前胡 qian hu

Plants 10–100 cm. Stem solitary, branched above, branchlets puberulous. Basal leaf blade triangular-ovate, 2–3-ternate; pinnae long-petiolulate, pinnules long-ovate, 3–5-lobed, 1.5–6 × 1.2–4 cm, both surfaces glabrous, occasionally puberulous, abaxially nerves prominent, base cuneate, margins irregular serrate, apex acuminate. Synflorescence much-branched; umbels 3.5–9 cm across; bracts absent or few, linear; rays 6–15, unequal, 0.5–4.5 cm, inner faces pubescent; bracteoles 8–12, ovate-lanceolate, shorter than flowers, rough-puberulous; umbellules 15–20-flowered. Calyx teeth obsolete. Petals white. Styles short. Fruit ovoid, ca. 4 × 3 mm, sparsely pubescent; lateral ribs winged, wings rather thick; vittae 3–5 in each furrow, 6–10 on commissure. Fl. Aug–Sep, fr. Oct–Nov. n = 11*.

Forest margins, grassy slopes; 200–2000 m. Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang.

The root is used as the important traditional Chinese medicine “qian hu.”