The Species And Distribution Of Cistanche Plants

There are four species and one variety of the genus Cistanche in China, including desert Cistanche, tubular Cistanche, saline Cistanche, white-flowered Salt Cistanche, and sand Cistanche, distributed in Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, and Xinjiang.

Superman herbs cistanche

Desert Cistanche and Tubular Cistanche are the legal original plants of traditional Chinese medicine Cistanche, and Salted Cistanche is also used as Cistanche in Ningxia, Xinjiang, and other regions. With the continuous increase in market demand and long-term indiscriminate mining, the resources of the genus Cistanche have sharply decreased, especially the desert Cistanche, whose wild resources are on the brink of depletion.

To solve the resource problem of Cistanche deserticola, meet market demand, and promote sustainable development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry, large-scale cultivation of desert Cistanche deserticola has been developed in Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, and Xinjiang. Large-scale cultivation of Guanhua Cistanche has been developed in the southern region of Xinjiang, effectively alleviating the resource problem of Cistanche deserticola and protecting wild resources.

1,cistanche tubulosa

Superman herbs cistanche

Guanhua Cistanche, also known as Southern Xinjiang Dayun or Red Willow Dayun.

It is a calming tonic, warm but not hot, nourishing but not severe, warm but not leaking, hence the name of calmness-- Compendium of Materia Medica

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Guanhua Cistanche is naturally distributed in the Taklamakan Desert and its surrounding areas in southern Xinjiang. It grows in desert areas where the genus Tamarix is distributed, with an altitude of 800-1400 meters. It parasitizes the roots of Tamarix plants and is mainly produced in Hotan, Xinjiang, and Qiemo County in Bazhou. It is also found in Aksu, Kashgar, and other counties around the Taklamakan Desert. At present, the annual production of wild Cistanche deserticola is about 500 tons.

Guanhua Cistanche is a famous tonifying traditional Chinese medicine with a high occurrence rate in power-enhancing prescriptions. It is second only to ginseng in anti-aging and longevity prescriptions and is known as "desert ginseng".

desert ginseng

Due to its significant multiple medicinal effects and its effects on health and beauty, it has been listed as a national second-level protected plant and included in the International List of Wild Plant Protection.

At present, the domestic medicinal source of Cistanche deserticola is extremely scarce, and it has been in a long-term situation of supply shortage. Especially in the past five years, the demand for Cistanche deserticola in domestic and international markets has shown a sharp upward trend, and prices have also been continuously rising. The medicinal and health benefits of Cistanche deserticola have been widely recognized internationally.

The artificial cultivation of Cistanche deserticola began in the early 1990s. Due to its easy inoculation, fast growth, and high yield, it has been widely cultivated in areas such as Hotan and Aksu in southern Xinjiang.

Hetian Dichen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Co., Ltd. owns a 5000-acre GAP production base for Cistanche deserticola, which has developed into the world's largest planting and raw material base. The cultivated Cistanche deserticola contains eight times more phenylethanolamine glycosides that enhance human immune function than other varieties and is suitable for large-scale industrial concentration and extraction.

2, Desert Cistanche deserticola

Desert Cistanche is one of the original plants of the traditional Chinese medicine Cistanche recorded in traditional Chinese medicine throughout history. It is naturally distributed in western Inner Mongolia (Alxa League, Bayannur City), Gansu (Minqin, Jinchang, Changma, Jiuquan, Jinta), and northern Xinjiang. It grows in desert areas with the distribution of Haloxylon ammodendron, at an altitude of 225-1250 meters, and parasitizes on the roots of Haloxylon ammodendron.

Desert Cistanche deserticola

The artificial inoculation of desert Cistanche was successful in 1985 at the Cistanche cultivation experimental field of Alxa League Pharmaceutical Company, making it the first plant of the Cistanche genus to achieve artificial inoculation. In addition, there is also a small number of desert deserticola cultivation in Gansu and northern Xinjiang.

3, Salted Cistanche deserticola

Salted Cistanche deserticola is distributed in provinces (autonomous regions) such as Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, and Xinjiang. It grows in desert grassland zones, lake basin lowlands in deserts, and areas with high salinity and alkalinity, with an altitude of 700-2650m. This species has a wide range of hosts, including salt claw, slender branch salt claw, convex pointed salt claw, red sand, pearl firewood, and Suaeda salsa.

4, White Flower Salt Cistanche

White Flower Salt Cistanche is a variant of Salted Cistanche, distributed in Ningxia (Yanchi) and Xinjiang (Chaiwopu). It is found near salt lakes in desert areas and parasitizes the roots of Pearl Chai. The yield of this variant is very small, and it is used as a salt-borne Cistanche in Ningxia, Xinjiang, and other regions.

5, Cistanche deserticola

Desert Cistanche deserticola

Sand Cistanche is distributed in Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, and Gansu, and is often found in desert grasslands and sandy, rocky, or hilly slopes in desert areas, with an altitude of 1000-220m. According to literature records [20], the hosts of this species include red sand, pearl wood, sand holly, Tibetan golden pheasant, overlord, the wood, and cotton thorn. However, long-term investigations have found that the hosts of this species include red sand.