Artemisinin, no matter from the multimedia reports or from the name, gives people the impression that it comes from a compositae plant-Artemisia annua. However, this is a somewhat ironic mistake. In fact, Artemisia annua does not contain artemisinin, which is extracted from its close relative Artemisia annua. What is the relationship between Artemisia annua and Artemisia annua? Ancient medical books say that Artemisia annua is a plant Artemisia annua for three reasons. First, Artemisia annua is very solid and does not choose soil. Its swaying figure is spread all over the north temperate zone of the country and even the whole world. In contrast, Artemisia annua is much more delicate, with poor adaptability and scarce resources.
In China, only the Northeast, North China and South China are scattered, and they like to live by water. Secondly, Li Shizhen, a medical scientist in the Ming Dynasty, said in Compendium of Materia Medica that the flowering period of Artemisia annua is July and August in the lunar calendar, which means autumn flowering. This is consistent with the flowering period of Artemisia annua in botany. Botanically, the flowering period of Artemisia annua is in summer, that is, from June to July in the solar calendar. Thirdly, judging from the smell of plants and the size of flowers, it can also be proved that the "Artemisia annua" in medical books is the "Artemisia annua" in botany-Artemisia annua has a strong smell and small flowers, while Artemisia annua has a light smell and large flowers.