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theHandpuppet

(19,964 posts)
Sun Oct 26, 2014, 12:00 PM Oct 2014

Fresh From Appalachia: Chinese Medicinal Herbs

I hope this takes hold and will be a new income stream for the region.
You can read the article or listen to the interview at this link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/10/26/359023810/fresh-from-appalachia-chinese-medicinal-herbs?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=shotshealthnews

Fresh From Appalachia: Chinese Medicinal Herbs
by Robbie Harris
October 26, 2014

..."A lot of these herbs we are going to let flower and be pollinated and grow for the seed because there is such a need for the seed," says David Grimsley, co-director of the Appalachian Medicinal Herb Growers Consortium, a new project based at the center that teaches others how to grow native Chinese herbs in Appalachia.

At the Appalachian Medicinal Herb Growers Consortium, the goal is to raise plants that meet the quality standards demanded by clinical practitioners...

...The renowned Cleveland Clinic opened the Chinese Herbal Therapy Clinic in January, one of the first herbal clinics inside a hospital in the country. Director Jamie Starkey, like most practitioners, buys her herbs from China, but she says she'd like to see high-quality medicinal herbs grown in the U.S...

..."This area of the Appalachians corresponds very nicely to the medicine belt in China, where a lot of the Chinese herbs are endemic — they grow naturally in the wild — so we're very excited to become a medicinal hub for Chinese herbs," Giblette says....

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Fresh From Appalachia: Chinese Medicinal Herbs (Original Post) theHandpuppet Oct 2014 OP
Hopefully it won't lead to a whole bunch of new invasive species A Little Weird Oct 2014 #1
I hadn't even thought of that theHandpuppet Oct 2014 #2

A Little Weird

(1,754 posts)
1. Hopefully it won't lead to a whole bunch of new invasive species
Sun Oct 26, 2014, 06:21 PM
Oct 2014

There's definitely a need for new income sources in the area but I'm concerned that these non-native plants could get out and out-compete the local flora. Kudzu, tree of heaven, mimosa, and Chinese privet are just a few examples of plants used in Chinese medicine that are already problematic in the region.

theHandpuppet

(19,964 posts)
2. I hadn't even thought of that
Sun Oct 26, 2014, 07:15 PM
Oct 2014

You're right, though... scary thought! I'd like to see hemp become more of a cash crop for Appalachia. It's a known quantity.

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