大叶当归 da ye dang gui

Peucedanum megaphyllum (Diels) H. de Boissieu.

Plants perennial, 0.7–2.5 m. Root conic, brown. Stem ca. 2 cm thick, thinly ribbed, glabrous or sparsely hispidulous. Petioles ca. 20 cm, sheaths ovate, 2.5–4 cm; blade triangular-ovate, 20–40 × 20–35 cm, 2-ternate-pinnate, pinnae 1–3 pairs, long-petiolulate, the terminal pinnae unequally 2-lobed; leaflets oblong to elliptic, 5–12 × 2–6 cm, irregularly 2–3-lobed, margin acute-serrate, apex acuminate or caudate-acuminate, hispidulous along nerves on both surfaces. Umbels up to 10 cm across; peduncles 4–10 cm, densely brown-hispidulous; bracts absent or 1; rays 20–40, very unequal, densely brown-hispidulous; bracteoles absent; umbellules 16–32-flowered; pedicels glabrous or pubescent. Calyx teeth obsolete. Petals dark purple-red, oblong-ovate. Fruit ovoid to suborbicular, 4.5–7 × 4–6 mm; dorsal ribs prominent, lateral ribs broad-winged, wings wider than the body; vittae 1 in each furrow, 2 on commissure. Fl. Jul–Sep, fr. Sep–Oct.

Forests, grasslands, streamsides; 1500–2000 m. Sichuan.

The roots are used in Sichuan as a regional substitute for the traditional Chinese medicines “dang gui” (see Angelica sinensis) and “du huo” (see A. biserrata).