Guangnan Western Dendrobium

Guangnan Western Dendrobium

Guangnan Western Dendrobium is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　The national pharmacopoeia records five types of Dendrobium plants: Dendrobium candidum, Dendrobium noble, Dendrobium annulatum, Dendrobium tosaense, and Dendrobium fimbriatum. Among them, Dendrobium candidum (its processed product is called Dendrobium candidum stem, or “Iron Skin Dendrobium Stem”) is the most precious and considered the finest variety of Dendrobium. Due to its demanding growth environment and excessive harvesting, its resources have become extremely scarce. The "Illustrated Pharmacopoeia Classic" states: “Dendrobium is now found in Jing, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guangzhou prefectures, as well as in Wen and Taizhou. That from Guangnan is the best. It mostly grows in mountain valleys, sprouting in May with stems resembling bamboo nodes, producing small leaves between the nodes, flowering in July, and bearing fruit in October. Its roots are slender, yellow.” According to the "Guangnan Prefecture Annals," since the Ming Dynasty, Guangnan's black-jointed grass (a type of Dendrobium) began to be exported. During the Republican era, local merchants transported fresh black-jointed grass to cities such as Shanghai and Hangzhou. Black-jointed grass processed into Western Dendrobium Stem is an important export product of Yunnan Province's foreign trade, with a large market demand; it is also a key raw material extracted to produce the medicine “Mailuoning.”

　　The raw material for “Black Joint Western Dendrobium Stem” is black-jointed grass (Dendrobium candidum, a species of the Orchidaceae family), an epiphytic herbaceous plant with jointed stems that are greenish-brown with distinct longitudinal grooves, growing in clusters. It thrives in foggy mountain forests at altitudes of 1,000–2,000 meters, growing on oak or chestnut trees. The "Compendium of Materia Medica" says: “Dendrobium grows in clusters on rocks. Its roots are tangled and abundant, turning white and soft when dried. Its stems and leaves are green when alive, but yellow when dried, and it blooms red flowers with self-rooting nodes along the stems. People also cut it and plant it in sand or hang it under their roofs, watering it frequently, and it can survive for years without dying—commonly called 'Thousand-Year Moisture.'” The best time to harvest is late spring to early summer or autumn, and each plant is harvested only once a year. Due to the specific environmental and climatic limitations, it grows in small quantities, and high-quality specimens are even rarer.

　　In the early 1920s, the people of Guangnan made full use of the local Dendrobium plant resources, gradually mastering the processing techniques through practice, and produced the natural medicinal beverage “Iron Skin Dendrobium Stem.” The product was exported both domestically and internationally and remains to this day a unique and valuable drink of Yunnan Province. Western Dendrobium Stem is consumed similarly to tea but is more durable—can be steeped continuously for two to three days. Guangnan Western Dendrobium comes in two varieties: “Black Joint Western Dendrobium Stem” and “Chlorophytum Western Dendrobium Stem.” Based on quality, it is divided into three grades: First-grade is made entirely from the stems of high-quality fresh black-jointed grass, where one stem yields one spiral-shaped product of two and a half loops; after soaking in hot water, each piece can unfurl into a dragon-head-phoenix-tail shape. Second-grade, after soaking, unfolds into either a dragon-head-phoenix-tail or just a phoenix-tail (as it is processed from the lower or upper half of the stem). Third-grade is processed from the middle part of the stem; after soaking, it only extends into a dragon body without the head or tail. Western Dendrobium Stem has unique efficacy in clearing heat and reducing fever, soothing the throat and voice, promoting saliva production and dispersing nodules, and eliminating tumors. It is mainly used to treat conditions such as fluid loss due to fever, dry mouth and thirst, gastric yin deficiency, stomach pain and vomiting, dry cough due to lung dryness, persistent deficiency heat, yin damage causing blurred vision, weakness in the waist and knees, etc. Modern pharmacological studies show that Dendrobium contains various alkaloids such as dendrobine, nobilonine, and dendramine, as well as polysaccharides and total amino acids. It has significant effects on enhancing human immunity, inhibiting tumors, anti-aging, nourishing the five internal organs, improving diabetes and atrophic gastritis symptoms, and is renowned both domestically and internationally. Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh also shared a close connection with Iron Skin Dendrobium. During his governance, he visited China multiple times and forged deep friendships with Chinese revolutionary leaders such as Mao Zedong. In his later years, Ho Chi Minh’s health declined, and Chinese leaders were deeply concerned. In 1968, China dispatched its top medical experts to Vietnam. This expert medical team from China stayed by Ho Chi Minh’s side to care for his health. In late August 1969, the 79-year-old Ho Chi Minh’s condition worsened. Despite full efforts by the Chinese medical team, Premier Zhou Enlai remained uneasy and dispatched a second and third medical team on August 24 and 26. On August 31, Premier Zhou further sent then-President of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, renowned expert Professor Wu Jieping, via a special plane to Hanoi to deliver emergency medicine. This emergency medicine included Iron Skin Dendrobium (the “Herb of Salvation”), and to further assess Ho Chi Minh’s condition. Premier Zhou personally listened to Wu Jieping’s report and convened relevant experts for discussions, which lasted about five hours. Eventually, it was decided to send Professor Wu Jieping to lead a fourth medical team, carrying additional experts, equipment, and medicine, departing by special plane to Hanoi on the early morning of September 2. Unfortunately, just as the fourth team’s plane reached the airspace over Guangxi, they learned that Ho Chi Minh had passed away at 9:47 a.m. that day. As a result, the plane had to turn back to Beijing.

　　Guangnan Western Dendrobium is a well-known natural medicinal and premium beverage, both domestically and internationally, and has always been an item for foreign trade exports. These exports were organized and coordinated by the Guangnan County Foreign Trade and Economic Company at the time. The processing of Western Dendrobium Stem in Guangnan has a history of over 90 years. Before the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Western Dendrobium Stem was exported to cities such as Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang. By 1961, the county’s foreign trade department began purchasing wild fresh herbs for processing. According to Lu Yonghua, an elderly man who knew about the situation at the time: “The foreign trade company formed a group dedicated to processing Western Dendrobium Stem, consisting of over ten people. Employees would collect the purchased wild black-jointed grass from the company and process it in households. Within a set timeframe, processed finished products were returned, and employees were paid based on the amount processed.” This method continued from 1961 until 1985. The "Guangnan County Annals" recorded that between 1961–1965, 211 kg of Western Dendrobium Stem were purchased and processed; 1966–1971: 239 kg; 1971–1975: 280 kg; 1976–1980: 200 kg; 1981–1985: 148 kg; totaling 1,087 kg processed and exported over 25 years. Guangnan’s black-jointed grass (Western Dendrobium Stem) is of the highest quality, with thick and fleshy stems. Around 1,000 kg of fresh grass can be sporadically collected annually. Entirely handmade, the processing is meticulous and technique-driven. Raw material selection is based on the length, thickness, and quality of each stem—typically, 10 kg of fresh grass yields 1 kg of finished product, and high-quality grass can reach an 8:1 ratio.

　　Due to the limited quantity and remarkable efficacy, the product is expensive and is mostly purchased for export by foreign trade departments, primarily sold to Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and other countries. It is enjoyed by upper-class society and high-level individuals or used as a remedy to protect vocal cords for famous singers and Peking opera performers. It is rarely seen on the general market. In the mid-1980s, the transaction price for top-grade products at the Canton Fair was $3,600 per kilogram, and at one point, 12 tons of wheat were exchanged per kilogram to import grain from abroad. In the early 1980s, Marshal [Name Redacted] and General Yang Chengwu successively requested the purchase of Guangnan Western Dendrobium through relevant departments, buying one, two, and three-grade products, each weighing one liang (50 grams). At the time, Provincial Party Secretary An Pingsheng visited Guangnan specifically to inspect the production and processing of Western Dendrobium and gave instructions for its development. In June 1983, the county forestry department collaborated with the Kunming Institute of Botany to artificially cultivate 5,688 test-tube seedlings of black-jointed grass on the mountainside behind Liulangcheng in Guangnan. After one growth cycle, the survival rate was found to be 14.47%, providing a scientific basis for subsequent artificial cultivation. In 2002, Guangnan County established Xinpeng Ethnic Medicine Technology Development Co., Ltd., which merged and integrated into Guangnan Yunda Dendrobium Development Co., Ltd. in 2007. In January 2009, Yunnan Jinjiudi Biotechnology Co., Ltd. and Guangnan County Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital jointly invested to establish Yunnan Nancaotang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. By September 2010, the preliminary infrastructure work for a 500-acre standardized planting base of Iron Skin Dendrobium was completed, including 200 acres of standardized greenhouses and the scientific, large-scale planting of over 40 acres of Iron Skin Dendrobium tissue culture seedlings, achieving a survival rate of over 98%. Yunnan Jinjiudi Biotechnology Co., Ltd. has, over many years, collected a large amount of Dendrobium germplasm resources, capable of breeding 1.2 million bottles (approximately 60 million plants) annually, with an annual output value exceeding 12 million yuan. Today, the Guangnan County Party Committee and County Government have listed Iron Skin Dendrobium as a key industry for standardized development in the county and have introduced a series of planting incentive policies. They have also decided to develop it into a Dendrobium Stem Medicinal Economic Zone, aiming to help local residents achieve prosperity and serve as a short-, flat-, and fast-track economic development project.

　　Guangnan Western Dendrobium

　　Guangnan County Cash Crop Workstation

　　12756237

　　Western Dendrobium Stem