Fourleaf Ladybell Root

Primarily produced in the Chinese provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Guizhou.

Root is cylindrical or conical, slightly curved, 7~27cm long, 0.8~3cm diameter. Externally yellowish-white or pale brownish-yellow, indented areas often remnants of rough skin; upper portion often has deep horizontal lines in intermittent rings; lower portion has longitudinal line and grooves. Apex has 1 or 2 rhizomes (necks). Light, brittle texture and easily broken, fractured surface is uneven, yellowish-white, often cracked. faint odor, slightly sweet taste.

Superior medicinal material has long strip, thin skin, fat flesh, yellowish-white color.

Sweet, slightly cold.

Nourishes yin, clears lung, promotes stomach, engenders fluid, supplements qi, resolves phlegm. Apply to supplement lung and spleen qi, qi deficiency of spleen and lung, exhaust and fatigue, lack of food intake, sweating, pale color of tongue, weak pulse.

Honey sha shen: Stir and absorb the refined honey by nan sha shen, covered a while, fry with slow fire to slightly yellow in color and not sticky to hands, take out and cool. Every 10kg nan sha shen need 2.5kg refined honey, which is diluted by boiled water and filtrated.

‘Spiral striations’: This refers to spiral-shaped rings on the upper outer surface of roots and rhizomes. ‘Fussures’: This refers to the cracked portion that is formed on the fractured surface of dried medicinal materials; it is formed from ray cells and parenchyma cells that have dried and shrunk.