Easily grown in any good garden soil. Prefers a rich sandy loam. This species is not very frost-hardy and generally needs to be grown in a frost-free or fairly frost-free climate. It can be grown as a half-hardy perennial in areas where the winter is too cold for it to survive outdoors. The tubers are harvested in the autumn, stored in a cool frost-free place and replanted in the spring. The rots of this species are commonly collected from the wild for medicinal use. Overcollection in some areas of its range are causing conservation concerns. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Tender young shoots - cooked as a vegetable. A preserve prepared from the blanched shoots is said to be very agreeable. The tuber are candied as a sweetmeat. The only flavor is said to be that of the sugar. The roots are 5 - 13cm long.

Seed - pre-soak for 12 hours in warm water and then sow in spring or as soon as the seed is ripe in early autumn in a greenhouse. It usually germinates in 3 - 6 weeks at 25°c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a sunny position in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer. Division in early spring as the plant comes into growth.

Found at elevations up to 1,200 metres in the Himalayas, eastwards from Kashmir. Broad-leaved forests along streams or valleys at elevations of 2100 - 2200 metres in western China.