Chinese Medicinal Plants. Volume on Plants

Author: Zheng Hanchen, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Time: Not Available
Features: Among the numerous medicinal plants in China, many are edible and can be used as ingredients for medicinal diets, health-preserving food and beverages, seasonings, flavor enhancers, and edible colors. Conversely, the vast majority of edible plants also possess medicinal or health benefits. This book introduces these edible-medicinal plants to readers in a (illustrated) format, covering their scientific names, common names, morphology, habitats and distributions, chemical compositions, edible value, medicinal value, and recipes. The primary target audience includes food, plant, and traditional Chinese medicine professionals, students and faculty of universities and colleges specializing in food, pharmacy, and traditional Chinese medicine, as well as general enthusiasts of plants, traditional Chinese medicine, and gourmet culture. The book compiles 271 edible-medicinal plant species. Each plant is accompanied by its internationally recognized Latin name and family name, along with 588 color photographs of the original plants and edible/medicinal parts to aid in identification. The book is organized in taxonomic order from lower to higher plants, with angiosperms arranged according to the long-standing Engler classification system widely used by Chinese botanists, facilitating readers in cross-referencing specialized plant literature and comparing closely related species when necessary. Additionally, readers can search for plant names in Chinese, Latin, and English in the index at the back of the book. All measurements, counts, and percentages are presented in Arabic numerals, while units of measurement follow internationally accepted symbols, such as: m (meters), cm (centimeters), mm (millimeters), g (grams), mg (milligrams), μg (micrograms), ml (milliliters), etc. Many plants have numerous common names, but this book only includes the most widely used ones (up to five). If a Latin name has a commonly used synonym, it is noted in brackets after the primary name. Habitat and distribution refer to the living environments and natural ranges of plants in their wild state, which helps in collection and creating conditions for cultivation. The recipes included in the book are sourced from various medical and pharmaceutical texts and are for reference only; medical treatment should always follow professional advice. Most of the photographs in the book were taken by the authors, except for the ecological images of sweet orange, Gynostemma pentaphyllum, and Panax notoginseng, which were reproduced from Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Herbal Medicine. The book primarily features commonly or frequently used edible-medicinal plants, along with some species and animals that meet specific criteria. These will be introduced to the public once photographs and additional information are fully compiled.