Eden Apothecary · Herb Profile
Gastrodia elata
Also known as Tian Ma
Pronounced Gastrodia (gas-TROH-dee-uh); Gastrodia elata (gas-TROH-dee-uh ell-AH-tuh); Tian Ma (tyen-MAH).
Neutral and settling: a sweet, wind-extinguishing anchor that quiets tremor and draws rising Liver yang back down to earth.
No pregnancy-specific human safety studies located. Gastrodia carries an overall AHPA Botanical Safety Handbook Class 1 (not verified against AHPA) rating (safe when used appropriately) and classical Chinese sources do not list it as an emmenagogue or abortifacient, but pregnancy-specific controlled data are absent. Use in pregnancy only under a qualified practitioner. (AHPA Botanical Safety Handbook, 2nd ed.; data otherwise limited.)
No lactation-specific data located. Overall AHPA Class 1 (not verified against AHPA), but excretion in breast milk and effects on the nursing infant are unstudied. Avoid during lactation unless directed by a qualified practitioner. (AHPA Botanical Safety Handbook, 2nd ed.; Mills & Bone.)
Traditionally used within TCM formulas for childhood convulsions and febrile seizures under professional supervision (a use recorded from the Mingyi Bielu onward). No modern pediatric safety trials exist. Pediatric use only under a qualified practitioner, never for self-treatment of a seizing child.
Doses beyond the therapeutic range (traditionally cautioned near 40 g) may provoke chest tightness, dizziness, nausea, and skin eruptions. Allergic skin rash has been reported. Gastrodin is heat-sensitive, so add the rhizome in the last 10 to 15 minutes of decoction. Not a standalone remedy when wind arises from an underlying blood or yin deficiency; pair with tonics that address the root.
Known allergy or hypersensitivity to Gastrodia. Wind or tremor arising from blood-deficiency or yin-deficiency without concurrent tonification. External wind-cold headache and common cold.
Gastrodia elata is a chlorophyll-free orchid wholly dependent on its Armillaria fungal symbiont; all Orchidaceae are listed under CITES Appendix II. Wild stands were heavily depleted by overharvest, but the herb is now extensively cultivated in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan. Choose cultivated, not wild-collected, rhizome. Not tracked by United Plant Savers, which covers North American species.
Not in canonical biblical texts. Native to East Asia (China, Korea, Japan, and the Himalayas); first recorded in the Han-era Shennong Ben Cao Jing as a superior-grade herb, under the names Chi Jian and Tian Ma, and expanded in the Mingyi Bielu for wind disorders and childhood convulsions.
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