Color Illustrations: Common Chinese Herbal Wild Identification and Application

Author: Shen Liansheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: This book includes 163 commonly used Chinese medicinal herbs, classified according to function based on Chinese Materia Medica. Each herb includes the following: name, synonyms, source, key identification points, properties, meridian tropism, therapeutic effects and indications, other applications, and common dosage. Each herb is also accompanied by 2-3 color photographs of the actual specimen. The names include both the common Chinese name and the Latin name, primarily based on the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China. Synonyms include ancient and modern commonly used ones, mainly based on Compendium of Materia Medica and Medicinal Goods of Chinese Materia Medica. The source includes the family name, species name, Latin name of the species, medicinal part, distribution, harvesting methods, and simple processing methods. Due to space limitations, if a herb has more than two sources, only one Latin name of the species is generally included. Each herb is accompanied by 2 color photographs of the original plant and the medicinal material or slice. The photographs of the original plant are taken from the natural habitat, while the photographs of the medicinal material or slice are selected from typical samples, with bright colors and clear images for easy identification. The key identification points are presented in the form of a poem, summarizing and highly condensing the source and botanical characteristics of the herb. If a herb has more than two sources, a comparison of the characteristics of different species is provided outside the poem; if there are key points among the characteristics, they are highlighted in different colors. The properties, meridian tropism, therapeutic effects, and common dosage are generally consistent with Chinese Materia Medica, but the "indications" section has been organized and condensed, which is very beneficial for students' learning. Other applications include 2-3 practical formulas beyond the main indications, mainly selected from Compendium of Materia Medica, with a few from other works. The formulas are relatively practical, with a limited number of herbs, making them easy to learn and apply.