Cen Can, a great frontier poet of the Tang Dynasty, named Snow Lotus as the "exotic flower of the western regions", has been regarded as the embodiment of holiness and the symbol of love by herders of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang for thousands of years, and is revered as "sage grass" and "mountain rose".

It is recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica that "saussurea involucrata is shaped like a lotus, which is as high as a foot, producing Ili and other places, and the peak of Tianshan Mountain is the first". It correctly describes the shape and origin of Saussurea involucrata. Saussurea involucrata is a perennial herb of Compositae, also known as saussurea involucrata and Shi Lian. It is born in rock crevices, stone walls and matte gravel beaches near the snow line of Tianshan Mountain, Altai Mountain and Kunlun Mountain in Xinjiang, with Tianshan Mountain producing the most and the best quality.

Saussurea involucrata is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine, which contains polysaccharides, flavonoids, alkaloids, phenols, tannins, volatile oil and other components. It can be used as a whole herb, has pungent and hot nature, and has the effects of "dredging meridians and promoting blood circulation, expelling wind and eliminating dampness" and warming uterus and eliminating rash. It is really a good medicine for gynecology.