Sichuan Lovage

Ligusticum chuanxiong

Also known as Chuan Xiong, Sichuan Lovage Root, Szechuan Lovage, Rhizoma Chuanxiong

At a glance

Family

Apiaceae (the carrot and parsley family)

Type

Perennial rhizomatous herb

Parts used

Dried rhizome

Size

16 to 28 inches tall

Bloom

Small white umbrella-shaped flower clusters in mid to late summer

Habitat

Cool, moist mountain valleys and cultivated fields, native to and largely still grown in Sichuan, China

Acquisition

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Traditional remedies in HerbSense

Key benefits

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Traditionally supports circulation

Traditionally eases head tension

Traditionally supports menstrual comfort

Traditionally moves stagnant blood

Traditional uses

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Chuan xiong takes its name from the very province, Sichuan, where farmers have cultivated it in terraced fields for well over a thousand years. In traditional Chinese medicine it is counted among the essential herbs for what practitioners called invigorating the blood, prized for gently warming and moving circulation that felt stuck or sluggish. Generations of practitioners reached for its aromatic rhizome to address head tension and the discomforts that came with a woman's monthly cycle, almost always weaving it into a larger formula alongside companion roots rather than using it alone. Its bold, musky fragrance made it easy to recognize in an apothecary's drawer long before its chemistry was ever studied.

How to grow & use it

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Pairs well with

✦Dong Quai (Angelica sinensis)
✦Chrysanthemum
✦White Peony Root (Bai Shao)

Substitutes

✦Dong Quai
✦Osha Root (Ligusticum porteri)

Choose it when

“For the ache of a tense, heavy head and a longing for circulation that flows steady and warm again.”

Did you know?

Chuan xiong has a wild North American cousin, osha root (Ligusticum porteri), which grows high in the Rocky Mountains and was used in strikingly similar ways by Indigenous healers, prized for its warming, aromatic root long before the two continents ever compared notes.

Safety

Chuan xiong is traditionally avoided during pregnancy and by those with heavy bleeding or bleeding disorders, since its blood-moving action may add to the effect of blood thinners like warfarin or aspirin. It is traditionally used in balanced formulas rather than alone.