''Saposhnikovia'' is a
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
genus of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s in the family
Apiaceae. Its only species is ''Saposhnikovia divaricata'', known as ''fángfēng''
防風 (lit. "protect against the wind") in
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
,
bangpung in
Korean,
and siler in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
.
The plant is still frequently referenced under the obsolete genus name ''Ledebouriella'' in many online sources devoted to
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 ...
. It was first described as ''Stenocoelium divaricatum'' by
Nikolai Turczaninow in 1844, and transferred to ''Saposhnikovia'' in 1951.
Description
Glabrous, much-branched, perennial herb, arising from branched, annular, tuberous rootstock up to 2 cm thick, with crown surrounded by fibrous, remnant, sheathing bases of petioles. Height 30–100 cm. Basal leaves numerous, petioles flattened with ovate sheaths, 2 - 6.5 cm in length; leaf-blades oblong-ovate to broad-ovate, up to 35 x 18 cm (usually smaller), bi- to tripinnatifid, pinnae 3 - 4 pairs, petiolulate, terminal lobes lanceolate, 3-lobed at apex. Upper leaves simplified with sheathing petioles, reduced upwards, often absent, leading to aphyllous branching. Umbels compound, devoid of involucral bracts, rays 5-9, bracteoles 4-5, pedicels 4-9, flowers white or yellow, petals circa 1.5mm. Mericarps broadly ovate to oblong, flat, up to 5 x 3mm, tuberculate when young but becoming smooth at maturity, lateral ribs winged. Flowering August–September and fruiting September–October.
[Schultes, Richard Evans; Albert Hofmann (1979). Plants of the Gods: Origins of Hallucinogenic Use. New York: McGraw-Hill. . Illustrated, with description, p.56 column 3 under name ''Siler divaricatum''.]
Distribution and habitat
''Saposhnikovia divaricata'' is found, in China, in the provinces of
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
,
Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
,
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
,
Shanxi
Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...
,
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...
,
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
,
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...
,
Jilin
Jilin (; alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, Ryanggang and Chagang) and Russia (Prim ...
and
Liaoning
Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...
.
The plant also occurs in Russia, Mongolia, Korea and Japan. It grows in grassy and stony slopes at 400-800 m, and the margins of rice paddies, roadsides and waste places.
Harvesting
Most of the plants harvested are collected in the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia and Hebei. The tuberous rootstocks are harvested in early spring or late autumn (when the plants have yet to flower or have finished flowering) washed, trimmed of basal leaves and fibrous roots, sun-dried until they contain 20% moisture, shredded and then sun-dried again until completely desiccated and ready for storage.
Phytochemistry
The roots and seeds of ''Saposhnikovia divaricata'' contain a variety of
phytochemical
Phytochemicals are chemical compounds produced by plants, generally to help them resist fungi, bacteria and plant virus infections, and also consumption by insects and other animals. The name comes . Some phytochemicals have been used as poisons ...
s under
basic research, including
furocoumarins,
furanochromones
Furanochromone is a chemical compound which is a derivative of chromone (1,4-benzopyrone) and furan.
Some chemical derivatives of furanochromone show strong interaction with DNA. Furanochromones can be produced in callus cultures of ''Ammi vis ...
,
polyacetylenes
Polyacetylene (IUPAC name: polyethyne) usually refers to an organic polymer with the repeating unit . The name refers to its conceptual construction from polymerization of acetylene to give a chain with repeating olefin groups. This compound is ...
,
hyperosides, and
terpenes.
The major components of the
essential oil
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...
from roots of ''S. divaricata'' are
caryophyllene oxide
Caryophyllene (), more formally (−)-β-caryophyllene, (BCP), is a natural bicyclic sesquiterpene that is a constituent of many essential oils, especially clove oil, the oil from the stems and flowers of '' Syzygium aromaticum'' (cloves), the ess ...
,
sabinene,
α- and
β-pinene,
myrtenal,
myrtenol,
α-terpineol
Terpineol is any of four isomeric monoterpenoids. Terpenoids are terpene that are modified by the addition of a functional group, in this case, an alcohol. Terpineols have been isolated from a variety of sources such as cardamom, cajuput oil, p ...
,
''p''-cymene, and
nonanoic acid
Pelargonic acid, also called nonanoic acid, is an organic compound with structural formula CH3(CH2)7CO2H. It is a nine-carbon fatty acid. Nonanoic acid is a colorless oily liquid with an unpleasant, rancid odor. It is nearly insoluble in water, ...
.
See also
* Hallucinogenic plants in Chinese herbals For over two millennia, texts in Chinese herbology and traditional Chinese medicine have recorded medicinal plants that are also hallucinogens and psychedelics. Some are familiar psychoactive plants in Western herbal medicine (e.g., , i.e. ''Hyoscya ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q6672500, from2=Q5100860
Apioideae
Monotypic Apioideae genera