by Eric Brand

This is a nice specimen of wild Huang Qi. Wild Huang Qi has a very deep, powerful tap root. It is less uniform and much larger than the cultivated product, which is often pressed and sliced longitudinally to create decoction pieces that resemble tongue depressors. In its natural state, the cultivated root is a much tighter, straighter, and shorter version of the wild root pictured here. Wild Huang Qi is easily distinguished from cultivated Huang Qi, and good quality wild product is said to have a strong odor characteristic of the bean family (to which astragalus belongs).