''Saposhnikovia'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the family

Apiaceae Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...

. Its only species is ''Saposhnikovia divaricata'', known as ''fángfēng'' 防風 (lit. "protect against the wind") in

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

, bangpung in

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

, and siler in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. The plant is still frequently referenced under the obsolete genus name ''Ledebouriella'' in many online sources devoted to

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

. It was first described as ''Stenocoelium divaricatum'' by

Nikolai Turczaninow Nikolai Stepanovich Turczaninow (; 1796 – ) was a Russian botanist and plant collector who first identified several genera and many species of plants. Education and career Born in 1796, Turczaninow attended high school in Kharkov. In 181 ...

in 1844, and transferred to ''Saposhnikovia'' in 1951.

Description

Glabrous, much-branched, perennial herb, arising from branched, annular, tuberous rootstock up to 2 cm thick, with crown surrounded by fibrous, remnant, sheathing bases of petioles. Height 30–100 cm. Basal leaves numerous, petioles flattened with ovate sheaths, 2–6.5 cm in length; leaf-blades oblong-ovate to broad-ovate, up to 35 x 18 cm (usually smaller), bi- to tripinnatifid, pinnae 3–4 pairs, petiolulate, terminal lobes lanceolate, 3-lobed at apex. Upper leaves simplified with sheathing petioles, reduced upwards, often absent, leading to aphyllous branching. Umbels compound, devoid of involucral bracts, rays 5–9, bracteoles 4–5, pedicels 4–9, flowers white or yellow, petals circa 1.5 mm. Mericarps broadly ovate to oblong, flat, up to 5 x 3mm, tuberculate when young but becoming smooth at maturity, lateral ribs winged. Flowering August–September and fruiting September–October.Schultes, Richard Evans; Albert Hofmann (1979). Plants of the Gods: Origins of Hallucinogenic Use. New York: McGraw-Hill. . Illustrated, with description, p.56 column 3 under name ''Siler divaricatum''.

Distribution and habitat

''Saposhnikovia divaricata'' is found, in China, in the provinces of

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

and

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

. The plant also occurs in Russia, Mongolia, Korea and Japan. It grows in grassy and stony slopes at , and the margins of rice paddies, roadsides and waste places.

Harvesting

Most of the plants harvested are collected in the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia and Hebei. The tuberous rootstocks are harvested in early spring or late autumn (when the plants have yet to flower or have finished flowering) washed, trimmed of basal leaves and fibrous roots, sun-dried until they contain 20% moisture, shredded and then sun-dried again until completely desiccated and ready for storage.

Phytochemistry

The roots and seeds of ''Saposhnikovia divaricata'' contain a variety of

phytochemical Phytochemicals are naturally-occurring chemicals present in or extracted from plants. Some phytochemicals are nutrients for the plant, while others are metabolites produced to enhance plant survivability and reproduction. The fields of ext ...

s under

basic research Basic research, also called pure research, fundamental research, basic science, or pure science, is a type of scientific research with the aim of improving scientific theories for better understanding and prediction of natural or other phenome ...

, including

furocoumarins The furanocoumarins, or furocoumarins, are a class of organic chemical compounds produced by a variety of plants. Most of the plant species found to contain furanocoumarins belong to a handful of plant families. The families Apiaceae and Rutacea ...

furanochromones Furanochromone is a chemical compound which is a derivative of chromone (1,4-benzopyrone) and furan. Some chemical derivatives of furanochromone show strong interaction with DNA. Furanochromones can be produced in callus A callus (: callus ...

polyacetylenes Polyacetylene (IUPAC name: polyethyne) usually refers to an organic polymer with the repeating unit . The name refers to its conceptual construction from polymerization of acetylene to give a chain with repeating olefin groups. This compound is ...

hyperoside Hyperoside is a chemical compound. It is the 3-''O''-galactoside of quercetin. Natural occurrences Hyperoside has been isolated from ''Drosera rotundifolia'', from the Lamiaceae ''Stachys sp.'' and ''Prunella vulgaris'', from ''Rumex acetosella ...

s, and

terpenes Terpenes () are a class of natural products consisting of compounds with the formula (C5H8)n for n ≥ 2. Terpenes are major biosynthetic building blocks. Comprising more than 30,000 compounds, these unsaturated hydrocarbons are produced predomi ...

. The major components of the

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the ...

from roots of ''S. divaricata'' are

caryophyllene oxide Caryophyllene (), more formally (−)-β-caryophyllene (BCP), is a natural bicyclic sesquiterpene that occurs widely in nature. Caryophyllene is notable for having a cyclobutane ring, as well as a ''trans''-double bond in a 9-membered ring, both ...

sabinene Sabinene is a natural bicyclic monoterpene with the molecular formula C10H16. It is isolated from the essential oils of a variety of plants including Marjoram, holm oak (''Quercus ilex'') and Norway spruce (''Picea abies''). It has a strained ...

, α- and β-pinene, myrtenal, myrtenol,

α-terpineol Terpineol is any of four isomeric monoterpene, monoterpenoids. Terpenoids are terpene that are modified by the addition of a functional group, in this case, an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol. Terpineols have been isolated from a variety of sources ...

, ''p''-cymene, and

nonanoic acid Pelargonic acid, also called nonanoic acid, is an organic compound with structural formula . It is a nine-carbon fatty acid. Nonanoic acid is a colorless oily liquid with an unpleasant, rancid odor. It is nearly insoluble in water, but very sol ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q6672500, from2=Q5100860 Apioideae Monotypic Apioideae genera Taxa named by Boris Schischkin Taxa named by Nikolai Turczaninow Plants described in 1950