ABSTRACT
This study was aimed to identify original plants of Xi-Huang-Cao (XHC) through DNA barcodes. The nu-cleotide sequence information of rbcL, psbA-trnH, matK and ITS2 regions were abstracted using standardized man-ners from 41 samples (including Rabdosia serra, R. lophanthoides and R. lophanthoides var. graciliflora). Sequencing efficiency of each marker was calculated. Species identification capability was tested on the basis of TaxonGap. The results showed that sequence success rates were 100% for rbcL, 90.2% for psbA-trnH, 87.8% for ITS2, and 70.7%for matK. Three markers (rbcL, psbA-trnH and ITS2) were competent for species discrimination (not for subspecies). It was concluded that rbcL can be the preferred barcode for XHC because of its convenience and efficacy.