“The Natural Medicine Garden”

S hennongjia Forestry District is rich in such soil types as yellow brown soil,brown soil,and dark brown soil.There is a well-developed river system with more than 300 rivers of various lengths.“The rich and diverse medicinal resources in Shennongjia are the products of its unique landscapes and complex geological conditions,”Zhan Yahua explains,“Above all,such suitable natural conditions provide a perfect growing environment for various medicinal resources.”

格桑花海（龔建國攝）Gesang flower sea(Photo by Gong Jianguo)

Such a fantastic natural environment makes the Chinese medicinalresources of Shennongjia unique in all of Central China,thus earning it the reputation of“the Natural Medicine Garden.”On Shennongjia’s area of3253 square kilometers,3684 kinds of higher plants were found.Among them 70%are herbal plants.There are all together 3205 varieties of medicinal resources in Shennongjia,covering medicinal plants, medicinal animals, and medicinal mines.According to the fourth national survey of Chinese medicine resources,Shennongjia’s herbs are divided into 252 families which include 1081 genera,covering one sixths of the total TCM resources in China,and over two thirds ofthat in Hubei.

《神農架中藥資源圖志》The Checklist of Traditional Chinese Medicine Resources in Shennongjia

夢幻大九湖（劉慶軍攝）Beautifulclouds and their reflections in Dajiu Lake(Photo by Liu Qingjun)

Professor Zhang Daigui from the School of Resources and Environmental Science at Jishou University pointed out that not only was Shennongjia rich in species,but also almost all of them could be utilized.Therefore traditional Chinese medicine has long been used by the locals,more than 160 well-known Chinese folk herbal medicines that are represented by“18 medicalherbs named‘Gold Hairpins,’” “36 medicinal herbs named‘Huanyang,’”and“72 medicinal herbs named‘Seven.’” Furthermore,as Wang Yubing,professor from the School of Biology and Pharmacy at Three Gorges University introduced,because of the abundant,unique,and high-quality resources in Shennongjia,the herbal medicines here have greater medicinal value and thus can be sold for higher prices than those from other areas. For example, Dendrobium flexicaule is usually sold for 3000 yuan per catty online;when produced in Shennongjia,however,it often costs 10,000 to 15,000 yuan.

“天然藥園”百花齊放

林區土壤類型豐富，有黃棕壤、棕壤、暗棕壤等，且全區水系發達，共有大小河流300多條。“神農架地形地貌奇特、地質條件復雜，也促成了藥材資源的豐富多樣。”詹亞華解釋道，“總而言之，諸多適宜的自然條件為多種藥用資源生長提供了絕佳環境。”

得天獨厚的自然環境，造就了神農架獨步華中的中醫藥健康養生資源，為其贏得“天然藥園”美譽。在神農架3253平方公里土地上，分布高等植物3684種，有70%為中草藥品。神農架藥用資源種類，涵蓋藥用植物、藥用動物、藥用礦物資源，共計3205種。據第四次中藥資源普查，神農架中草藥品種共有252科1081屬2552種，資源總種類占全國中藥資源的1/6以上，占湖北全省中藥資源的2/3以上。

吉首大學資源與環境科學學院張代貴教授指出，神農架不僅物種豐富，而且幾乎全部可以利用，故而民間長期有用中藥的傳統，以“十八金釵”、“三十六還陽”、“七十二七”等為代表的160余種民間中草藥聞名遐邇。而且，據三峽大學生物與制藥學院副教授王玉兵介紹，由于神農架資源豐富、獨特、優質，當地的中草藥藥用價值更高，所以售價也更高。比如，普通的曲莖石斛在網上通常賣到3000元每斤，而神農架產的曲莖石斛一般售價在10000到15000之間。