Abstract
Paris Linnaeus (1573: 367) is a temperate genus of about 27 species of perennial herbs distributed in Eurasia (Li 1998, Ji et al. 2007). Most species are restricted to East Asia, chiefly to China (19 species), with the Yunnnan-Guizhou Plateau in southwest China as the centre of species diversity (Li 1998). Paris is well known in China for its medicinal value. Those species with a thick rhizome have been used as medicinal herbs for more than 2,000 years in China owing to its analgesic, haemostatic, anti-tumor, and anti-inflammatory activities (Long et al. 2003). More than 40 commercial drugs and health products have been developed in China with Paris used as raw material (Li et al. 2015).