Supplement to the Compendium of Materia Medica, Volume 4

It grows in mountain soil and should be harvested in the second lunar month. It looks exactly like Wolf's Poison original: langdu (狠毒/狼毒). Stellera chamaejasme, a highly toxic root used in traditional medicine to treat stubborn skin diseases., except that its skin is lumpy and it produces a white sap when broken. This distinguishes it. Its leaves have four lobes, and its branches and stems trail and spread. After autumn, it bears seeds resembling the beads of an abacus, which are supported by four leaves.

It treats swollen toxins and scrofula original: luoli (癰癧). A historical term for chronic swelling of the lymph nodes, typically associated with tuberculosis.. Extract the juice from the plant and take it mixed with wine; the leftover dregs should be applied topically to the affected area.

Wang Lianshi A celebrated Qing dynasty physician known for his expertise in "extraordinary" herbs and external medicine. states: The sprouts grow as vines and the root is like a radish. It has a very foul odor. It is divinely effective for treating malignant syphilitic sores original: yangmei echuang (楊梅惡瘡), literally "bayberry malignant sores," so named because the skin lesions were thought to resemble the fruit of the wax myrtle..

◯ Wang An's Collection of Medicinal Recipes states that Mountain Conch is also known as "White River-Cart." When combined with "Purple River-Cart" original: zi heche (紫河車). While this usually refers to dried human placenta, in botanical texts it often refers to the herb Paris polyphylla. and red and white gypsum, the formula is named "Four Sages Powder." It is effective for intestinal abscesses, venereal sores, toxins of the internal organs, and breast carbuncles.

Water Willow

Zhang Yan's New Book on Smallpox Vaccination original: Zhongdou Xinshu (種痘新書), an influential 18th-century medical text regarding the practice of variolation to prevent smallpox. states: Water Willow is an herbaceous plant that grows alongside mountain streams and gullies. The leaves...