Xian Mao

Curculigo orchioides is a small perennial herb in the Hypoxidaceae family, native to tropical and subtropical Asia including India, southern China, and Southeast Asia. It grows from a stout, cylindrical, dark brown to nearly black rhizome that descends vertically into the soil and bears slender, fibrous roots. The leaves arise in a basal tuft, are linear-lanceolate, plicate, 15-45 cm long and 1-2 cm wide, with conspicuous parallel veins and a softly hairy surface, resembling a small palm seedling. The bright yellow, star-shaped flowers, 1-2 cm across with six tepals, are borne singly or in small clusters at ground level, often partly hidden by the leaf bases. In TCM the rhizome is Xian Mao; in Ayurveda it is Kali Musli, used as a rejuvenative tonic.