Lush Red Herb

original: "Hongmaocao" (紅茂草). Likely referring to a species of flourishing mountain grass or a variety of Shortawn Foxtail, though in historical herbals, the name often denotes plants with reddish stalks or dense, "lush" growth used for forage or famine relief.

[Illustration: A detailed woodcut of the Lush Red Herb]The illustration occupies the central portion of the page, depicting five slender, upright stalks emerging from a base of grass and soil. Each stalk features deeply lobed, stylized leaves leading to small clusters at the tips, representing either flowers or seed heads.

Commonly found in shaded valleys and moist soils throughout the southern prefectures.

This page serves as the primary visual reference for the Lush Red Herb. In traditional Chinese woodblock printing of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the illustration (tu) and the descriptive text (shuo) were often presented on facing pages or in close succession to assist physicians and herbalists in field identification.