Qiaojia Gastrodia Tuber

Qiaojia Gastrodia Tuber

　　【Family & Genus】Orchidaceae, Gastrodia genus

【Source】The dried rhizome of the orchid plant Gastrodia elata Blume.

【Common Names】Red Arrow, Mupu, Mingtianma, Root of Wind-Calming Herb, White Dragon Skin

【Latin】Gastrodia elata Bl.

【English】RHIZOMA GASTRODIAE

【Plant Morphology】A perennial symbiotic plant. The rhizome grows horizontally, is oval or egg-shaped, and fleshy. It has uniform nodes with membranous scale-like leaves on the nodes. The stem is single, upright, cylindrical, 30–150 cm tall, yellowish-brown, with scale-like, membranous, alternate leaves; the lower part sheathes the stem. The raceme is terminal, 5–30 cm long; bracts are membranous, lanceolate, about 1 cm long; flowers are light greenish-yellow or orange-red, with sepals and petals fused into a pitcher shape, the mouth oblique, with 5 lobes at the top; the labellum is white with 3 lobes at the tip; the column is 5–6 mm long, the ovary is inferior, inverted-ovoid, with a twisted ovary stalk, and 3-lobed stigma. The capsule is oblong or inverted-ovoid, 1.2–1.8 cm long. Seeds are numerous and very small, powdery. Flowering period: June to July; fruiting period: July to August.

It grows in moist forest floors rich in humus, and can also be found in sunny thickets and grassy slopes. It is distributed across most regions of China. Nowadays, it is mostly cultivated. It must symbiotically associate with the fungus Armillariella mellea (Vahk ex Fr.) Karst. from the family Tricholomataceae and Mycena osmundicola to enable seed germination, forming a round tuberous structure that then develops into a healthy Gastrodia rhizome. Mycena osmundicola provides nutrition for seed germination, while Armillariella mellea supplies nutrients for the proto-rhizome to grow into a mature Gastrodia rhizome.

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【Harvesting & Processing】Those harvested after the Winter Solstice are called “Winter Gastrodia,” which are heavier, plumper, and of higher quality; those harvested before the Start of Summer are called “Spring Gastrodia,” which are looser, more wrinkled, and of lower quality. The dug rhizomes are immediately washed, the outer skin is rubbed off, then steamed thoroughly and dried below 60°C or sun-dried.

【Origin】Mainly produced in the Qinba Mountain area of Shaanxi, as well as Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou, with large yield and good quality.

【Characteristics】The rhizome is long-oval, flattened and slightly curved. It measures 3–15 cm in length, 1.5–6 cm in width, and 0.5–2 cm in thickness. The surface is yellowish-white to pale yellow-brown, slightly translucent, mostly with irregular longitudinal wrinkles, several rounds of transverse ring patterns formed by dormant buds, dotted with punctate scars or sometimes visible membranous scale-like leaves and brown-black mycelial cords. The apex has residual stem bases (Spring Gastrodia), or a red-brown parrot-beak-like terminal bud (Winter Gastrodia), and the base has a round umbilical scar left after detachment from the mother rhizome. The texture is firm, not easily broken; the cross-section is relatively flat, horny-like, yellowish-white or pale brown. It has a faint aroma, with a sweet and slightly pungent taste.