1、 Plant difference

Gastrodia elata plant is 30 to 100 cm high, sometimes up to 2 meters. Its rhizome is plump, tuberous, oval or close to dumbbell shaped, fleshy, 8 to 12 cm long, 3 to 5 cm in diameter, and sometimes larger. The stem is upright, orange yellow, yellow, gray brown or blue-green in color, without green leaves

The main root of ginseng is 30 to 60 cm high, fat, fleshy, yellowish white in color, and the stem is upright and cylindrical. It has compound leaves, palmate, 3 to 5 leaflets, oval or obovate leaves, 4 to 15 cm long and 2 to 6.5 cm wide, with fine serrations at the edge

2、 Flower difference

Gastrodia elata raceme, 5 to 30 cm long. There are 30 to 50 small flowers in the inflorescence. The bracts of the flowers are oblong lanceolate, 1 to 1.5 cm long, membranous, twisted flowers, and the flowers are orange yellow, yellow white, blue-green or light yellow

Ginseng flowers in summer, umbels, single terminal in leaf clusters, with a total pedicel length of 30 cm. Each inflorescence has 4 to 40 small flowers, bracts in strip lanceolate shape, 5 petals, oval, entire, and light yellow green flowers