Geographic Distribution and Resource Status of Three Important Medicinal Epimedium Species

Some species in genus Epimedium L.have been used as medicinal and ornamental ground cover plants,and have a tremendous potential for commercial development.In this study,we conducted field survey on three important and representative medicinal Epimedium species(i.e.E.koreanum,E.sagittatum and E.brevicornum)aiming at promoting the sustainable utilization and development of Epimedium resources.The results showed that E.koreanum distributed in Northeast China,mainly along the Changbai Mountains.Wild resources of this species were seriously deteriorated due to years of over-harvesting,thus,reasonable conservation strategies should be taken urgently.E.brevicornum distributed in Gansu,Shaanxi,Ningxia,Shanxi,and Henan provinces.The wild resources of this species are abundant but rarely utilized.E.sagittatum is widely distributed in eastern and southern China with low plant density in each population.Moreover,the morphological characteristics of this species vary greatly among different populations.Further studies on species confirmation and systematics should be carried out.According to the results of our field investigation,over-harvesting of E.koreanum should be inhibited while the reasonable exploitation of E.brevicornum should be encouraged in order to utilize the wild resources sustainably.For E.sagittatum,considering the high level of intraspecific variation in morphology and medicinal quality,we should evaluate the wild resources comprehensively and identify the populations with high phytochemical contents before further exploitation.