Ginseng

Ginseng (Panax ginseng)

The plant genus Panax belongs to the family Araliaceae ( Araliaceae ). The eight to twelve species occur in East Asia, in northern parts of South East and South Asia and North America. Some species are grown as crops for the production of medical and pharmaceutical products.

Description

Appearance and leaves

The Panax species grow as unreinforced, perennial, herbaceous plants. The simple stems possess the basic scales. They form stocky rhizomes.

There are three to five leaves together in a whorl. The palmately compound leaf blades have full leaves, toothed or serrated to fiederlappige part sheets.

Inflorescences and flowers

Panax species form a single, terminal and doldigen inflorescence. There shall be hermaphroditic or andromonözischen species both hermaphrodite and male flowers. The flower stalks are divided in hermaphrodite flowers and remain unarticulated in male flowers. The flowers are radial symmetry fünfzählig. The five Sepals are fused and the five calyx teeth are only briefly. The five free petals overlap like roof tiles. It is a circle with five stamens present. Usually two or three (rarely up to five ) carpels are (rarely up to fünfkammerigen ) grown under a constant, usually two or dreikammerigen ovary. In each ovary chamber two hanging ovules are present. There are an equal number of pen such as carpels present; they are complete or fused only at their base.

Fruit and seeds

The spherical, sometimes compressed or triangular stone fruits contain the same number of seeds as carpels. The smooth seeds are laterally compressed and contain a smooth endosperm.

Dissemination

The genus Panax contains two North American species with distribution in Canada and the USA. The remaining species are found in Asia along the southern Himalayan region Nepal and northern India, Myanmar, Thailand to northern Vietnam, further in central and south to north-eastern provinces of China, the North of Korea, the Russian Primorye in the southernmost part of the district Furthermore, East and used in Japan. In China, six species occur naturally, another kind is a neophyte.

Use

Most of the Panax species, the traditional medical use of naturally occurring stocks is known. The most important species in medical terms ginseng ( Panax ginseng) and American ginseng of (Panax quinquefolius ) are cultivated in plantations. Especially the kind of ginseng is widely used - for example, in Australia, in the Caucasus and in Central Europe - cultivated. The American ginseng is planted alongside the United States in China.

The " rhizome " is processed to the drug. The healing effect is partly attributable to its content of Ginsenoiden from the group of natural products of the saponins. The processed usually dried and powder and extracts " rhizome " is also used in the form of tonic and geriatric medicine as a tonic and a tonic for fatigue and feelings of weakness, as well as declining capacity for work and concentration.

Threats and conservation measures

In the genus Panax Panax zingiberensis the nature of the IUCN in their Red List of Threatened Species as endangered ( Endangered ) substance. The American ginseng ( Panax quinquefolius ) and only the Russian populations of ginseng (Panax ginseng) are led by the CITES Convention CITES in Appendix 2 as vulnerable species. Thus restrictions apply with respect to the global trade of roots of this species in the form of import and export permits. In addition, the proof of the harmlessness of the abundance of the species must be provided.

System

The genus Panax in 1753, established by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum, Volume 2, page 1058. The botanical genus name Panax is derived via Latin from Greek forth, meaning " cure-all ". He is in the name of Panacea, a daughter of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing, returned. Synonyms for Panax L. are Aureliana Boehm, Ginsen Adans. , Ginseng A.Wood, Panacea Mitch. and Panaxus St. lag .. The genus Panax belongs to the subfamily Aralioideae within the family Araliaceae ( Araliaceae ).

There are eight to twelve Panax species, some of which are called ginseng:

  • Ginseng (Panax ginseng) CAMey, (syn.: Aralia ginseng CAMey. ). Baill, panax machine -seng ( T.Nees ). Distribution in northeastern China, the North Korean and Russian Primorye in the southernmost part of the district Far East. It is cultivated widely.
  • Panax japonicus ( T.Nees ) CAMey. With four varieties: Panax japonicus var angustifolius ( Burkill ) CYCheng & CYChu: China is home to the provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan, northeastern India, Bhutan, Nepal and northeastern Thailand.
  • Panax japonicus var bipinnatifidus ( Seem. ) CYWu & KMFeng ( Syn: Panax bipinnatifidus Seem, Panax major ( Burkill ) KCTing. ): Distribution in China, in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia Myanmar.
  • Panax japonicus ( T.Nees ) C.A.Mey. var japonicus: distribution in China, Japan, Korea, the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
  • Panax japonicus var major ( Burkill ) CYWu & KMFeng: The home is China with the provinces of Gansu, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Shanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan, northern Myanmar, Nepal and northern Vietnam.

Swell

  • Qibai Xiang & Porter P. Lowry: Clusiaceae through Araliaceae. Araliaceae. In: Wu Zheng -yi & al, co - chairs of the committee ed (ed.). Flora of China. 13, Science Press, Beijing 2007, ISBN 9781930723597 ISBN 1930723598 and, Panax, pp. 489, 255 825 823 OCLC ( Online). (Section Description, systematics and distribution )
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