Female Withered is a plant that mainly grows in the mountains. It is mainly harvested in autumn, and the above-ground stems are used for medicinal purposes. Its medicinal value is extensive and can be used for anti-inflammatory and pain relief. Let's have a correct understanding of Female Withered below!
1. Identification of characteristics
The stems are square-shaped, reaching several meters in length, and they can be twining or segmented, with a diameter of 1-5mm. The surface is gray-green or brownish-green, usually with 6 distinct longitudinal ridges, covered with white soft hairs. The texture is brittle and easy to break, and the cross-section is uneven. The wood is yellowish-white, with numerous small vascular pores visible, and the pith is loose.
The leaves are opposite, trifoliate, and the leaflets are often wrinkled and fragmented. The intact leaflets are ovate or broad-ovate in shape, with the terminal leaflet larger than the lateral leaflets and often showing indistinct 3 shallow lobes. The margins have irregular coarse serrations or teeth, and the color is dark green with short soft hairs on both sides.
The petiole of the compound leaf is 2-9cm long and often twisted. Some have flowers and fruits. The odor is slight and the taste is slightly bitter and astringent.
2. Microscopic identification
Cross-section of the stem: Hexagonal. Epidermal cells are elongated rectangular in shape, elongated in the longitudinal direction. The cortex is narrow. The central cylinder sheath fibers are 1-2 layers, intermittently connected to form a ring (no fibers in young stems);
There are scattered collateral vascular bundles of the infinite external phloem type, arranged in alternating sizes, forming indistinct layers. The xylem cells are tubular or elongated, mostly arranged individually, with a diameter of 50-250μm. The pith is small, accounting for about 1/4-1/2 of the stem, and the cells are circular in shape.
