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The polymeric components of the cell wall material (AIR) of the holoparasite Cistanche deseriticola Y.C.Ma., known as a tonic in traditional oriental medicine, were characterised by chemical and spectroscopic methods. The parasite grows on the roots of Haloxylon ammodendron, a dicotyledonous plant used in reforestation of deserts and steppes. AIR accounting for 16.1% of the original dry drug mass represents a complex of protein, lignin and polysaccharides. In contrast to woody tissues, an amylose-rich starch as well as pectic-like polysaccharides were the major polysaccharide components of ALR. Xylan represents the main hemicellulosic component and resembles in primary structure the 4-O-methyl-D-glucurono-D-xylan type present in angiosperms, to whom the host plant belongs.