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Atractylodes lancea

Common name:	Cang Zhu	Family:	Compositae
Author:	(Thunb.)DC.	Botanical references:	266
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - Central China.
Habitat:	Grassland, forests, thickets and rock crevices at elevations of 700 - 2500 metres[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Atractylis lancea[G] Atractylis ovata[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Hosoba-Okera [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China Japan

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m. . It is in flower from July to October, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required). We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Root.

Root - raw or cooked. Exceedingly rich in vitamin A, it also contains 1.5% essential oils[179].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiemetic Appetizer Digestive Diuretic Expectorant Stomachic Tonic.

This plant is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine[238]. The root is a bitter-sweet tonic herb that acts mainly upon the digestive system[238]. The root is antibacterial, antiemetic, appetizer, digestive, diuretic, hypoglycaemic, sedative, stomachic and tonic[174, 176, 178, 238]. It is often used in conjunction with other herbs such as Codonopsis tangshen and Glycyrrhiza uralensis[238]. It is used in the treatment of poor appetite, digestive disorders such as dyspepsia, abdominal distension and chronic diarrhoea, rheumatoid arthritis, oedema, spontaneous sweating and night blindness[176]. The roots are harvested in the autumn and baked for use in tonics[238].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it could succeed outdoors in many parts of this country. This species is closely related to A. japonica[174]. It is being investigated in China for the viability of growing it as a commercial crop[238]. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Succeeds in any well-drained soil in sun or partial shade[238].
This species is dioecious. Both male and female plants need to be grown if seed is required[266].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame and only just cover the seed. Prick out the seedlings when they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions in the following spring or early summer.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[174] Kariyone. T. Atlas of Medicinal Plants.
A good Japanese herbal.

[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.

[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Atractylodes+lancea
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.