Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cusson ex Juss., Monnier's snowparsley, is a flowering plant species in the genus Cnidium. Also known as Shechuangzi, Osthole, Jashoshi, Cnidii Fructus (Fruits of Cnidium).
It may be confused with Bacopa monnieri, Ligusticum officinale (syn. Cnidium officinale), both similar but different plants.
How to grow it
Pests and Diseases Literature:
Walter Erhardt, Erich Götz, Nils Bödeker, Siegmund Seybold: Der große Zander. Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8001-5406-7. (Ger.)
Uses
Cnidium monnieri (L.) Cuss. is one of the most widely used traditional herbal medicines and its fruits have been used to treat a variety of diseases in China, Vietnam, and Japan. As of this writing, 350 compounds have been isolated and identified from C. monnieri, including the main active constituent, coumarins. In vitro and in vivo studies suggest that osthole and other coumarin compounds possess wide range of pharmacological properties effective in the treatment of disorders of the female genitalia, male impotence, frigidity, skin-related diseases, and that, in this context, they exhibit strong antipruritic, anti-allergic, antidermatophytic, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-osteoporotic effects. Although coumarins have been identified as the main active constituents responsible for the observed pharmacological effects, the molecular mechanisms of their actions are still unknown.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cnidium monnieri by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.