Snow lotus Saussurea Xue Lian Wild flower chinese Saussurea

LATIN NAME: SAUSSUREA INVOLUCRATA

COMMON NAME: Snow Lotus, Xue Lian

The Saussurea involucrata, or snow lotus, is one of the most famous and rare of the alpine wildflowers, and its striking, white, woolly, lotus-like flower heads which emerge from the rocky, high-altitude slopes of the Tian Shan and the Himalaya have made it a plant of the high mountains and the traditional medicine across the regions of the Central Asia. It grows as a low, perennial, alpine herb of the daisy family, with the thick, fleshy root and the low rosette of the bright-green, toothed leaves, and bearing, in the summer, the striking, white, woolly, lotus-like flower heads which rise above the foliage and are composed of the many, small, purple flowers surrounded by the white, woolly bracts. It is a species of the flowering herb, native to the high, rocky slopes of the Central Asia and the Himalaya, while it has been used in the traditions for a very long time and is now rare in the wild due to the over-collection, and it is known as the snow lotus or the xue lian.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The snow lotus has a real and distinguished place in research. It has been studied in the chemistry and the natural-products science, since the Saussurea involucrata contains a range of compounds including the flavonoids and the sesquiterpene lactones, and the researchers have examined the whole plant, its constituents and its composition, while the study of the alpine medicinal plants has drawn attention in the international natural-products press, and the plant is best appreciated as a subject of study and a rare alpine wildflower rather than a casual remedy. The plant has also been studied in the ecology and the conservation, since the snow lotus is a rare, alpine plant of the high mountains and its populations are affected by the over-collection and the climate change, and the researchers have examined its conservation, its propagation and its protection, while the study of the rare alpine plants has been of continuing interest. The species has also been studied in the alpine biology, since it is adapted to the extreme conditions of the high altitude, and the researchers have examined its adaptation, its physiology and its ecology, while the striking, white, woolly flower heads of the snow lotus have been of interest to the botanists and the conservationists. For a plant of such rarity, the Saussurea involucrata has a rich and distinguished record of research.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

To grow the Snow Lotus from seed, this high-altitude herb is a low, perennial plant of the rocky mountain slopes, bearing the bright-green, toothed leaves and the striking, white, woolly, lotus-like flower heads in the summer. Its flowers are pollinated by the high-altitude insects, and its low, hardy habit makes it a distinctive plant of the alpine ecosystems, while its rarity and its medicinal reputation have made it a plant of conservation concern. Its economic value is real but complex: the snow lotus is prized as a rare, alpine wildflower and a traditional material, and its value has drawn attention in the international natural-products and conservation press, while the striking, white, woolly flowers and the high-altitude habitat have made it a plant of interest to the botanists and the alpine-garden enthusiasts, and the plant is best appreciated as a subject of study and a rare wildflower rather than a garden ornamental. To raise the snow lotus, sow the fresh seeds in pots of gritty, open soil in a cool, shaded place, keep them gently watered, and grow the little plants on in the light.

sow the fresh seeds in pots of gritty, open soil in a cool, shaded place, keep the young snow lotus gently watered, and grow the little plants on in the light.

Wild Snow Lotus/ Saussurea involucrate（Pin Yin: Xue Lian） From Tian shan Mountain  The Queen of Herbal Medicine Name: Snow Lotus/ Saussurea involucrata（Pin Yin: Xue Lian） Origin: Tian Shan Mountain, northwest China Grade: Top Shelf life: 24 months Quantity: 10 pcs Storage: keep sealed in shady, cool and dry place. Saussurea is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, native to cool temperate and arctic regions of Asia, Europe, and North America, with the highest diversity in alpine habitats in the Himalaya and central Asia. Common names include saw-wort and snow lotus, the latter used for a number of high altitude species in central Asia. Properties: slightly bitter, warm. The main effects: cold-dispelling, dampness-removing, pain-killing, promoting blood circulation, dredging meridians and Qi activity, warming the uterus, dissipating blood stasis, for nourishing, health caring and immunity resistance enhancing. It has special effect for rheumatic disease. Ordinary also can take.   Function: heat removing, detoxification, relieving rheumatism, reducing swelling, pain-killing, being aphrodisiac, blood supplement, beautifying, and uterus warming. For head trauma, gynecological disease, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke, kidney deficiency, lumbago, mountain sickness, and detumescence. Symptoms caused by cold factors (e.g. chill, slow pulse, etc.): Rheumatoid arthritis, frozen shoulder, pulmonary cold, cough, stomach cold; Asthenic symptoms: kidney deficiency, lumbago, premature ejaculation, nocturnal emission, impotence; Gynecology: dysmenorrheal, feminine abdominal pain, irregular menstruation, postpartum pain & bruise. Snow Lotus using methods and recipes Medicinal use methods: 6 grams Snow Lotus, immerse in 1,000 grams of white wine or rice wine, to seal for 30 days to take. Drink 30-40 ml each time. Effects: Supplements for kidney yang and strengthens bones and tendons. 6 grams Snow Lotus put into gauze bag and intenseen the opening. To braise it with an old hen, with slow fire for 1.5 hours, filter out 1,000 grams of liquid. Drink 30-40 ml each time. Effects: Regulate menstruation and blood circulation, nourishing Yin and kidney. 5 grams Snow Lotus, 15 grams of Radix Codonopsis, safflower 5 grams, 1,000 grams of chicken. Wash drugs, and put into gauze, to braise with chicken, 2-3 hours slow fire braising. Filter out the liquid 1500 grams, each time appropriate amount. Effects: Warm the kidney, be aphrodisiac, strengthen the middle warmer, and tonify Qi, free the body fluid, and pain or numbness caused by rheumatism. Use for Beautifying Beauty mask: speed up the metabolism of the skin, reduce wrinkles, help skin to maintain luster, delay aging, and has good effect for the facial freckles, chloasma hepaticum; The formula: 25g snow lotus powder, 20mL aloe Juice, 30mL cucumber juice, 1 raw egg, 10g flour, granulated sugar 5g, a little flavor. Mix thoroughly and store in the refrigerator to extend useful life. Paste the mask for 40 ~ 45 minutes, till the paste becomes dry coating. Then wash off with clean water. The skin obviously becomes smooth and elastic. Regularly do it once every week. Just a month, you will get significant results, making the skin white and tender, also clearing freckles, dark spots, frostbite or scar.Of chloasma, Snow lotus powder 30g, mung bean flour 15g, with a little egg white and mix thoroughly, Tu spot three times a day, after a month, chloasma, liver spots, etc., slowly fading. For food therapy 1. Snow lotus turtle soup Ingredients: Snow lotus 20 grams, 1 soft-shelled turtle (300 grams or so), a little onion, ginger, and salt. Method: earthenware pot, add water to two-thirds amount; boil the water with intense fir; put the next soft-shelled turtles, snow lotus, safflower, onion, ginger; after boiling, use slow fire to stew, until turtle shell becomes mushy; add a little more salt. Function: Nourish Yin and yang, produce body fluids, and benefit Qi. Suitable for masculine Yang replenishing 2. Snow lotus (Saussurea) with black-bone chickenIngredients: 20 grams snow lotus, one black-bone chicken (500g or so), and onions, ginger, salt, sugar, a little refined oil. Method: heat refined oil, and put into onions, ginger; till fragrance comes out, then add salt, sugar, thorough mixing. Then put black-bone chicken, snow lotus, later the water; Use intense fire for boiling water, then change into slow fire to stew about 45 minutes, to get mushy meat. Then take meat and soup. Function: tonify kidney and Yang; regulate menstruation; replenish blood; for gastrointestinal conditioning, balancing endocrine secretion, natural removing of inner fire and freckle; improve health status; nourish and regulate the body; and enhance physique.