Cremastra appendiculata (D. Don) Makino is accepted by Kew’s Plants of the World Online and belongs to Orchidaceae. It is a terrestrial orchid with pseudobulbs near the ground, not an epiphyte. A plant usually carries one petiolate leaf with a narrow elliptic-to-lance-shaped blade, parallel veins, and conspicuous lengthwise folds. The separate flower stalk rises from the pseudobulb and bears a loose raceme; flowers are small, somewhat drooping, usually pale purple-brown, and do not open broadly like many ornamental orchids. HKBU records flowering around May–June and fruiting around September–December. This seasonal note reflects a regional botanical account and is not a promise that cultivated plants elsewhere flower on the same dates. Kew gives a native range from Nepal to Sakhalin and temperate East Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Taiwan, and the eastern Himalaya. Kew describes it as a pseudobulbous geophyte of primarily subtropical biomes.

The materia-medica name Shan Ci Gu is broader than a single species name. HKBU links the dried pseudobulb of C. appendiculata to one source of the drug; Chinese pharmacopoeial material can also include pseudobulbs of Pleione bulbocodioides and P. yunnanensis, with market names varying by species. A small dried specimen is flattened-spherical or conical, yellowish to brown, with root scars at the base and a pointed tip; it is hard, with a pale yellow-white, powdery cross-section. HKBU describes a few slightly raised middle rings as a “jade belt.” These cues help study morphology but cannot authenticate species or a commercial lot without a voucher and provenance records.

The species is included because the project’s CITES 2026.1 dataset contains one reported commercial row for Cremastra appendiculata in the medicine-term filter, in 2022, with China reported as exporter and Indonesia as importer, source code A, Appendix II. This is one comparative-tabulation row, not all trade, a measure of market volume, or evidence of therapeutic effect. CITES controls international trade in specimens within the scope of its Appendices; a wild plant is not a source for personal digging. Code A is used for artificially propagated specimens, but one report does not independently verify the permits of an individual transaction.

Images are AI study illustrations: the living image shows a folded single leaf, flower stalk, and moist woodland floor; the dried image shows small pseudobulbs with a pale cut surface. They are not vouchers or depictions of an inspected commercial lot. The profile separates traditional records, research, product labels, and conservation. Traditional materia-medica sources classify the drug as slightly toxic; neither a picture, a Shan Ci Gu label, nor a trade record makes it suitable for self-harvest, decoction, or ingestion.

HKBU records the dried C. appendiculata pseudobulb as one source of Shan Ci Gu. That record describes the pseudobulb as sweet, slightly acrid, cool, and “slightly toxic”; traditional functions are rendered as clearing heat and toxins, transforming phlegm, dissipating accumulations, or reducing swelling. These are terms within traditional medicine, not biological mechanisms or treatment conclusions. HKBU lists historical indications such as painful throat swelling, nodules, abscesses, sores, and inflammatory swellings; older disease labels cannot be mapped directly onto modern diagnoses. This text is not a treatment for tumours, cancer, infection, snakebite, or emergencies.

Shan Ci Gu may also refer to material from other Pleione species. HKBU distinguishes local market names and notes multiple source plants. If a product does not provide the Latin name, plant part, and cultivation provenance, it cannot be assumed to be C. appendiculata. A 2026 Malaysian government single-herb formulary includes Shan Ci Gu and gives a range within that jurisdiction’s materia-medica framework; that range belongs to that source and is not personal advice, does not apply to concentrated extracts, and does not make a slightly toxic species harmless. This profile records the source without prescribing a dose.

The HKBU record for this herb does not give a multi-herb formula with individual amounts. A separate example below comes from the ingredient declaration for a Canadian-licensed blended product. That is a product record describing extracts, not a classical prescription or proof that every pair in the blend treats a condition.

Evidence should be read in layers. Kew supports the accepted name, distribution, and growth habit; HKBU supports plant description, habitat, pseudobulb materia medica, and a recorded processing method. A 2021 scientific review summarizes botany, phytochemistry, and preclinical research on C. appendiculata. Chemical studies or cell/animal models can inform research questions, but do not prove that raw plant material treats a human disease.

Recent symbiotic-fungus studies show that this orchid’s seeds depend on microorganisms for germination; a 2025 study tested symbiotic propagation conditions and reported low germination/emergence rates in that experimental setup. This is nursery/laboratory research, not a simple pot-growing recipe. A review of colchicine or other alkaloids likewise does not prove that pseudobulb can be taken on its own for gout or cancer. A modern medicine, standardized dose, purity, and clinical supervision are categorically different from plant powder.

The CITES row means a reporting country used the trade term “medicine”; the database does not assess clinical efficacy. The Canadian product licence gives the ingredient declaration of one specific product; market authorization does not establish that an individual ingredient works or is safe for every person. This page does not turn CITES data, fungal experiments, phytochemistry, or a product label into treatment advice.

HKBU classifies the Shan Ci Gu pseudobulb as “slightly toxic.” Avoid confusing it with edible bulbs; do not use wild-collected material, taste a pseudobulb, or prepare a home decoction. Neither living-plant nor dried-part images safely authenticate a specimen. The same Shan Ci Gu name can include substitute Pleione species, and local trade names may refer to other materials. An unlabeled lot may carry risks from misidentification, residues, mould, or incorrect processing.

A Canadian product record in Health Canada’s database lists 12 herbal extracts, including C. appendiculata; each ingredient has a stated 5:1 extract ratio and a product-specific quantity. Any cautions or claims for that product apply to the entire licensed formula and its exact licence; they cannot be attributed to the pseudobulb alone. People taking medicines, living with chronic conditions, pregnant or nursing, or preparing for surgery should consult a qualified practitioner and read the authorized product label. Do not add it to prescription medicines or other products on your own.

No specific herb pair proven to create a new toxic effect with exact C. appendiculata was verified. That gap is not reassurance: a source already describes the materia medica as slightly toxic, and product interactions have not been assessed for every individual. Stop and contact a health professional if an unexpected reaction follows a product. For suspected ingestion of an unidentified plant or severe symptoms, contact emergency or poison services promptly.

The HKBU record reviewed here does not provide a sufficiently sourced classical formula with individual amounts that can be tied specifically to the C. appendiculata pseudobulb. However, Health Canada product licence 80145569 lists C. appendiculata in a blended product called “Immune Health Formula.” Its ingredient declaration gives 1.2 g of a 5:1 extract, corresponding to a dried-herb equivalent (DHE) of 6 g; the other 11 ingredients and label quantities appear beside separate ingredient images below. DHE is the label’s “dried herb equivalent,” not a quantity for a reader to weigh and prepare.

This is a traceable example of a licensed commercial formula, not proof of a specific benefit, not grounds to isolate one pair and infer an effect, and not a general Shan Ci Gu recipe. A 5:1 extract in this product is not interchangeable gram-for-gram with dried herb in a water decoction. Do not convert these figures into a home formula, alter the ratio, or use the images to identify ingredients. No source reviewed here confirms a specific “toxic when combined” pair for C. appendiculata; the main warnings are the source-reported slight toxicity of the drug itself and the lack of person-specific interaction data.

Useful living-plant study cues include one narrow leaf with parallel folds, a distinct petiole, and a separate flower stalk bearing a somewhat drooping raceme. Botanical training should include flowering season; a non-flowering plant can be difficult to distinguish from other terrestrial orchids. The pseudobulb is often hidden in humus rather than exposed like an onion. HKBU’s dried specimen is small, hard, with a concave root-scarred base, pointed tip, yellow-brown surface, and a longitudinal groove on one side; the cut face is pale. A slightly raised middle ring is figuratively called a “jade belt.”

The Shan Ci Gu name alone does not identify a source species. Some standards include Pleione bulbocodioides or P. yunnanensis, and local records mention other substitutions. Check the original standard and a voucher when comparing. AI images can alter petal counts, flower shape, or pseudobulb grooves; they are illustrations only and cannot replace a specialist, specimen, magnifier, or provenance record.