In Chinese it is called tiánqī (田七), tienchi ginseng, sānqī (三七) or sanchi, three-seven root, and mountain plant.

In Latin, the word panax means "cure-all", and the family of ginseng plants is one of the best-known herbs.

The herb is a perennial with dark green leaves branching from a stem with a red cluster of berries in the middle.

In traditional Chinese medicine, P. notoginseng is classified as warm in nature.

The dose in that case is usually 1-3 g.[3] P. notoginseng contains dammarane-type ginsenosides as major constituents.