In Chinese culture, the boundary between food and medicine is often blurry, and this is the case With medicinal orchids.China has a 2,000-plus-year tradition of using orchid species as herbal medicines or health food supplements. Some 350 species—a quarter of the total Chinese orchid species—are used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Of those, 97 are Chinese endemics. Here are some examples of traditional and modern-day uses of these edible orchids:Gastrodia elata Blume, (in Chinese, pronounced as "Tian Ma") is a perennial orchid that is saprophytic—it obtains nutrients from dead organic matter. It is one of the most prominent traditional Chinese herbal medicines, and has been used for more than 2,000 years in the treatment of headache, vertigo, hemiplegia (paralysis of one side of the body) and infantile convulsions. The underground tuber is used; traditionally, it is often mixed in chicken soup, in tea or in sugary water with the Chinese date (Ziziphus jujuba Mill). Foralways-on-the-go modern folks, pills made from the orchid are available. This orchid frequently shows up on prescriptions by doctors who practice TCM.
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