Danshen

Salvia miltiorrhiza, called danshen, red sage or Chinese sage, is a perennial of the mint family highly valued for its roots in traditional Chinese medicine. It is native to China and Japan, and grows at 90 to 1,200 metres on grassy places in forests, hillsides and stream banks. The name miltiorrhiza means red ochre root. It is a deciduous perennial with branching stems 30 to 60 centimetres tall and hairy, sticky flower spikes, with light purple to lavender-blue flowers and a dark purple calyx. It prefers well-drained soil with about half a day of sun and is hardy to about minus 10 degrees Celsius. Compounds isolated from it include salvianolic acid, dihydrotanshinone, miltirone and tanshinone I and IIA, the last among the most abundant in the root. It has been used in China as a supposed treatment for cardiovascular problems, but Cochrane reviews of stroke and heart attack found poor-quality evidence and no evidence of benefit.