Yunshi root, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb. It has the functions of dispelling wind and dampness, detoxifying, and reducing swelling. It is used for treating colds, fever, cough, sore throat, toothache, rheumatism, hepatitis, dysentery, gonorrhea, carbuncle and swelling, itching skin, and snake bites. Let's explore the appearance and identification of Yunshi root in traditional Chinese medicine together with the editor of the Chinese medicine website!
【Appearance of Yunshi root】
Yunshi is a climbing shrub. The bark is dark red, densely covered with reversed hook thorns. The stipules are wide, semi-arrowhead-shaped, and fall off early; the compound leaves are pinnate, 20-30cm long, with 3-10 pairs of leaflets, opposite, with stalks, a pair of thorns at the base of each leaflet, 7-15 pairs of leaflets on each leaflet, membranous, elongated oval, 10-25mm long, 6-10mm wide, with a round and slightly notched tip, blunt base, and short pubescence on both sides, sometimes losing hairs.
The terminal inflorescence is cymose, 15-30cm long; the peduncle of the inflorescence is prickly; the flowers are bilaterally symmetrical, with pedicels 2-4cm long, straight and strong, with joints below the calyx, and the flowers are easily shed; the calyx has 5 petals, elongated and covered with short pubescence; the petals are yellow and curl back when in full bloom; there are 10 stamens, separated, and the filaments are densely covered with hairs below the middle; the ovary is superior and hairless.
The fruit is nearly woody, short-tubular, oblique, 6-12cm long, 2-3cm wide, slightly swollen, with a pointed beak at the apex, and narrow wings along the ventral suture, which swell and split along the ventral suture when mature. The fruit is hairless, chestnut brown, and glossy; there are 6-9 seeds, elongated and brown. The flowering and fruiting period is from April to October.
【Identification of Yunshi root】
The root is cylindrical, curved, branched, varying in length, with a diameter of 2-6cm, and the root head is swollen. The outer skin is gray-brown, rough, with horizontal pores and obvious longitudinal wrinkles. The texture is firm and not easily broken, with the cortical part being brownish-yellow and the wood part being white, which accounts for the majority.
The smell is weak, and the taste is pungent, astringent, and slightly bitter. The root bark is cylindrical, groove-shaped, or irregular fragment-shaped, varying in length and thickness, with a gray-brown rough surface, with wart-like protrusions and grayish-yellow horizontal pores, often with inward ring patterns; the inner surface is light brown, slightly flat, and has fine longitudinal wrinkles. The texture is hard and brittle, easily broken, and the cross-section is granular. The formation of streaks formed by stone cells can be seen on a flat cut surface. The smell is weak, and the taste is slightly astringent. It feels sandy when chewed. The best ones are those that are long and thick-skinned.
