[Polygonati Rhizoma: a crop with potential of being consumed as food and medicine].

As revealed by the investigation on the name change, biological characteristics, artificial cultivation, and edible history of Polygonatum kingianum var. grandifolium, it was described as a variation pattern of P. kingianum in the Chinese version of Flora of China(1978) and as a variant of P. kingianum in the revised English version of the Flora of China(2000). P. kingianum var. grandifolium, long been consumed as food by local folks, has been widely cultivated in its natural distribution area and circulated as Polygonati Rhizoma in the market. The important biological properties of P. kingianum var. grandifolium make it possess a great potential of being consumed as both medicine and food. The shoots of P. kingianum var. grandifolium sprout immediately out of the ground after seed germination and a new seedling will be formed at the same year, implying that its seedling cultivation period is at least two years shorter than that of P. cyrtonema. It can sprout more than twice a year, and the adult plants always remain evergreen, thereby obtaining higher biomass. Its rhizome biomass can be more than one time higher than that of P. cyrtonema. With reference to the diploid P. cyrtonema, flow cytometry revealed the polyploid and aneuploid forms in natural populations, which were tall and light-adapted with large underground rhizome. It can grow normally under the forest canopy and in the open field. Furthermore, P. kingianum var. grandifolium has important theoretical values for the study of ploidy variation, bud dormancy mechanism, etc.