Home > Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine > Gastrodia

Description

Gastrodia is a preparation made from the rhizome or tuber of an orchid, Gastrodia elata. It is a member of the Orchidaceae family. Gastrodia elata is a native of the Far East; its natural areas of distribution include Tibet, western China, Korea, and Japan. While gastrodia appears in the oldest lists of Chinese medicinal herbs, it was not known to Western herbalists.

Gastrodia is first mentioned in the Shennong Bencao Jing, which was compiled around A.D. 100. A later Chinese herbalist named Tao Hong placed gastrodia in the category of superior herbs, which meant that it could be taken for long periods of time, and that it could be used to promote longevity as well as to treat illnesses. It was originally called chiqian, which means "red arrow" in Chinese, because its stem is red and arrow-shaped. Later it was named tian ma, or "heavenly hemp," which is the name that it still...