National Grade II rare and endangered species | the identification of Eleutherocococcus and Wujiapi
Author: Mr. Hanaki
Many people have heard of Wujiapi because it is a famous Chinese herbal medicine; Eleutherocococcus senticosus is also very famous, especially in the north, often using Eleuthero as an ingredient to make wine, or as an anti-fatigue drink soaked in water. Both of these contain "five pluses", are they the same plant?
ginseng
First of all, we must understand that the five plus family is famous, many of which are the famous tonic herbs in China's tradition, such as ginseng, American ginseng, panax notoginseng, etc., and the genus Wujia is one of the genera of the five plus family. To date, about 37 species (excluding variants) have been found worldwide, mainly in Asia. There are 26 species and 18 varieties in China, accounting for the first place in the world and widely distributed in the northern and southern provinces of China.
There are many kinds of five-plus genus, and botanically, the genus is divided into 6 groups, namely the five-plus group, the eleuthero group, the five-plus group, the five-plus group, the short-axis group, and the pepper five-plus group. If a detailed comparison of nature requires a long discussion, we will take the Eleutherococcus and the Five Plus to distinguish between them.
Eleuthero (Latin scientific name: acanthopanaxsenticosus (rupr. maxim.) harms), aliases: kanko stick, tiger scribble, one hundred needles. It belongs to the Eleutherococcus group of deciduous shrubs, 1-6 m tall; branches are many; one or two years are usually densely thorny, rarely prickly or spineless on the nodes; the spines are straight and slender, needle-like, downward-facing, the base is not expanded, the leaves are rounded after shedding, the leaves have 5, thin leaves, 3; the petioles are often sparsely prickly, the leaflets are papery, oval inverted or oblong, with sharp and heavy serrations on the edges; the petioles have short brown soft hairs; the umbels are single apical, with most flowers; the total peduncle is hairless, the peduncle is hairless or slightly hairy at the base; the flower is purple-yellow; the calyx is hairless The petals are ovate; the ovary is 5 chambers, and the flower columns are all combined to form a columnar shape. The fruit is spherical or ovoid, 5-sided, black. The flowering period is from June to July, and the fruit period is from August to October.
Five Plus (original variant) (Latin scientific name: acanthopanaxgracilistylus w. w. smith var. gracilistylus), belonging to the peppercorn five-plus group shrub, 2-3 m tall; gray-brown, weak and drooping branches, vine-like, hairless, usually sparsely recurred on the nodes; leaves have 5 leaflets, 3-4, alternate on long branches, clustered on short branches; petioles are hairless, often with fine spines; small leaf membranous to papery, inverted ovate to inverted lanceolate; umbelous inflorescences are a single sparse 2 axillary, or apically on short branches, with flowers; yellow-green flowers; sepal margins near the full margin or with 5 small teeth; petals 5, oblong ovate The fruit is flattened and spherical, black; the flowering period is from April to August, and the fruit period is from June to October.
China's ancient records and medicinal uses of Wujia are very old, as early as the "Shennong Materia Medica", it is listed as the top product, but whether it is Eleutherococcus or other Wujia plants, because the Wujia plants are distributed in most provinces in the country, so it is still slightly controversial. Some people think that eleutherococcus eleuthero, in addition, because eleuthero is distributed in the north, and the northeast ginseng production area is similar, so it is called five plus ginseng, most people think that eleuthero has a better medicinal effect.
Of course, some believe that all species of the genus Pentagram have the same medicinal effect. This is not a topic we introduce to plant identification, so I will skip it. We just need to know that Eleutherococcus and Eleutherococcus senticosus are not the same plant, and that they are now used as medicinal herbs or to make wine, so it can be said that the plants of the genus Pentagram are medicinal. Let's talk about the simple discernment between the two.
I. [Different Distribution]
Eleutheroccus senticosus is only distributed in the north, and in China, it is mainly distributed in Heilongjiang (Xiaoxing'anling, Yichun City), Jilin (Jilin City, Tonghua, Antu, Changbaishan, Jingyu), Liaoning (Shenyang), Hebei (Wuling Mountain, Chengde, Baihuashan, Xiaowutai Mountain, Neiqiu) and Shanxi (Huo County, Zhongyang, Xing County) and other places.
The Wujia distribution area is very wide, from the west of Sichuan (Tianquan, Pingshan), northwestern Yunnan (Weixi), east to the coast, north from the southwest of Shanxi (Yongji), north of Shaanxi (Yan'an), south to the south of Yunnan (Mengzi) and southeast coast, are distributed in the vast area.
However, it can be seen that there is still a regional difference between Eleutherococcus and Eleutherococcus monnieri, that is, the southern Jinnan region of Shanxi is the boundary, the north is the distribution area of Eleutherococcus, and the south is the distribution area of Eleutherococcus.
Second, [plant shape difference]
Eleutheroccus senticosus
Eleutherococcus senticosus downwards
Eleutheroccus parviflora is a typical shrub with many branches; the first and second annuals are usually densely prickly, rarely prickly or unspinned; the spines are straight and slender, needle-like, downward-facing, the base is not expanded, and the round spines are left after shedding.
Five plus
Although Wujia is also a shrub, it is only a vine-shaped, weak and drooping, and the knots usually have unflected and flattened thorns.
In simple terms, the thorns of Eleutherococcus senticosus are densely grown downwards, while the spines of Eleutherococcus gobi are sparsely curved, which is a more typical difference.
Third, [flower and fruit difference]
Eleutherococcus parvodia flowers are crowned, the flowers are purple-yellow, the fruit is spherical or ovoid, with 5 edges, and the flowering period is 6-7 months, and the fruit period is 8-10 months.
The flowers of Wujia are apex or axillary, and the flowers are yellow-green; the fruit is flattened and spherical, without edges; the flowering period is 4-8 months, and the fruit period is 6-10 months.
If you summarize it simply, in fact, the flowering period is not easy to distinguish, because the five plus are different according to different regions, but it is easy to identify from the edges and edges of the fruit.
IV. [Protection is Different]
Due to its relatively narrow distribution and man-made excavation over the years, Eleutheroccus senticosus is facing an endangered territory, so it was included in the "List of Wild Plants under National Key Protection (First Batch)" in 1999, and the protection level is National Level II Key Protection.
Because of its wide distribution, Wujia has not been listed as a national key protection.
V. [Different Medicines]
Eleutheroccus eleuthero is called similar to ginseng, so it is used as a whole rhizome plant, commonly used to soak and eat, and also as a brewing raw material, generally known as "Eleutheroccus senticosus" or "Five Plus Ginseng".
Other species of the genus Wujia are mostly used in the seed coat of the rhizome, so it is called "Wujiapi".
Due to the large modern population, the amount of drugs and nutrients, so whether it is Eleutherococcus or Wujia, as well as other species of the genus Wujia, most of them are mined as Chinese medicinal materials, especially some tonics, but also deliberately simple and vague concept of species, so in actual life, it is difficult to distinguish the difference, this article is only from the botanical aspects of the introduction, which we deserve to understand.
2019-12-15 Easy to flower wood