Pear Tree Schisandra

Pear Tree Schisandra

　　Pear Tree Schisandra is a premium traditional Chinese medicinal herb primarily produced in China’s northeastern region. It has been recorded in the ancient pharmacopoeia “Shennong’s Classic of Materia Medica” as a top-grade herb and is one of China’s 67 major traditional medicinal materials. Renowned both domestically and internationally for its large, plump fruit with thick, oily skin and flesh, deep purple-red color, glossy appearance, high medicinal content, and significant therapeutic effects, it holds a strong reputation in the global herbal medicine market.

　　Commonly known as mountain prickly ash, weighing stone, medicinal schisandra, face vine, or five-plum, ancient medical texts refer to it as 荎蕏 (chízhū), 玄及 (xuánjí), or 会及 (huìjí). It is the fruit of the plant Schisandra chinensis (Latin name: Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis) from the Magnoliaceae family. A perennial deciduous climbing plant, its vines are ornamental, while the fruit—commonly called “northern schisandra”—is used medicinally. It grows wild or is cultivated in regions such as northeastern and northern China. The highest quality is produced in the Daliushu area of Dandong City, Liaoning Province, earning it the title “Liao Schisandra.”

　　It is also produced in the former Soviet Union, North Korea, and Japan. The Tang Dynasty text “Newly Revised Materia Medica” describes it as having “sweet and sour skin and flesh, bitter and pungent seeds, all with a salty taste,” hence the name schisandra, meaning “five flavors.” There are about 20 species of Schisandra in China. The Central China Schisandra, produced in central China, is also used medicinally and is called “southern schisandra.” The largest schisandra cultivation demonstration base in China is located in Daliushu Village, Fengcheng City, Dandong, covering tens of thousands of acres with an annual output of 5,000 tons of fresh fruit.