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The heterophylly falsestarwort root is the dried tuberous root of Pseudostellaria heterophylla (Miq.) Pax ex Pax et Hoffm., a plant of the Caryophyllaceae family. Medicinal heterophylly falsestarwort roots are cultivated, mainly produced in Jiangning, Jiangpu, Nanjing in Jiangsu Province, as well as in Fujian, Anhui, and Shandong provinces.

Materia medica research suggests that the term heterophylly falsestarwort root originally referred to the smaller varieties of Ginseng from the Araliaceae family. The Caryophyllaceae plant Pseudostellaria heterophylla, initially considered a counterfeit of Ginseng, gradually established its own status as an independent species due to its clear therapeutic effects. From the perspective of cultivation history, Jiangsu is likely the original cultivation area for heterophylly falsestarwort root.

bubble_chart Varietal Identification

The name heterophylly falsestarwort root first appeared in Bencao Congxin, where it was listed alongside Ginseng whiskers and Ginseng rhizomes under the Ginseng entry. Wu Yi-luo stated: "Heterophylly falsestarwort root, a powerful tonic for primordial qi, though as thin as Ginseng stems, is short, tight, and firm, with rhizome patterns, and its potency is not inferior to larger Ginseng." The exact species referred to as heterophylly falsestarwort root in Bencao Congxin remains debated. The Comprehensive Dictionary of Chinese Medicine notes: "According to Bencao Congxin, Bencao Gangmu Shiyi, and Yinpian Xincan, heterophylly falsestarwort root originally referred to smaller varieties of Ginseng from the Araliaceae family." Meanwhile, the "New Compendium of Materia Medica" states: "The description in Bencao Congxin is too brief to determine the exact species."

As for the heterophylly falsestarwort root mentioned in Bencao Gangmu Shiyi, it undoubtedly refers to Panax ginseng C.A.Mey. of the Araliaceae family. The "Supplement" quotes "Baicao Jing": "Heterophylly falsestarwort root is the smaller variety of Liaodong Ginseng, not a different species, but rather the smaller roots selected by Suzhou Ginseng merchants from Ginseng bundles, named as such for sale." Zhao Xue-min described it as "sweet and bitter in taste, with effects similar to Liaodong Ginseng." He also quoted Zhang Jinzhai: "The so-called heterophylly falsestarwort root refers to the smaller whole branches of Ginseng, a clever name used by Ginseng merchants." In other words, Zhao Xue-min believed heterophylly falsestarwort root to be small-branch Ginseng.

Heterophylly falsestarwort root is also known as "child Ginseng," but in Ming and Qing materia medica, "child Ginseng," like the heterophylly falsestarwort root in Bencao Gangmu Shiyi, remained an alias for genuine Ginseng. Ming scholar Zhang Zhi-cong, in "Benjing Chongyuan," stated: "Ginseng, also known as the divine herb... those that grow for many years and resemble human forms, with heads, faces, and limbs, are called child Ginseng, hence the name divine herb." Li Shizhen, in the Ginseng entry of "Bencao Gangmu," also noted: "Those resembling human forms are called child Ginseng, but many are counterfeit." Both accounts suggest that child Ginseng refers to high-quality Ginseng with human-like shapes. Qing scholar Ling Huan, in the Ginseng entry of "Bencao Heli," stated: "Heterophylly falsestarwort root, also known as child Ginseng, has effects comparable to large Ginseng," indicating that heterophylly falsestarwort root or child Ginseng refers to smaller varieties compared to large-branch Ginseng.

Up until the Republican era, materia medica literature still often referred to heterophylly falsestarwort root as Ginseng from the Araliaceae family. For example, Cao Bingzhang, in "Revised Weiyao Tiaobian," noted: "What modern people call white-copy Ginseng, transplanted mountain Ginseng, and heterophylly falsestarwort root are all of this kind." According to Xie Zongwan's investigation: "After liberation, some pharmacies in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, indeed sold smaller varieties of Liaodong Ginseng as heterophylly falsestarwort root." It was only after liberation that Pseudostellaria heterophylla (Miq.) Pax ex Pax et Hoffm. of the Caryophyllaceae family was officially documented as the genuine source of heterophylly falsestarwort root.

However, the medicinal history of the Caryophyllaceae heterophylly falsestarwort root seems to trace back to the Qing Dynasty. Our speculation is based on the following reasons: (1) The aforementioned discussion on heterophylly falsestarwort root in Bencao Congxin, though brief, provides a glimpse. Wu Yi-luo's description of the characteristics of heterophylly falsestarwort root is notably different from those of Zhao Xue-min and others. Wu stated: "As thin as ginseng strips, but with reed patterns." This refers to the medicinal material being thin and branchless, with a reed head. From this, it is clear that the heterophylly falsestarwort root Wu referred to is definitely not the thin branches of Ginseng (neither ginseng whiskers nor ginseng strips have reed heads), nor is it a single, thin Ginseng (the efficacy of a one-year-old Ginseng rhizome would not be as Wu described: "its strength is not inferior to large ginseng," and the medicinal material would not be "short, tight, and firm"). It should be a different variety. According to Wu Yi-luo's description of the medicinal material's characteristics, it closely matches the Caryophyllaceae heterophylly falsestarwort root used today.

(2) The Bencao Zaixin, attributed to Ye Gui, records the efficacy of heterophylly falsestarwort root: "Treats qi deficiency and lung dryness, tonifies the spleen earth, reduces edema, resolves phlegm, and quenches thirst." Its effects of "reducing edema and resolving phlegm" are distinctly different from those of Ginseng from the Araliaceae family, and are closer to the use of heterophylly falsestarwort root from the Caryophyllaceae family for spleen qi deficiency, stomach yin deficiency leading to poor appetite and fatigue, and lung deficiency dryness cough due to qi deficiency and fluid injury. Therefore, based on efficacy, the heterophylly falsestarwort root mentioned in Bencao Zaixin could also be a plant from the Caryophyllaceae family.

(3) As mentioned above, in most materia medica literature, heterophylly falsestarwort root is one of the commercial specifications of Ginseng, especially referring to the thin-branched Liaoshen, a name given by Jiangsu and Zhejiang merchants, not used in the place of origin. For example, Zhao Xuekai's "Baicao Jing" states: "Heterophylly falsestarwort root is what Suzhou ginseng dealers pick out from ginseng packages as the smaller ones, named as such to sell to customers." It is particularly noteworthy that since the Qing dynasty, all materia medica literature mentioning the medicinal name heterophylly falsestarwort root has been authored by people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, such as Wu Yi-luo from Haiyan, Zhejiang, Ye Gui from Wuxian, Jiangsu, Zhao Xue-min and Zhao Xuekai brothers from Qiantang, Zhejiang, Ling Huan from Wuxing, Zhejiang, Cao Bingzhang from Yin County, Zhejiang, and Wang Yiren, author of "Yinpian Xincan," from Xin'an, Zhejiang. This is no coincidence, as Jiangsu and Zhejiang are major production areas for Caryophyllaceae heterophylly falsestarwort root, and Suzhou is also a center for the production of counterfeit Ginseng. As Zhao Xue-min said: "The price of ginseng is increasingly expensive, and various counterfeit products are emerging. People are also increasingly searching for strange roots in remote mountains and valleys to find similar roots to mix in... The so-called Zhu'er Shen, it is unknown what root it is made from. As for red Tangshen, it is made from red radish grass, and white Tangshen has not been verified. These are all made by curious people in Suzhou, used by curious doctors, and sold by itinerant vendors to deceive villagers." Although Bencao Gangmu Shiyi does not explicitly state that heterophylly falsestarwort root is also counterfeit, it does not exclude the possibility that Suzhou drugstores used Caryophyllaceae heterophylly falsestarwort root under the name "small Liaoshen" to make huge profits.

Mr. Xie Zongwan has a brilliant discussion on the issue of emerging varieties of Chinese medicinals in the first volume of "Discussions on the Varieties of Chinese Medicinals," which is quoted below and should help us understand the historical evolution of the heterophylly falsestarwort root variety. Mr. Xie said: "When emerging varieties of Chinese medicinals first appeared, they were likely new and different varieties that took the names of traditional genuine medicinal materials. However, after research and a period of clinical practice testing, they were considered equivalent to or better than those traditional genuine medicinal materials, and thus were widely accepted and recognized. Because their medicinal names are closely related to those traditional Chinese medicinals, they have become emerging varieties of Chinese medicinals."

In summary, heterophylly falsestarwort root or Haier Shen was originally an alias for Ginseng, initially referring to Ginseng that resembled a human figure, as in "Benjing Fengyuan" and "Bencao Gangmu." Starting from the Qing dynasty, thin-branched Ginseng was called "heterophylly falsestarwort root" or "Haier Shen." However, at that time, driven by profit, some merchants used the roots of locally produced Caryophyllaceae plants to counterfeit Ginseng, deceiving patients under the name "heterophylly falsestarwort root." Later, because this plant indeed had some effects similar to Ginseng, it gradually shed its status as a counterfeit and became an independent emerging variety of Chinese medicinals.

bubble_chart Historical Evolution of Authenticity

Heterophylly falsestarwort root is a recently emerged medicinal variety with a relatively short history of use and no significant advantage in terms of authenticity. Comparatively, Jiangsu has a longer history of cultivation. Additionally, according to legend, heterophylly falsestarwort root was named because it grew in the mausoleum garden of Crown Prince Yiwen (Zhu Biao) of the Ming dynasty. The prince's tomb is in Nanjing, specifically the Ming Eastern Tomb. Although this story appeared late, in feudal times, it was generally impossible to name a medicinal with the words "Crown Prince" without a special reason, suggesting that Nanjing is indeed the original production area of heterophylly falsestarwort root. Of course, GAP cultivation of this product in other southern provinces and regions is also appropriate.