SchisandraThe ancient Chinese medical book "Newly Revised Materia Medica" states that Schisandra has five tastes - sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and spicy. Therefore, it is called Schisandra. There are two types of Schisandra: South and North. It was first listed in the top grade Chinese medicine in the ancient book "Shennong's Materia Medica". It has a high medicinal value and can nourish and strengthen the body. It is highly valued for its health benefits and is used in combination with Qiongzhen and Lingzhi to treat insomnia.
Morphology
Schisandra is a deciduous woody vine that can grow up to 8 meters long. The stem bark is grayish-brown with obvious pores, and the small branches are brown with slight edges. The leaves are opposite, with slender stalks; the leaf blades are thin and membranous; ovate to broadly ovate or elliptic, 5 to 11 centimeters long and 3 to 7 centimeters wide, with a pointed tip, a wedge-shaped or broadly wedge-shaped base, and small teeth on the edges. The upper surface is green and the lower surface is pale yellow, with a fragrant smell. The flowers are unisexual, with male and female flowers on separate plants; the male flowers have long stalks, 6 to 9 perianth lobes, elliptic, 5 stamens fused at the base; the female flowers have 6 to 9 perianth lobes, many carpels spirally arranged on the receptacle, and a pear-shaped ovary without a style. After pollination, the receptacle gradually elongates into a spike. The fruit is spherical, with a diameter of 5 to 7 millimeters, and turns deep red when ripe, containing 1 to 2 seeds. Flowering period is from May to July, and fruiting period is from August to September.
Habitat Schisandra is mostly found on sunny slopes in mixed forests and it climbs on other plants. It is distributed in Northeast China, North China, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Sichuan, and other regions.
Characteristics The dried fruit is slightly spherical or flattened, with a diameter of 5 to 8 millimeters. The outer skin is fresh red, purple-red, or dark red, oily and irregularly wrinkled. The fruit flesh is soft and often sticks together. It contains 1 to 2 kidney-shaped, shiny, hard, white seeds. The fruit flesh has a weak and unique odor and tastes sour. The seeds have a spicy and bitter taste after being crushed. The best quality is the ones that are purple-red, large, fleshy, oily, and shiny.
The main regions of production are Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Hebei, and other places, and it is commonly known as "Northern Schisandra".
