A small alpine herb with a bitter rhizome, traded as hong len for Tibetan medicine and as kutki in Nepal.
- Group: Plant
- Plant type: Medicinal
- Habitats: Alpine grassland, gravel
- Regions: Ü Tsang, Kham
Habitat and distribution
Alpine grassland and gravelly places at 3,600–4,400 m in western Sichuan, southern Tibet and north-western Yunnan (Flora of China).
Recorded in Ü-Tsang, Kham.
Ecological and cultural significance
A low plant of high meadows and screes; its rhizomes are used in Tibetan, Chinese, Bhutanese and Indian medicine for fever and liver disorders (Kafle et al. 2018).
Threats
High levels of commercial trade and unregulated harvesting threaten wild populations (Kafle et al. 2018).
Conservation
Not assessed by the IUCN Red List (no assessment found).