Wanzhangshen is the name of a traditional Chinese medicine. It is the root of the plant Crepis lignea (Vaniot) Babcock, which belongs to the Asteraceae family. The plant is distributed in Sichuan (Muli, Puge), Guizhou (Yong'an, Xingren, Xingyi, Anyou), and Yunnan (Songming, Yongning, Dali, Puer, Lijiang, Kunming, Funing).
Also known as Maweishen, Xicao, Zhuyeqing, Xiye Wanzhangshen, Tiesaoba, Shuaba Xixin, Naijiangshen.
Source: selected from "Yunnan Chinese Materia Medica".
Origin: It is the root of the plant Crepis lignea in the Asteraceae family.
Collection and storage: It is collected in summer and autumn, washed, and dried.
Morphology: Wanzhangshen is a perennial herb, 15-40cm tall, with white latex. The root is cylindrical and very long, with latex. The stem is erect, clustered, woody, and branches below the base or middle. The basal leaves are inverted lanceolate, 3-4.5cm long, 0.6-1cm wide, bluntly rounded at the apex with short points, gradually narrowing into a petiole at the base, and sparsely toothed along the edge. The stem leaves are opposite, degenerate into scale-like shape, narrow triangular or linear, 1-3cm long, sharp-pointed, wide at the base, clasping the stem, with entire margin. The uppermost leaves are filamentous.
The inflorescence is small, with 7-12 small flowers arranged in a rounded cone-shaped inflorescence. The peduncle is slender, 0.5-5cm long. The involucre is cylindrical to bell-shaped, 7-9mm long. The outer involucral bracts are 5-6, lanceolate, about 1/3-1/2 the length of the inner involucral bracts, with gradually pointed tips. The inner involucral bracts are 8-11, lanceolate, blunt at the apex, with cilia and membranous edges. All the flowers are ligulate, yellow, 10-11mm long, with 5 toothed lobes at the apex. The achene is spindle-shaped, brown, 4-5mm long, with 10-12 ribs. The pappus is white.
