Chengkou Gastrodia elata

Chengkou Gastrodia elata

　　Gastrodia elata is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Gastrodia in the Orchidaceae family, and its dried tuber is used for medicinal purposes.

　　　　Gastrodia elata is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine, having been used medicinally for over two thousand years. According to the “Shennong Bencao Jing” (The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica), Gastrodia elata (then called Chijian, or Red Arrow) was used to treat convulsions, unconsciousness, and to invigorate qi and boost energy. It has a pungent, warm nature and is non-toxic. It helps dispel wind and calm convulsions, and is mainly used to treat dizziness, blurred vision, neurasthenia, rheumatic arthralgia, limb spasm, infantile convulsion, and other conditions. Clinical applications have proven that it is significantly effective against vascular and neurogenic headaches, as well as sequelae of cerebral concussion.

　　　Gastrodia elata originally grew wild in forested valleys at altitudes of 2,000 to 3,000 meters. Wild Gastrodia elata is widely distributed in Chengkou. After years of research and trials, the artificial cultivation of Gastrodia elata has now been successfully achieved and is gradually being promoted.