Vining Plants, Volume 21

Large Wild Sinew Vine original: 大野筋藤, Dà Yě Jīn Téng

...seen... original: 見; likely a fragment of "seen in" or "appears in," common in cross-references

Illustrated Examination of the Names and Realities of the Materia Medica original: 本草名實圖考, Běncǎo Míngshí Túkǎo

White Dragon Whiskers

White Dragon Whiskers original: 白龍鬚, Bái Lóng Xū grows in the mountains of Changsha a city in modern-day Hunan province, known for its humid, mountainous terrain. Its green stems are slender and long, with leaves that grow in opposite pairs and are spaced widely apart. The leaves resemble those of the Midnight Flower original: 子午花, zǐwǔhuā; likely Pentapetes phoenicea, known for its distinct blooming time, yet they are pointed, thin, and narrow, lacking any serrated edges original: 鋸齒, jùchǐ; literally "saw-teeth," referring to the notched margins of leaves.

[The illustration depicts a climbing vine with a vertical orientation. It shows alternating or nearly opposite leaves that are lance-shaped and smooth-edged. Small, star-shaped flowers are shown on slender stalks. The most prominent feature is the root system at the bottom, which consists of a thick horizontal rhizome with numerous fine, trailing "whiskers" or fibrous roots.]

Its long roots are shaped like a centipede, surrounded on all sides by dense, whisker-like fibers similar to those of Asarum 細辛 (xìxīn): also known as Chinese Wild Ginger, a medicinal herb characterized by its pungent aroma and fine, thread-like roots or Achyranthes 牛膝 (niúxī): literally "Ox-Knee," so named because the stem nodes resemble a bovine knee; the roots are highly valued for strengthening the lower body.

Folk doctors 俚醫 (lǐyī): local or rural practitioners of traditional medicine who often relied on oral tradition and local herbs use this plant to treat phlegm-qi 痰氣 (tánqì): a traditional diagnosis referring to respiratory or digestive congestion where "phlegm" (stagnant fluids) obstructs the flow of vital energy (Qi), often causing coughing or a feeling of fullness.

According to the Song dynasty Illustrated Classic of the Materia Medica original: 圖經本草, Tújīng Běncǎo, a seminal botanical work compiled c. 1061 AD, the roots of the Cynanchum original: 白前, Báiqián; a plant used to direct Qi downward and resolve phlegm are longer than those of Asarum. Currently, the vining variety of Cynanchum being ...