''Anemarrhena'' is a plant

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Asparagaceae Asparagaceae, known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, ''Asparagus officinalis''. Those who live in the temperate c ...

, subfamily

Agavoideae Agavoideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales. It has previously been treated as a separate family, Agavaceae. The group includes many well-known desert and dry-zone types, such as the agave ...

. It has only one species, ''Anemarrhena asphodeloides'', native to China and Mongolia.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> Some authors have placed it in its own family, Anemarrhenaceae.

Distribution

The plant is native to China and

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

, occurring in the western half of China, from

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

Northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of t ...

. It is introduced into Taiwan and Korea.

Traditional medicine

The plant name in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

is ''zhi mu'' (知母, zhī mǔ) and its

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

is used in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

.Ya, Wang, Feng Fang, and Wang Zhe. "Determination Of Selected Elements In Aqueous Extractions Of A Traditional Chinese Medicine Formula By ICP-MS And FAAS: Evaluation Of Formula Rationality." ''Analytical Letters'' 43.6 (2010): 983-992. ''Academic Search Premier.'' Web. 12 Nov. 2014.

References

External links

Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bge.
Medicinal Plant Images Database (School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University)
知母, Common Anemarrhena Rhizome, Zhi Mu
Chinese Medicine Specimen Database (School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University) Agavoideae Flora of China Flora of Korea Flora of Mongolia Taxa named by Alexander von Bunge {{Asparagaceae-stub