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Lithospermum erythrorhizon
Also called Purple Gromwell, Red Gromwell, Red Root Gromwell, Redroot Lithospermum
Lithospermum erythrorhizon, purple gromwell, is a perennial herb in the borage family, grown in Japan and East Asia for its red-purple root used in herbal medicine and dyeing. It needs a sunny, well-drained spot and is grown mainly as a garden or medicinal plant rather than a houseplant.
Lithospermum erythrorhizon, commonly called purple gromwell, red stoneroot, red gromwell, red-root gromwell and redroot lithospermum, is a plant species in the family Boraginaceae. It is called zǐcǎo (紫草) in Chinese, jichi (지치) in Korean, and murasaki (ムラサキ; 茈, 紫) in Japanese.
The dried root of Lithospermum erythrorhizon (lithospermum root or Lithospermi Radix) is a Chinese herbal medicine with various antiviral and biological activities, including inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1).
The enzyme 4-hydroxybenzoate geranyltransferase utilizes geranyl diphosphate and 4-hydroxybenzoate to produce 3-geranyl-4-hydroxybenzoate and diphosphate. Biosynthetically, alkannin is produced in plants from the intermediates 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and geranyl pyrophosphate. This enzyme is involved in shikonin biosynthesis.
The enzyme geranylhydroquinone 3''-hydroxylase uses geranylhydroquinone, NADPH, H+ and O2 to produce 3-hydroxygeranylhydroquinone, NADP+ and H2O.
It has been cultivated in Japan since the Nara period for its root, which can be used for herbal medicine and to make dyes.
Lithospermum azuayense · Lithospermum bejariense · Lithospermum bolivariense · California stoneseed · Hoary puccoon · Carolina puccoon · Lithospermum cuzcoense · Narrowleaf stoneseed · American stoneseed · Lithospermum leymebambense · Softhair Marbleseed · European stoneseed
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Lithospermum erythrorhizon by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
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.
