Domestic Selection of Artemisia princeps Pamp Appropriate for Japanese Moxibustion

―First Selections with Leaf Area as an Index―

Abstract

Traditionally, the raw moxa material for moxibustion has been sourced from domestic production in Japan.However, imports of Chinese Artemisia princeps Pamp (A. princeps Pamp) have been increasing because of a decrease in domestic A. princeps Pamp for moxa products in recent years. There is a possibility that Japanese sourced moxibustion may become difficult to do because of a shortage of domestic production in the near future. Therefore 15 kinds of A. princeps Pamp were collected in Niigata Pref. known its source of A. princeps Pamp, and these were grown at the Center for Environment, Health and Field Sciences at Chiba Univ. to develop a domestic gardening cultivation system. This report is on investigative results with the first selection, with leaf area as an index.
As a result, when leaf area per1m of stalk length was calculated using the inter-joints length and the leaf area, the largest pieces averaged 3004.6 cm² and the smallest pieces were 1134.4 cm². It is thought that the larger the leaf area per measured stalk length, the more the yield per measured area of the field, since the raw material of moxa is made from dried A. princeps Pamp leaves. Therefore, we believe excellent A. princeps Pamp for moxa has resulted from research.