Gastrodia seeds Gastrodia elata
LATIN NAME: GASTRODIA ELATA
COMMON NAME: Tian Ma, Gastrodia, Red Arrow Orchid
The tian ma is one of the strangest of the plants of the forest, and it is an orchid that has given up the green leaf. It grows as a pale, leafless, fleshy stalk, reaching up to a metre or more, rising from a thick, waxy, potato-like rhizome, and bearing a spike of many small, brownish or greenish, hooded, orchid-like flowers, while the plant has no chlorophyll at all, and it lives as a shadow of the forest floor. It is a species of the flowering herb in the orchid family, native to the damp, shady forests of eastern Asia, while it is known for its strange life and its long history of use in the traditional ways of the region, and it is known as the tian ma.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The tian ma has a real and distinguished place in research. It has been studied in the botany and the ecology, since it is one of the most remarkable of the orchids of the forest, living without chlorophyll and drawing its life from the fungi of the soil, and the researchers have examined its strange life, its relationships with the soil fungi and its place in the forest, while the study of the leafless orchids has been of continuing interest across the world, and the tian ma is a favourite subject of the laboratories. The plant has also been studied in the chemistry of natural products and the traditional use, since the thick, waxy rhizome of the tian ma has a very long history of use in the traditional ways of China, and the researchers have examined the rhizome and its constituents, while the traditional uses of the plant have drawn attention in the international pharmaceutical and botanical press, and the tian ma is best appreciated as a subject of study and of the tradition rather than a casual remedy. The species has also been studied in the horticulture and the conservation, since it is a strange and much-loved plant of the damp, shady garden, and the researchers have examined its growth and its cultivation, while the growing of the tian ma has been of continuing interest, and the plant is a fine friend of the specialist and the botanic garden. For a plant of such strange value, the tian ma has a rich and distinguished record of research.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
To grow the Tian Ma from seed, ecologically, the tian ma is a strange and generous presence of the forest floor. Its pale spikes of the small, hooded, orchid-like flowers feed the insects of the shade, and its thick, waxy rhizome feeds the creatures of the soil, while it is a shadowy and mysterious member of the damp forest, and it is a wonder of the botanic garden. Its economic value is real: the tian ma is prized for its thick, waxy rhizome and its very long history of use in the traditional ways of China, and its value has drawn attention in the international pharmaceutical and botanical press, while the plant is also prized by the collectors and the botanic gardens of the world. To raise the tian ma, sow the dust-like seeds among the humus of a damp, shaded spot where the right soil fungi live, and grow the little orchids on in the leaf mould.
sow the dust-like seeds among the humus of a damp, shaded spot where the right soil fungi live, and let the young orchids grow on in the leaf mould.
LATIN NAME: Gastrodia elata
COMMON NAME: Tian Ma
The tian ma is a remarkable, upright, leafless, parasitic orchid of the shaded forests, and its tall, upright, brownish, leafless stems and its dense, upright clusters of the small, brownish-yellow, hooded flowers have made it a treasured and long-honoured plant of the region. It grows as an upright, leafless, parasitic orchid, reaching up to one metre or more, with the upright, smooth, brownish stems bearing the scale-like leaves and, through the early summer, the dense, upright clusters of the many small, brownish-yellow, hooded flowers, followed by the many small, dust-like seeds. It is a species of the flowering orchid in the orchid family, and it is native to the shaded forests of the eastern and the south-eastern Asia, while it grows in the damp, shaded places in partnership with the fine fungi of the forest floor, and it is known as the tian ma.
The tian ma belongs to the orchid family, Orchidaceae, and it is a species of the leafless, parasitic orchid, native to the shaded forests of the eastern and the south-eastern Asia, while it grows in the damp, shaded places in partnership with the fine fungi of the forest floor, and it is known as the tian ma. It is prized for its tall, upright, brownish stems and its long history in the region.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The tian ma has a real and distinguished place in the research. It has been studied in the chemistry of the natural products and the traditional use, since the tubers of the tian ma have a long history of use in the traditional ways of the eastern Asia, and researchers have examined the tubers and their constituents, while the traditional uses of the plant have drawn attention in the international pharmaceutical and botanical press, and the study of the tian ma and its chemistry has been of continuing interest across the world. The plant has also been studied in the botany and the ecology, since it is a remarkable, leafless orchid that lives in the closest partnership with the fine fungi of the forest floor, and researchers have examined its relationships, its distribution and its role in the forest, while the study of the mycorrhizal orchids has been of continuing interest, and its tall, upright, brownish stems have been of interest to the botanists. The species has also been studied in the conservation, since the wild populations of the tian ma have been of continuing concern, and researchers have examined the plant and its future, while the conservation of the regions remarkable orchids has been of continuing interest, and the tian ma is best appreciated as a subject of study and a remarkable plant of the forest floor rather than a casual remedy. For a plant of such great interest, the tian ma has a rich and continuing record of study.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the tian ma is a remarkable plant of the shaded garden. Its dense, upright clusters of the small, brownish-yellow, hooded flowers feed the many insects of the forest floor, and its fine, upright, brownish stems give a remarkable presence to the shaded, damp garden.
Its economic value is real. The tian ma is prized for its long history of traditional use and its remarkable chemistry, and its value has drawn attention in the international pharmaceutical and botanical press as a plant of the region, while its remarkable, leafless form has also made it a treasured subject of the study and the collection. For a grower, the tian ma is a remarkable and rewarding plant, and for a gardener of the shaded, damp places it brings a leafless, hooded-flowered orchid to the shaded garden. The seeds are fine and dust-like and need the damp, shady bed of the forest floor where the companion fungus is already at work, so the simplest way is to scatter them over just such a bed, keep it gently moist, and let the natural partnership of the forest take over.
Gastrodia elata is a species of plant in the Orchidaceae family. Cultivated now in many places in China. Medicinally used for 'calming the liver'. This species has been used in Chinese herbal medicine for over 1 500 years. The root is a sweet acrid herb that is analgesic antispasmodic carminative cholagogue sedative and tonic. It is used internally in the treatment of convulsive illnesses (such as epilepsy and tetanus) rheumatoid arthritis vertigo and numbness associated with liver disharmony. The stem is aphrodisiac and tonic. Be decocted for oral use, 3-9 grams daily decoct for oral administration. If the powder is administered, 1-1.5 grams each time, when grinded into powder for taking with boiled water.Do not use if pregnant.