Wanderlust Woman Kind

Paeonia lactiflora

White Peony is native to Asia, but due to its widespread availability across the globe, it is often recognised by different names including, Garden Peony and Chinese Peony, or by its Chinese name Bai Shao, meaning White Peony. It is a perennial known for its large showy white, pink or crimson flowers.

The name White Peony is referencing the colour of the root (not the colour of the flower), and is the medicinal part of the plant historically used in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Its botanical name is after the mythical Greek figure Paeon, who was said to be a student of Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine and healing. According to Greek mythology, Zeus saved Paeon from the wrath of Aesculapius by turning him into a peony flower.

Traditionally used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to:

• Nourish the liver
• Regulate healthy menstrual cycle

Traditionally:
Originating from the Far East, peonies appear strongly in the cultures of Chinese, Tibetan and Siberian folk medicine.

Schisandra chinensis

Native to East Asia, but due to its widespread availability across the globe, it is also recognised as Magnolia Vine or by its Chinese name, Wu Wei Zi, meaning ‘five-flavoured fruit.

This deciduous aromatic woody vine is also referred to as dioecious, meaning there are both male and female plants. Only the fruit (red berry) of Schisandra is used for medicinal purposes and has been described to possess all five basic flavours: salty, sweet, sour, sour, spicy and bitter.

Traditionally used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to:

• Reduce symptoms of stress
• Support healthy liver function
• Support healthy sleeping patterns

Asparagus racemosus

Shatavari is native throughout Sri Lanka and India and now naturalised in other parts of the world.

With leaves like pine needles and small white flowers, this woody climber is a member of the common asparagus family Asparagaceae.

Its name Shatavari is derived from Sanskrit, shat means ‘100’ and vari meaning ‘root’ or ‘husband’, translating to “she who possesses a hundred husbands”. Implying its traditional use in Ayurvedic Medicine as an aphrodisiac.

Traditionally used in Ayurvedic Medicine as an adaptogen, a female tonic and to:

• Support healthy stress response in the body
• Increase virility (Vrishya)
• Promote healthy libido

Traditionally:
Long used in Ayurveda, the traditional medicine of India, it is often considered an aphrodisiac and a female tonic.

Withania somnifera

Native to India through to South East Asia this short, perennial shrub is now grown throughout the world.

Ashwagandha is often referred to as Indian ginseng even though botanically, ginseng and Ashwagandha are unrelated. In Sanskrit, ashwa means ‘horse’ and gandha means ‘smell’ which refers to the root of the plant having a horse-like smell.

Angelica polymorpha

Native to China this aromatic perennial herb is now grown throughout the world. A relative to celery and a member of the parsley family, Dong Quai is a hardy plant that likes to grow in cold, damp and high-altitude regions.

Zingiber officinale

Believed to have originated in southeast Asia, Ginger is a tropical loving plant which its root is grown worldwide for culinary purposes.

The botanical name Zingiber originates from the Greek word zingiberis, which was derived from the Sanskrit word shringavera, meaning ‘shaped like a deer’s antler’, an acknowledgment to the shape of the root.

Traditionally:
Obtained by the Greeks and Romans from Arab traders, it was one of the first oriental spices to arrive in Europe.