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Cnidium officinale

Common name:		Family:	Umbelliferae
Author:	Makino.	Botanical references:	279
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	Although no specific mention has been found for this plant, at least one member of this genus has a report of toxicity so some caution is advised for this species.
Range:	E. Asia - China.
Habitat:	Not known
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Senkyu [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	officinale = sold as an herb
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Apiales. Renamed to Apiaceae -- Carrot family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Japan

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.5m. . It is in flower in August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. 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

Leaves.

Young shoots - cooked. The report says that the shoots are edible after the bitterness is removed[177].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Analgesic Antibacterial Antiinflammatory Antispasmodic Febrifuge Hypotensive Sedative Vasodilator.

The root is analgesic, antibacterial, anticonvulsive, antiinflammatory, febrifuge, hypotensive, sedative and vasodilator[174, 176, 279]. It is used especially in the treatment of headaches[174] and also in the treatment of abnormal menstruation, dysmenorrhoea, amenorrhoea, cerebral embolism, weakness, pain and coronary heart disease[176, 279]. The root has an antibacterial action that inhibits the growth of E. coli, Bacillus dysenteriae, Pseudomonas, B. typhi, B. paratyphi, Vibrio cholerae and V. Proteus[176].

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 should succeed outdoors in many parts of this country. One report from Japan says that it is cultivated there and grows best in the cooler parts of that country[174]. It is cultivated for medicinal use in Korea[279]. Judging by the plants native habitat it is likely to require a well-drained soil in a sunny position.

Propagation

Seed - we have no details for this species but suggest sowing it as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Alternatively, sow stored seed in late winter in a cold frame. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the 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.
[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.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

Readers Comments

Cnidium officinale

Soowon Cho (soowon@chungbuk.ac.kr) Thu May 1 13:17:56 2003

The common name of Cnidium officinale in Korea is Cheonkung.

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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
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Cnidium+officinale
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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.