Cistanche tubulosa

Cistanche tubulosa
Cistanche tubulosa (Broomrape in Hamakhtesh Hagadol, Negev, southern Israel)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Orobanchaceae
Genus: Cistanche
Species: C. tubulosa
Binomial name
Cistanche tubulosa
(Schrenk) Hook.f.

Cistanche tubulosa is a holoparasitic desert plant species in the genus Cistanche. The plant lacks chlorophyll and obtains nutrients and water from the host plants whose roots it parasitizes.

Uses

The plant is grown in the Taklamakan desert, and is traditionally used as medicines and foods in China.[1]

The main sources of the Chinese herbal medicine cistanche (Chinese: 肉苁蓉, pinyin ròucongróng) are Cistanche salsa and Cistanche deserticola, although it may also be obtained from C. tubulosa. The drug, known in Chinese as suosuo dayun, is collected in spring before sprouting, by slicing the stems of the plant.

References

  1. ↑ The hypocholesterolemic effects of Cistanche tubulosa extract, a Chinese traditional crude medicine, in mice. Shimoda H, Tanaka J, Takahara Y, Takemoto K, Shan SJ and Su MH, Am J Chin Med., 2009, volume 37, issue 6, pages 1125-1138, PubMed

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