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Common Name: Long Dan Cao

General Information

Gentiana scabra is a perennial plant that can grow up to 0.30 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

E. Asia - China, Japan.

Habitat

Thickets, grassy places and wet meadows at low elevations and in the mountains of C. and S. Japan[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.30 m
Pollinators	Bumblebees, butterFlies
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

In general, gentians require a moist well-drained soil in a sheltered position, a certain minimum of atmospheric humidity, high light intensity but a site where temperatures are not too high[]. They are therefore more difficult to grow in areas with hot summers and in such a region they appreciate some protection from the strongest sunlight[, ]. Most species will grow well in the rock garden[]. This species requires a moist well-drained neutral to acid soil[, ]. Another report says that it is happy in any reasonable soil[].
A moisture loving plant, preferring to grow with full exposure to the sun but with plenty of underground moisture in the summer, it grows better in the north and west of Britain[].
A very ornamental plant[].
Plants are intolerant of root disturbance[].

Edible Uses

Young plant and old leaves - cooked[]. A famine food, used when all else fails[, ].

Medicinal

Long Dan Cao is used as a bitter tonic in Chinese herbalism where it promotes digestive secretions and treats a range of illnesses associated with the liver[, ].
The root is antibacterial and stomachic[]. It is used in the treatment of anorexia, dyspepsia, jaundice, leucorrhoea, eczema, conjunctivitis, sore throat, acute infection of the urinary system, hypertension with dizziness and tinnitus[, ]. The root is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use.

This species is one of several that are the source of the medicinal gentian root[], the following notes are based on the general uses of G. lutea which is the most commonly used species in the West[].

Gentian root has a long history of use as a herbal bitter in the treatment of digestive disorders and is an ingredient of many proprietary medicines. It contains some of the most bitter compounds known and is used as a scientific basis for measuring bitterness[]. It is especially useful in states of exhaustion from chronic disease and in all cases of debility, weakness of the digestive system and lack of appetite[]. It is one of the best strengtheners of the human system, stimulating the liver, gall bladder and digestive system[], and is an excellent tonic to combine with a purgative in order to prevent its debilitating effects[]. The root is anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, bitter tonic, cholagogue, emmenagogue, febrifuge, refrigerant, stomachic[, , , , , , ]. It is taken internally in the treatment of liver complaints, indigestion, gastric infections and anorexia[]. It should not be prescribed for patients with gastric or duodenal ulcers[]. The root is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use[]. It is quite likely that the roots of plants that have not flowered are the richest in medicinal properties[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a light position in a cold frame[]. It can also be sown in late winter or early spring but the seed germinates best if given a period of cold stratification and quickly loses viability when stored, with older seed germinating slowly and erratically[, ]. It is advantageous to keep the seed at about 10°c for a few days after sowing, to enable the seed to imbibe moisture[]. Following this with a period of at least 5 - 6 weeks with temperatures falling to between 0 and -5°c will usually produce reasonable germination[]. It is best to use clay pots, since plastic ones do not drain so freely and the moister conditions encourage the growth of moss, which will prevent germination of the seed[]. The seed should be surface-sown, or only covered with a very light dressing of compost. The seed requires dark for germination, so the pots should be covered with something like newspaper or be kept in the dark[]. Pot up the seedlings into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. The seedlings grow on very slowly, taking 2 - 7 years to reach flowering size[]. When the plants are of sufficient size, place them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer.
Division in early spring[]. Most members of this genus have either a single tap-root, or a compact root system united in a single root head, and are thus unsuitable for division[].
Cuttings of basal shoots in late spring[].