You must not miss the time for harvesting medicinal herbs in autumn.

It is said that autumn is a harvest season, all kinds of rice, wheat, fruit and so on, many of which are ripe and harvested in autumn. And plant medicinal materials as a kind of crops, which Chinese medicinal materials are suitable for harvest in autumn?

First, forsythia, also known as forsythia, forsythia, and so on. Forsythia suspensa blossoms and bears fruit 3-4 years after planting. Generally after Frosts Descent, the fruit changes from green to khaki, and the fruit is about to be harvested when it is about to crack. Dry the harvested fruit, remove impurities, and then dry it to become a commodity.

Second, cassia seed, also known as grass cassia Ming, fake mung beans and so on. From September to October of that year, when the pods turn dark brown, they are harvested in batches. finally, the whole plant is cut off with a sickle, transported back to the sun to dry, the seeds are laid with sticks, the impurities are removed, and the seeds are dried to become a commodity.

Third, dodder, also known as bean parasite, rootless grass and so on. Before and after the Autumn Equinox, when there are more than 3 beans withered, the shell of dodder has turned yellow, and then cut off together with the beans, dry and thresh, sift out the seeds with a sieve, remove the shells and impurities, and dry them to become a commodity.

Fourth, Coix, also known as Yi Renmi, and so on. From September to October in autumn, when the stems and leaves turn yellow and 80% of the fruits are light brown or yellow, the stalks are cut off, threshing, drying, removing impurities, removing the empty shell, sieving, then grinding off the shell and seed coat with a rice grinder, then sieving it, and drying it to become a commodity.

Fifth, white lentils, also known as small knife beans and so on. White lentils are harvested from September to October when the shell turns yellow and white and slightly wrinkles, and when the lentil flower is budding from June to July. White lentils: after the pods are harvested and dried, the seeds are beaten with sticks, and the seeds are bumped and dried to become a commodity; lentils are directly dried after harvest; lentils are first soaked in water until the seed coat is bulged, stripped and dried.

Sour jujube is also known as mountain jujube, wild jujube and so on. Wild jujube blossoms and bears fruit in the second year after planting. From September to October, when the fruit was red and fully ripe, the kernel was full and the quality was high. The old producing areas are usually beaten down with bamboo poles. In recent years, the experiment has been carried out with "ethanolide", and the effect is very good. After the fruit is harvested, the pulp is removed, the jujube kernel is crushed, the jujube shell is separated, and the jujube kernel is dried by drying in the trench, and the seed kernel can also be processed by mechanized shell grinding. Euryale seed is also known as chicken head rice, red lotus seed and so on. The flowering and fruiting period of Euryale is longer and the fruit ripening period is different. Generally from late August to September, when the fruit is reddish brown, the water-ripe fruit is cut by boat in stages. If the seeds are not ripe too early, the yield is low and the quality is poor; too late, the seeds will fall into the water by themselves, so it is difficult to collect them. After harvest, break the prickly exocarp with a stick, take out the seeds, wash them with clean water, dry in the sun or dry in the shade. Then, crush the hard shell, bump the fruit shell, remove impurities, remove the dried kernel and become a commodity.

Cornus officinalis is also known as jujube peel and medicinal jujube. It will blossom and bear fruit only 10 years after Cornus officinalis is planted. Harvest when the pericarp is bright red. When picking, it is necessary to prevent breaking branches and damaging flower buds, otherwise it will affect the yield of the following year. After the fruit is harvested, remove the branches, stalks and impurities in time, spread the fruit on the bamboo plaque, about 3 cm thick, bake the peel until the peel expands and becomes soft, use the hand to squeeze out the core automatically for the degree, immediately take out and dry the core, squeeze out the core, dry or dry the pulp.

9. Psoralea corylifolia, also known as broken paper, black old son, and so on. The flowering period of psoralen is longer, and the fruit ripens one after another from July to October, and can be harvested when 80% of the seeds on the spikelet turn black. It is generally harvested every 10 days, and finally the stalk is cut back. In case of windy weather, you should harvest in advance, otherwise the fruit is easy to be blown down by the wind and difficult to collect. After harvest, the fruit should be spread out to dry, thresh and remove impurities in time, rinse with clean water, stir-fry with 5% salt water until it is dry and give off aroma, take out and sift the dust to become a commodity.

Ten, Platycodon grandiflorum alias Bao Yuhua, bell clang flower and so on. Generally, it is not harvested until two years after sowing. The local upper stems and leaves are dug when they are withered and yellow. Early yield is low, the quality is poor; too late, the root bark is difficult to scrape, and it is not easy to dry, do not hurt the root when harvesting, so as to avoid juice overflow. Dig back the roots, remove the stems, leaves and soil, wash them in clean water, scrape off the skin while fresh with a bowl fragment or bamboo knife, and dry to become a commodity.

To sum up, most of the ten kinds of Chinese herbal medicines harvested in autumn belong to fruits and seeds. Why?

Most of the fruit Chinese herbal medicines are harvested when they are naturally mature or near maturity, while the seeds should be harvested when the seeds are fully mature, the seeds are full and the content of active components is high. Autumn happens to be the time when most fruits are ripe and the seeds are full.