Can Gastrodia elata be eaten raw?

In our lives, Chinese medicinal materials are still very common, and in many areas, you can find Chinese medicinal materials just by taking a walk outdoors. However, many friends still lack sufficient knowledge about Chinese medicinal materials, so they cannot recognize them even if they see them. Take Gastrodia elata for example, it is a very common Chinese medicinal material and its clinical efficacy is also very strong. So, can Gastrodia elata be eaten raw?

Yes, but not tasty!

Gastrodia elata is sweet in nature and flavor and enters the liver meridian. Function: calm wind and relieve shock. It is often used to treat dizziness, headache, limb numbness, speech disorders, etc. "Bencao Huiyan" records that it "treats head wind, headache, dizziness, epilepsy, spasms, cramps of limbs, dysphagia, all kinds of stroke, and wind phlegm." People often use pig brain stewed with Gastrodia elata to treat dizziness, headache, liver deficiency type hypertension, arteriosclerosis, neurasthenia, etc. It has the effects of dispelling wind, opening the orifices, promoting blood circulation, calming and nourishing. If you need it, it is best to buy it from a large pharmacy for peace of mind. Nowadays, pharmacies help people process Chinese medicine. You can ask them to cut the Gastrodia elata into slices and then stew it with the pig brain.

Morphological characteristics

Gastrodia elata, also known as: red arrow, Li Mu (Ben Jing), Shencao (Wu Pu's Materia Medica), Du Yao Zhi (Bao Pu Zi), red arrow fat, Ding Feng Cao (Yao Xing Lun), He Li (Youyang Za Zu), He Li Cao, Du Yao (Bencao Tujing), Bailongpi, red arrow ganoderma (Gang Mu), Zidongcao (Hunan Yaoyao Zhi). Perennial parasitic herb, 60 to 100 cm tall, completely free of chlorophyll. The tuber is thick, fleshy and oblong, about 10 cm long and 3 to 4.5 cm in diameter, with unclear segments. The stem is erect, cylindrical, and yellow-red. The leaves are scaly, membranous, 1 to 2 cm long, with fine veins, and short sheath-like at the bottom.

The inflorescence is a spike-like raceme, 10 to 30 cm long, with yellow-red flowers; the pedicels are short, 2 to 3 mm long; the bracts are membranous, narrowly lanceolate or linear-oblong; the perianth tube is crookedly pot-shaped, with an oblique mouth, 7 to 8 mm long, slightly swollen on the lower side of the base, and the lobes are small and triangular; the lip is higher than 2/3 of the perianth tube, with 3 lobes, the central lobe is larger, and its base is short-stalked inside the flower tube; the ovary is inferior, 5 to 6 mm long, smooth, and has several ridges on it. Capsule oblong to oblong-obovate, about 15 mm long, with a short stalk. The seeds are numerous, small, and powdery. The flowering period is from June to July. Fruiting period is July to August. The stems and leaves (Gastrodia elata stems and leaves) and fruits (Gastrodia elata seeds) of this plant are also used for medicinal purposes, each of which is described in detail in a separate article.