Wild ginseng, also known as "fake ginseng", is a type of wild vegetable that grows in rural areas. It is named after its thick, root-like main stem, which resembles ginseng. Some people call it "soil ginseng". It is believed to have nourishing properties and can be used as both a medicinal herb and a food. It can also be used for ornamental purposes. But does fake ginseng need to be processed before it can be used as medicine?
[Can fake ginseng be eaten?]
Fake ginseng can be eaten. It not only has medicinal value, but also tastes good. It can also be used for ornamental purposes.
1. Edible: After washing the stems and leaves, they can be stir-fried or cooked into soup. The tender stems and leaves can also be pickled with salt to make pickles.
2. Medicinal: The fresh stems and leaves can be mashed and applied externally to treat swelling and poisoning. Taste: the whole plant is sweet and neutral.
Efficacy: the whole plant has diuretic and anti-inflammatory effects, nourishes the spleen and moistens the lungs, stops coughing, and regulates menstruation.
It is used to treat dysentery, diarrhea, damp-heat jaundice, internal hemorrhoids bleeding, insufficient milk production, childhood malnutrition, yellow water sores, spleen deficiency fatigue, pulmonary tuberculosis coughing up blood, and irregular menstruation. The leaves can promote milk secretion and relieve swelling and poisoning. They are used to treat urinary retention, hemorrhoids, and ulcer swelling and poisoning.
3. Ornamental: It can be used for flower beds and rockeries, or as a potted plant.
[Fake ginseng as a Chinese medicinal herb needs to be processed]
"After taking Polygonum multiflorum, symptoms of poisoning can occur within half an hour to five hours. Most patients will experience a rise in body temperature, which will return to normal after 2 to 4 days." Director Zhao Hao said that in the most severe cases, patients may die due to heart and respiratory failure.
Li Huili, chief of the Department of Internal Medicine at Xixi Hospital, reminded that in fact, most Chinese medicinal herbs themselves are toxic and need to be processed through various methods before they can be used as medicine. In addition, the dosage needs to be strictly controlled during use, "otherwise, instead of treating the disease, it becomes a poisonous medicine."
Taking Polygonum multiflorum as an example, its roots need to be soaked in vinegar and dried to reduce toxicity before it can be used as medicine. If accidentally ingested, mildly poisoned patients can induce vomiting and drink milk for symptomatic treatment, while severely poisoned patients need to seek medical attention in a timely manner.
Zhang Siqun, chief of the Emergency Department of Xixi Hospital, reminded that their department often receives patients like Xiao Zhao. It is important to remember that the (fake ginseng) commonly seen on the roadside and in residential green spaces is a toxic plant and should not be eaten. When using ginseng for supplementation, it is best to seek guidance from a physician and purchase it from a reputable source to avoid mistaking Polygonum multiflorum for ginseng.
[Botanical morphology of fake ginseng]
Polygonum multiflorum is an annual herbaceous plant that can grow up to about 60 centimeters tall. It is fleshy and completely hairless. The main root is thick and branched, with a brownish appearance. The stem is cylindrical, with branching at the base and slight lignification at the base.
The leaves of fake ginseng are alternate, inverted ovate, or inverted ovate-lanceolate, measuring 6-7 centimeters long and 2.5-3.5 centimeters wide. The apex is pointed or blunt, with an entire margin. The base gradually narrows into a short petiole, and both sides are green and smooth.
The top of the stem branches into a conical inflorescence, with the overall peduncle being purple-green or dark green. The flowers are small and numerous, pale purple-red in color, with a diameter of about 6 millimeters, and long pedicels. There are 2 sepals, ovate in shape with a pointed head, which fall off early.
The petals are 5, inverted ovate or elliptical in shape. There are more than 10 stamens, with slender filaments. The pistil has a spherical ovary, a linear style, and a 3-lobed stigma that extends outward and bends slightly at the apex.
The mature fruit is gray-brown and has a diameter of about 3 millimeters. The seeds are small, black, and flattened. The flowering period is from June to July, and the fruiting period is from September to October. The leaves of this plant (fake ginseng leaves) can also be used as medicine, for which there is a separate detailed article.
