Dang Shen

Codonopsis pilosula is a perennial twining herb in the family Campanulaceae, native to grassy slopes, forest margins, scrub thickets, and disturbed alpine pastures of northern and central China, Korea, and adjacent parts of the Russian Far East, where it grows at elevations of 1500-3000 m. The plant produces a long, slender, cylindrical, pale yellow taproot 20-40 cm long, marked above by characteristic close, transverse rings at the crown and tapering below. The slender twining stems reach 1-2 m, branching freely and bearing milky latex when broken. The opposite or alternate leaves are ovate to broadly ovate, 1-7 cm long, with entire to slightly undulate margins and hairy surfaces. Bell-shaped, pendulous flowers 1.8-2.5 cm long appear singly on long axillary peduncles in summer, with a pale yellow-green corolla marked inside with purple veins. The fruit is a conical capsule containing many small seeds.