Sanchi ginseng (Panax notoginseng (Burkill) F. H. Chen) in China: distribution, cultivation and variations

Sanchi ginseng (Panax notoginseng (Burkill) F. H. Chen) has been cultivated in China for more than 400 years, whose root is an important traditional Chinese medicine mainly used to stanch blood, to disperse gore and to reduce pain caused by injury due to falls. The cultivated populations of this crop are distributed in Wenshan mountain area of Yunnan with a narrow habitat, whose location is around N 23.5A degrees, E 104A degrees and altitude ranges from 1,200 to 2,000 m. Although its wild species has not been found, current cultivated populations show rich morphological variations in stem, leaf, root, flower and fruit. Recent studies exhibit that Sanchi root has more active compounds than the roots of P. ginseng and P. quinquefolius. Therefore, this crop needs further utilization.