At 1.75 meters, a medicinal herbal specimen on display at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) has recently been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the tallest herba cistanches (Cistanche deserticola), according to the university Thursday.

The giant plant outgrows its species, which normally reaches between 3 cm to 15 cm, by 10 folds. It is the first time that a medicinal herbal plant is entered into the book.

The plant was collected by Dr. Zhao Zhongzhen, Associate Professor of Chinese Medicine of HKBU, from the desert of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region last year.

When Zhao discovered the wild plant, it was almost buried in the sand. The local people closed ranks with the Chinese medicine professionals to unearth the valuable plant now on display in the museum. Several big trucks were used for disposing the sand.

According to Dr. Zhao, herba cistanches is a common Chinese materia medica for treating impotence, seminal emission, infertility and general weakness with loin and knee aches, as wellas constipation. It is mainly found in China's Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang.