Object To trace the historic changes and the present status in the cultivation of
Amomum villosum Lour Methods By literature
retrieval, on the spot field study and interviewing vetern herbalists Results According to historic records, commercial species of Amomun L. consisted of both native and imported products The main source of the native product was from Yangchun, Guangdong Province, which gradually extended to its vicinal cities and thereafter to localities as far as Guangxi, Yunnan and Fujian Provinces Until the late 90 s, the main
production area was finally transferred from Guangdong to Yunnan The imported products came from Southeastern Asian countries including Viet Nam, Burma, Thailand and Laos Before the 50 s, the main commercial product was A villosum, later new species such as A villosum Lour. var xanthioides (Wall. ex Bak.) T L Wu et Senjen and A longiligulare T L Wu were discovered Currently, the main product from Yunnan is A villosum originated from Yangchun The A villosum var xanthioides is particularly referred as the imported goods Conclusion Time has brought great changes to the production and use of A villosum At present, both domestic and foreign products are in current use The main source of domestic product is from Yunnan, originated from Yangchun