The so-called "fake ginseng" is not referring to counterfeit ginseng, but rather a type of Chinese medicine. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with smooth and hairless leaves, and its stems and leaves are soft and juicy. It can be used for medicinal purposes, consumed as food, or used for ornamental purposes. What are the specific morphological characteristics of fake ginseng and what are its variations?
Fake ginseng image
Morphological Characteristics of Fake Ginseng
Fake ginseng is a perennial herbaceous plant with a short rhizome that is bamboo-like and grows horizontally. It has 2 to several fleshy roots. The fleshy roots are cylindrical, about 2-4 centimeters long, and about 1 centimeter in diameter, with longitudinal wrinkles when dried.
The above-ground stem is solitary, about 40 centimeters tall, with longitudinal wrinkles and no hair. The base has persistent scale leaves.
The leaves are palmately compound, with 4 leaves arranged in a whorl at the top of the stem. The petiole is 4-5 centimeters long, with longitudinal wrinkles and no hair. The stipules are small and lanceolate, about 5-6 millimeters long.
There are 3-4 leaflets, thin and transparent, inverted ovate to inverted oblong-ovate, with the central leaflet being 9-10 centimeters long and 3.5-4 centimeters wide, and the lateral leaflets being smaller. The apex is gradually pointed, the base is gradually narrow and extends downward. The margin has serrated teeth with prickly tips, and there are stiff hairs on the upper veins, about 1.5-2 millimeters long. The lower surface is hairless, and there are 8-10 pairs of lateral veins, which are obvious on both sides. The veins are reticulate. The petiolules of the leaflets are 2-10 millimeters long and densely hairy at the junction with the petiole.
The umbellate inflorescence is solitary at the apex, about 3.5 centimeters in diameter, with 20-50 flowers. The peduncle is about 12 centimeters long, with longitudinal wrinkles and no hair. The flower stalk is slender, hairless, and about 1 centimeter long. The bracts are inconspicuous. The flowers are yellowish-green, with a cup-like calyx (the calyx of the male flowers is turbinate) with 5 triangular teeth on the margin. There are 5 petals, 5 stamens, and a 2-celled ovary. There are 2 styles (1 on the degenerated pistil of the male flowers), bent and exserted. Fruits have not been observed.
Stem: The entire plant is smooth and hairless, and the stems and leaves are soft and juicy, fleshy, and can reach up to 60 centimeters in height. The base often branches. The main root is thick and cylindrical or spindle-shaped, with a brown or black-brown outer appearance.
Fake ginseng image
Leaves: The leaves are alternate, with short or almost absent petioles. The leaflets are inverted ovate or inverted oblong-ovate, 5-7 centimeters long and 2-3.5 centimeters wide, with a gradually narrow base and a sharp or blunt rounded apex. The margin is entire.
Flowers: The inflorescence is conical, borne on branched stems, with numerous small flowers, pale purplish-red in color, and about 0.6 centimeters in diameter. The flower stalks are slender and long. There are 2 ovate sepals with pointed tips, which fall off early. There are 5 petals, 10 or more stamens with slender filaments, a spherical ovary, and a slender style with a 3-parted stigma that curves outward. The flowering and fruiting period is from May to October.
Fruits: The fruit is a capsule, spherical, about 0.4 centimeters in diameter, and gray-brown when ripe. The seeds are small, black, and flattened.
It is named after its thick main root, which resembles ginseng. Some people also call it "soil ginseng."
Fake ginseng was originally introduced as a garden ornamental plant and was brought to Taiwan more than eighty years ago. The population is extremely large and can be harvested at any time except for the coldest one or two months of winter. If used for consumption, the best time to harvest is when the new seedlings are thriving in early summer or when new leaves are growing.
Main Variations of Fake Ginseng
1. Fake Ginseng (original variation)
The upper veins of the leaflets are densely hairy, while the lower surface is hairless. The umbellate inflorescence has 20-50 flowers, and the flower stalk is hairless.
Image of fake ginseng
The rhizome is shorter during the juvenile stage or short-term cultivation, with enlarged fleshy main roots. The base of the petiole has tiny, ovate, or lanceolate stipules.
The rhizome is slender, bamboo-like, or bead-like, and the main root is often undeveloped, sometimes with enlarged fleshy roots. The base of the petiole has no or rarely persistent stipules.
2. Sanqi (Panax notoginseng)
The upper veins of the leaflets are densely hairy on both sides, while the lower surface has sparser hair. The umbellate inflorescence has 80-100 or more flowers, and the flower stalk has fine pubescence (in cultivation).
3. Featherleaf Sanqi
The leaflets are twice pinnate or occasionally once pinnate, with occasional remnants of stipules.
The leaflets are not divided or occasionally lobed, and there are no stipules.
4. Narrowleaf Fake Ginseng
The central leaflet is lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, with a length more than 5 times its width, with the widest part at the base or near the base.
The central leaflet is elliptic, oblong, inverted lanceolate, or inverted ovate, with a length less than 4 times its width.
5. Beautiful Fake Ginseng
The central leaflet is inverted lanceolate, inverted ovate, occasionally inverted oblong, smaller in size, with the widest part above the middle, and a narrow and pointed base with straight sides.
6. Largeleaf Sanqi
The central leaflet is elliptic, oblong, or elongated elliptic, occasionally inverted ovate, larger in size, with the widest part often in the middle, and the base is not narrow and pointed, with both sides somewhat arched.
