Dafang Gastrodia

Dafang Gastrodia

Dafang Gastrodia is a protected geographical indication product.

Dafang Gastrodia is a certified geographical indication trademark.

　　 . Dafang Gastrodia, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, is a specialty of Dafang County in Guizhou Province. It is named after its place of origin. Guizhou is one of China’s major production areas for Gastrodia, and thanks to its unique natural conditions, the Gastrodia produced here has a high content of gastrodin, making it renowned both domestically and internationally for its superior quality and high efficacy. Dafang Gastrodia is mainly produced in the deep mountain forests of the Jiulong Mountain Range and the world-rare natural azalea woods of Dafang County on the Guizhou Plateau. As early as the Ming Dynasty, it was a tribute item for the imperial court and was also exported to Japan and various Southeast Asian countries, earning a worldwide reputation as the “King of Tonics.” Whether wild or cultivated, Gastrodia from Guizhou—especially Dafang—contains relatively high levels of gastrodin, its primary medicinal component, along with over ten essential trace elements needed by the human body, such as potassium, sodium, calcium, sulfur, phosphorus, boron, manganese, cobalt, molybdenum, and rubidium. The gastrodin content in wild Dafang Gastrodia ranges from 0.5% to 1.0%, averaging 0.77%.

　　Medicinal Value

　　　　. As a precious and renowned product, the value of Gastrodia can be compared to that of Maotai liquor. As an authentic medicinal herb, its fame rivals that of ginseng from Northeast China. The “Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica” states that Gastrodia has miraculous effects such as “killing ghosts, spirits, poisons, and foul qi. Long-term consumption boosts energy, strengthens the body, enhances vigor, lightens the body, and prolongs life,” classifying it as a top-grade traditional Chinese medicine. Li Shizhen also documented in the “Compendium of Materia Medica” that Gastrodia can “treat various rheumatic conditions, limb spasms, childhood convulsions, benefit the waist and knees, strengthen tendons and bones, boost energy with long-term use, lighten the body, and prolong life.” Modern scientific research shows that Dafang Gastrodia, with its high gastrodin content and rich trace elements, can activate brain cells, improve microcirculation, prevent cerebrovascular diseases, nourish and strengthen the brain, resist aging, and enhance immunity. It is notably effective against dizziness, migraines, chronic weakness, numbness, hemiplegia, concussions, and hypertension. Gastrodia also has anti-inflammatory properties that inhibit exudation and swelling in various inflammations. Regarding the cardiovascular system, it protects the heart and increases cerebral blood flow while providing certain central nervous system inhibition. It also provides pain relief for trigeminal neuralgia, vascular neuralgic headaches, and cerebrovascular headaches. In Dafang, it is also famous for being consumed fresh as a vegetable.

　　Growing Environment

　　. Dafang County is located in the northwest of Guizhou Province and features a warm temperate humid monsoon climate with abundant rainfall, warm winters, and cool summers. The annual average temperature is 11.8°C. The soil is mostly acidic sandy yellow-brown loam, and the vegetation commonly consists of mixed evergreen and deciduous broadleaf forests, karst shrubs, and shrub-grass slopes—all highly suitable for Gastrodia cultivation. As a result, Dafang Gastrodia is firmer, heavier, with fewer ring patterns, smaller terminal buds, more uniform and brighter cross-sections, and a richer distinctive aroma compared to ordinary Gastrodia medicinal herbs. There is even a saying: “Of all Gastrodia in China, those in Guizhou are the best; of all Gastrodia in Guizhou, those in Dafang are the finest.” Dafang has been awarded the title “Hometown of Chinese Gastrodia” by the China National Food Industry Association.

　　　　Quality Characteristics

　　Physicochemical Properties

　　. Gastrodia mainly contains gastrodin, gastrodioside, p-hydroxy-, and other components, as well as Gastrodia polysaccharides and various trace elements. Among these, the content of gastrodin is a key indicator of Gastrodia quality. The 2005 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia stipulates that Gastrodia medicinal material must contain no less than 0.20% gastrodin.

　　　　Dafang Gastrodia forms its unique intrinsic characteristics through its high content of the important component gastrodin and its wealth of trace elements. Commercial Gastrodia on the market typically contains gastrodin levels below 0.4%, whereas Dafang Gastrodia contains between 0.42% and 1.90%—2 to 9.5 times the pharmacopoeia standard. Its average gastrodin content is 1.17%, more than five times the standard. Dafang Gastrodia also contains various trace elements, including boron, zinc, and selenium, with selenium levels higher than those found in Gastrodia from other regions. The average selenium content in Guizhou Gastrodia is 0.41μg/g, while Dafang Gastrodia has 0.6μg/g, truly qualifying as “selenium-rich Gastrodia.”

　　Sanitary indicators of Dafang Gastrodia show that heavy metal content—including lead (0.24mg/kg), arsenic (0.1mg/kg), cadmium (0.0353mg/kg), total mercury (0.055mg/kg), and copper (2.65mg/kg)—are all below national standards (national limits: lead ≤5.0, arsenic ≤2.0, cadmium ≤0.3, total mercury ≤0.2, copper ≤20.0, same units). Pesticide residues such as hexachlorocyclohexane (0.008mg/kg) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (0.009mg/kg) are also significantly below national limits (hexachlorocyclohexane ≤0.1, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane ≤0.1, same units).

　　Sensory Characteristics

　　Fresh Product: Fresh Dafang Gastrodia is plump and fleshy, shaped oblong or oval-oblong, measuring about 8–15 cm in length and 3–10 cm in width. The surface is yellowish-white or light yellowish-brown, with a prominent blackish or reddish-brown terminal bud, commonly called the “parrot’s beak.” The base has a round scar known as the “belly button.” The whole surface is adorned with evenly spaced ring patterns formed by dot-like scars and membranous scales. A milky white juice seeps from the cross-section, releasing a distinctive smell often referred to as “horse urine odor,” and tastes slightly sweet.

　　　　Dried Medicinal Product: Dried Dafang Gastrodia is oblong, slightly flattened, large and thick-fleshed, full-bodied, firm, and not easily broken. Its cross-section is relatively flat, horny in texture with a glossy sheen. The body is wrinkled and slightly curved, with a yellowish-white to pale yellowish-brown surface showing vertical wrinkles, semi-translucent, with multiple ring patterns. The top has red-brown to dark brown dried terminal buds (for winter harvest) or residual stems (for spring harvest), and the bottom has a round umbilical scar. It has a distinctive aroma, tastes sweet and slightly pungent, and becomes sticky when chewed.

　　Historical Background

　　Guizhou is widely known for producing high yields of high-quality Gastrodia, which enjoys international fame. Renowned Japanese pharmacology scholar Namba Tsuneo asserted in his book “Introduction to Kampo Medicine” that “the best Gastrodia comes from Guizhou.” The authoritative work “Chinese Materia Medica” also notes under the Gastrodia entry: “Guizhou-produced Gastrodia is of better quality, sold throughout China and exported.” Among Guizhou’s Gastrodia, Dafang Gastrodia stands out. A common saying in the traditional Chinese medicine industry goes: “The best Gastrodia comes from Guizhou, and the best Guizhou Gastrodia comes from Dafang.”

　　　　Dafang Gastrodia comes from Dafang County, a historic and cultural city and the hometown of She Xiang, a famous ethnic minority female politician of the Ming Dynasty. It not only benefits from Dafang’s superior natural environment but also carries a profound historical legacy.

　　As early as 1372 (the fifth year of the Hongwu reign in the Ming Dynasty), She Xiang, the then “Shuixi Tusi” (regional chieftain) of Guizhou and a renowned Yi politician, presented Dafang Gastrodia along with Dafang lacquerware and Wumeng horses as “imperial tributes,” marking the beginning of Dafang Gastrodia's journey out of the mountains and into the rest of China. According to the “Dading Prefecture Annals” (Records of Local Products), during the Ming and Qing dynasties, more than ten types of medicinal items—including Gastrodia and musk—were offered as tributes to the court. By the Qing Dynasty, Gastrodia from Dafang was transported as a valuable local medicinal herb to other provinces and exported during the Guangxu period. In the 1980s, China’s “Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine Survey” clearly stated that Dafang was one of the province’s “primary wild Gastrodia production areas with excellent quality and attractive appearance… not only abundant in quantity, but also surpassing other regions in terms of physiochemical and pharmacological components.”

　　Production Situation

　　Guizhou is one of China’s three major Gastrodia production areas. Dafang is the main production hub in the Bijie region, leading in both quality and yield, with growth distributed across all its townships. Townships with higher yields include Baina, Piaojing, Changshi, Shachang, and Chengguan, with specific villages like Caoping, Xingshu, and Dashan having the highest concentrations. Statistics show that since the 21st century, Dafang Gastrodia has had an annual yield of around 5 tons, peaking at 10 tons. Originally all wild, the increasing medicinal demand made wild supplies insufficient, leading to artificial cultivation as the main solution. After successful artificial cultivation in Baina’s Jiulong Mountain in the 1970s, many farmers began cultivating it. In 1984, Dafang County Brewing Factory and Dafang Gastrodia Wine Factory produced a health beverage called Gastrodia Wine, which helped refresh the mind, calm the nerves, improve vision, and relieve pain, with an annual supply of 50,000 bottles.

　　　　Geographical Indication Product Protection

　　Protected Area

　　The protected area for Dafang Gastrodia as a geographical indication product is based on the scope proposed in the “Report Requesting the Demarcation of the Dafang Gastrodia Geographical Indication Product Range” (Fang Fu Bao [2007] No. 41) issued by the People’s Government of Dafang County, Guizhou Province. It includes the administrative regions of 36 townships in Dafang County: Dafang Town, Yangchang Town, Huangnitang Town, Lihua Township, Jichang Township, Liulong Town, Fengshan Township, Anle Township, Baina Township, Sanyuan Township, Yuchong Township, Shachang Township, Dashan Township, Pudi Township, Xingshu Township, Huangni Township, Dashui Township, Shuangshan Town, Zhuanyuan Township, Xiangshui Township, Dongguan Township, Hetao Township, Gangu Town, Babao Township, Xinglong Township, Changshi Town, Guowa Township, Lvtang Township, Machang Town, Niuchang Town, Maochang Town, Dingxin Township, Wenge Township, Piaojing Town, Gaodian Township, Xiaotun Township.

　　　　The protected geographical indication area for Dafang Gastrodia elata is defined according to the scope proposed in the Report on Requesting the Demarcation of the Geographical Indication Area for Dafang Gastrodia elata (Fang Fu Bao [2007] No. 41) issued by the People’s Government of Dafang County, Guizhou Province. It encompasses the administrative regions of 36 townships and towns under Dafang County, including Dafang Town, Yangchang Town, Huangnitang Town, Lihua Township, Jichang Township, Liulong Town, Fengshan Township, Anle Township, Baina Township, Sanyuan Township, Yuchong Township, Shachang Township, Dashan Township, Pudi Township, Xingxiu Township, Huangni Township, Dashui Township, Shuangshan Town, Zhuyuan Township, Xiangshui Township, Dongguan Township, Hetao Township, Daxi Town, Babao Township, Xinglong Township, Changshi Town, Guowa Township, Lutang Township, Machang Town, Niuchang Town, Maochang Town, Dingxin Township, Wenge Township, Piaojing Town, Gaodian Township, and Xiao’tun Township.