellia ternata) and Shengjiang (fresh ginger).
Caoguo is one of the major bulk varieties of Chinese medicinal materials used both as medicine and as food. Caoguo is used as a seasoning spice; aromatic oil can be extracted from the whole plant. Its fruit is used as medicine and has the functions of drying dampness and strengthening the spleen, and removing phlegm and stopping malaria. It mainly treats abdominal distension and fullness, nausea and vomiting, food accumulation and malaria, and other conditions. Many Chinese patent medicines cannot do without it in their formulas.
That is all for the difference between Caodoukou and Caoguo. As long as you observe carefully, it is still quite easy to tell them apart.