Huang Jing, also known as "Chicken Head Huang Jing", "Yellow Chicken Vegetable", "Pen Tube Vegetable", "Claw Ginseng", "Tiger Ginger", "Chicken Claw Ginseng". It is a plant of the Huang Jing genus, with horizontal rhizomes that are cylindrical and nodular. The leaves are whorled and stalkless. It is a medicinal plant with the functions of tonifying the spleen, moistening the lungs, and generating fluids.
Harvesting and Storage: Harvest after 3 years of planting. Dig up the rhizomes in September-October, remove the stems, wash away the mud and sand, remove the roots and rotten scars, steam until cooked through, and then sun-dry or air-dry.
Morphology: 1. Huang Jing is a perennial herb, 50-90cm tall, occasionally reaching over 1m. The rhizomes are horizontal, cylindrical, and nodular. The leaves are whorled, stalkless, with 4-6 leaves in each whorl. The leaf blades are lanceolate in shape, 8-15cm long, 4-16mm wide, gradually tapering and curled at the tips. The flowers are axillary, drooping, arranged in umbels of 2-4 flowers, with a total peduncle 1-2cm long and a flower stalk 4-10mm long, with membranous bracts at the base, lanceolate or linear-lanceolate in shape, with 1 vein; the corolla is tubular, white to pale yellow, 9-13mm long, with 6 lanceolate lobes, about 4mm long; the stamens are inserted above the middle of the corolla tube, with short filaments, 0.5-1mm long; the ovary is 3mm long, and the style is 5-7mm long. The fruit is spherical, 7-10mm in diameter, and turns dark purple when ripe. It flowers from May to June and fruits from July to September. 2. Many-flowered Huang Jing differs from Huang Jing in that the plants are tall and robust. The rhizomes are usually slightly nodular or bead-like. The leaves are alternate. The inflorescence usually has 3-7 flowers, with a total peduncle 1-4cm long.
Habitat and Ecological Environment: 1. Huang Jing grows in the semi-shaded areas of mountainous forests, shrubs, or slopes. 2. Many-flowered Huang Jing grows in shady and fertile soil in mountain forests, shrubs, or valleys, or is cultivated by humans.
Distribution: 1. Huang Jing is distributed in Northeast China, North China, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, and other regions. 2. Many-flowered Huang Jing is distributed in Central and Southern China, as well as Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Sichuan, Guizhou, and other regions.
