[Name]
Snow Pig Meat
[Alias]
Drought Leper, Groundhog
[Functions and Indications]
Used to treat damp-heat itching, rheumatic pain, and foot and knee swelling and pain.
[Usage and Dosage]
4-8 liang (Chinese unit of weight), stewed and consumed as soup.
[Excerpt Source]
1. "National Compilation of Chinese Medicinal Herbs"
2. "Chinese Materia Medica": Snow Pig Meat
3. From "Sichuan Materia Medica". "Yinshan Zhengyao": Groundhog is dug up and eaten by northern people. Although it is fat, it becomes oil-free when cooked. The soup has no taste and is difficult to digest when consumed in large quantities.
[Source]
Origin of Medicinal Material: The meat of Himalayan marmot, gray marmot, steppe marmot, long-tailed marmot, and other animals in the squirrel family.
Latin Plant Animal Mineral Name: 1. Marmota himalayana Hodg. 2. Marmota baibacina (Brandt) 3. Marmota bobac Miiller 4. Marmota caudata Jacquemont
Harvesting and Storage: After catching and killing, remove the fur and internal organs, take the meat, and use it fresh or spread it open with bamboo strips or air dry.
[Original Form]
1. Himalayan Marmot: A large ground-dwelling squirrel.
Body length 46-58cm, weight 3-6kg. Thick and short neck. Short and round ears. Flat and short tail, about 13cm long, not more than twice the length of the hind limbs. Strong and stout limbs, the thumb of the front limbs degenerates, with very small claws, the other 4 toes have long and curved claws, and the claws of the hind toes are shorter. The side of the nose is light brown with black whiskers. The back of the nose has black or dark brown spots. There is a distinct black stripe on the upper edge of the eye socket. The top of the head is a mixture of black and brown, and the sides are light yellow to the base of the ears. The back is a mixture of brown and irregular black stripes, with the middle section of the hair being pale and the tip being black. The throat, chest, abdomen, and limbs are all light yellow, and the undercoat is all gray-black. The buttocks are dark brownish yellow. The tail hair is similar in color to the body, except that the tip is black. The color of the young body is lighter than that of the adult.
2. Gray Marmot
Similar in size and shape to the Himalayan marmot, but the ventral surface is darker and is deep brownish yellow or grayish brown. Body length 46-54cm, weight 4-6kg. Short and small ears. Thick and short claws. The tail is shorter, 13-15cm, less than 1/3 of the body length. The back of the body is light yellow or sandy yellow, mixed with black or dark brown. The nose, cheeks, and under the ears are deep brown. The ears are sandy yellow. The tail is similar in color to the body, but the tip is blackish brown.
3. Steppe Marmot
Small in size, about 36-49cm long and weighing 3-4kg. The tail is 11-12cm long, about twice the length of the hind limbs. The back of the body is light brown or light rust color, mixed with light white, without any black or brown. The forehead and top of the head are pure brown. The ears are light orange-yellow. The ventral surface is brown, with dark brown at the base of the hair. The tail is dark brown, with a rust brown tip.
4. Long-tailed Marmot
A large marmot. Body length 47-50cm, weight 4-5kg. The tail is longer, 18.5-22cm, significantly longer than twice the length of the hind limbs. The ears are very small and barely visible. The fur is long and dense. The whole body is orange-yellow or reddish yellow, and the back hair often has dark brown at the tip. The ventral color is similar to the back color, but the brown color is darker, and there is no obvious boundary between the back and ventral sides. The tail tip is black or reddish brown.
