Description

Kuth Kadwa represents the bitter-grade market form of Saussurea lappa root — the Himalayan costus plant whose tap root is harvested from alpine meadows of Jammu and Kashmir between 2,500 and 4,000 metres elevation. In the Indian dried herb trade, Kuth root is graded by bitterness and aroma intensity, with Kadwa (bitter) designating the more potent grades derived from older root specimens. The species is documented as Kushtha in the Charaka Samhita, where it is listed among the most important aromatic medicines, and appears in the Dravyaguna texts of the Sushruta tradition as an ingredient in Vata-Kapha formulations. Dioscorides described the same root as ‘Kosto’ in De Materia Medica. Currently listed as Vulnerable by IUCN and subject to CITES Appendix regulation governing international trade.