Home > Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine > Gentiana

Description

Gentiana is a plant extract made from gentians, which are a group of perennial plants belonging to the Gentianaceae family. There are about 180 species of gentians worldwide. They have a long history of use in healing both in Asian and Western herbalism. In the West, the common gentian used in healing is Gentiana lutea, or yellow gentian. In China, two different gentians are used in healing, Gentiana macrophylla, known in Chinese as qin jiao; and Gentiana scabra, known in Chinese as long dan cao.

G. lutea grows wild or cultivated in many places from Europe to India. It is also cultivated in North America. It grows to a height of about 4 ft (1.2 m), primarily in temperate alpine and subalpine meadows. The plant produces a spike of showy yellow-orange flowers. G. macrophylla grows in China and Siberia, and G. scabra grows in China and Japan.

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