As the global market in traditional Chinese medicines expands, many wild plants are on the brink of extinction (see also Nature 481, 265; 2012). Urgent measures must be taken to ensure that these rare plants are harvested sustainably.

Some 11,000 plant species are listed in the Chinese pharmacopoeia, medicinal botany textbooks and ancient Chinese medical texts such as the Compendium of Materia Medica and Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica.

Examples of critically depleted natural populations include Herba epimedii, a herb used as an aphrodisiac, tonic and antirheumatic in China, Korea and Japan; Panax ginseng, a tonic and sleep-inducer; Euchresta japonica, for anti-tumour activity; Dysosma versipellis, a cleanser of toxins; and Aconitum brachypodum, an anti-inflammatory.