The family Apiaceae( Umbelliferae) includes some of the world's most important medicinal plants,with more than 100 species recorded in the traditional Chinese medicine,of which more than ten species are commonly used medicinal materials. However,due to morphological similarities,high market demands and regional factors,substitutes and adulterants are often mixed with genuine in the medicinal market. Therefore,a comprehensive sorting for these poorly known plants has been done in this study by combining market survey with literature review,including its species,distribution,price and substitutes. According to the statistics,there are 65 genera and 262 species of medicinal plants of Apiaceae in China,with medicinal part mostly from radix and rhizoma. Sichuan province is the most abundant in distribution and planting resources,with about 137 species,followed by Yunnan,Hubei and Gansu provinces.Furthermore,we summarized the genuine and substitutes of 11 medicinal plants,e. g. Bupleurum,Angelica and Peucedanum etc.,which found that the medicinal plants of Apiaceae were substituted or mixed in different taxonomic ranks. This study would contribute to reduce the risk of medicine misuse,as well as explore other plants of Apiaceae with potential medicinal value,to achieve sustainable development of related industries.
Keywords: Apiaceae(Umbelliferae); medicinal plants; resource and utilization.