How to Identify Chinese Herbs
How to identify Chinese herbs is a daunting task as there are over seven thousand plant species indiginous to China and are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Practicioners have been working with these plants for thousands of years and label them with pin yin names. These are descriptive names according to the character of the herb.
- Look at its shape. Take note of its appearance.
- Notate its color because the herb's color is significant as its use.
- Note the herb's smell. This another indication as to its grouping.
- Habitat, environment also relates to how the herb is used and classified. Herbs that are succulents are used in a different manner than seaweed.
- Taste indicates its effect upon the fluids and environments within the body.
Acrid: Releases to the exterior, moves qi and blood. Onions and garlic are examples of acrid herbs.
Sweet: Harmonizes other herbs, builds deficiencies.
Sour: Retains body fluids, contains and holds.
Bitter: Drains heat, cools fire, downward draining and dries dampness.
Salty: Removes excess, opens kidneys, softens hardness.
Neutral: Increases urination.
Once a profile is created of the herb, it is now possible to classify the herb into elements and meridian channels:
- Wood: Gall bladder & Liver--Green/Blue--Smell is Rancid--Taste is Sour
- Fire: Heart & Small Intestine--Red--Smell is Burnt--Taste is Bitter
- Earth: Spleen & Stomach--Yellow--Smell is Fragrant--Taste is Sweet
- Metal: Lung & Large Intestine--White--Smell is Rotten--Taste is Acrid & Spicy
- Water: Urinary Bladder & Kidney--Dark Blue & Black--Smell is Putrid--Taste is Salty
Herbs are then named using Chinese Pin Yin. The herb is described according to the above characteristics.
Examples of Chinese herbs in pin yin translted into English:
- jin yin hua (Lonicera japonica) is “gold and silver flower”
- yang ti (Rumex crispus) means “goat’s hoof”
- bai ma gu (Serissa serissoides) is the "white horse bone”
- puo tong bi, (Centella asiatica) is a “broken copper coin