Wenshan prefecture in SW China’s Yunnan makes headway in conservation of endemic herb (7)

Photo shows flowers of notoginseng (Photo provided by Miaoxiang Notoginseng Technology, Co., Ltd.)

Wenshan prefecture in southwest China’s Yunnan province has made continued progress in recent years in the conservation of the germplasm resources of notoginseng – known as “Sanqi” in Chinese – a kind of herb renowned for its medicinal qualities that is endemic to the prefecture.

Wenshan has established a notoginseng cultivation and new variety breeding base for the collection and preservation of the herb’s germplasm resources and the breeding of new varieties. So far, the prefecture has collected 11,000 germplasm resources from notoginseng plants. It has added about 6.7 hectares of notoginseng nurseries for the utilization of germplasm resources this year.

Wenshan has also made breakthroughs in its research of notoginseng. The Institute of Sanqi Research under Wenshan University in the prefecture has developed six new varieties of the herb, including two that have been granted rights as new plant varieties, the institute having entered into close cooperation with other institutes such as the Yunnan Agricultural University and the Kunming Institute of Botany under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as Miaoxiang Notoginseng Technology, Co., Ltd., a leading local company. The research team is pushing ahead with the construction of a breeding base for these new varieties.

The prefecture, which is the place of origin for notoginseng, has planted the herb for over 400 years. The herb’s flowers, which can provide medicinal value, bloom in August.