Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) (Raw Ban Xia) (Spherical, light yellow, with a sunken stem scar at the top and a blunt, rounded, and relatively smooth bottom)
Processed Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) (Pockmarks)
Ginger-Processed Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) (Indentations, brown eyes)
Pearl Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome)
First-Grade Processed Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) Slices (Pure white, powdery)
First-Grade Ginger-Processed Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) Slices (Sheep’s eye) (Causes throat irritation)
Prepared Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) (Sulfur-free)
Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) Slices (Top), Water-Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) Slices (Bottom)
Water Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) (Misused product)
Water Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) Slices
Processed Pearl Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome)
Ginger-Vinegar Processed Pearl Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome)
【Name】
【Source】
Lower Grade in Shen Nong’s Materia Medica
【Common Usage Level】
A
【Botanical Origin】
The tuber of Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Breit. of the Araceae family.
【Characteristics】
Commercial Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) is mostly peeled; it is spherical, semi-spherical, or obliquely shaped, with a diameter of 0.8~2㎝. The surface is white or light yellow, slightly wrinkled, and the uncleaned outer skin has yellow spots. The upper end is mostly rounded and flat, with a sunken yellowish-brown stem scar in the center (indentation, brown eye, sheep’s eye), and the surrounding area is densely covered with small brown dotted fibrous root scars (commonly known as pockmarks). The lower part is blunt, rounded, and smooth. It is firm and dense in texture. The longitudinal section is kidney-shaped, pure white, and rich in powder. The powder has a pungent smell. It tastes spicy, sticky when chewed, and numb to the tongue and irritating to the throat.
Ginger-Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome): The outer surface is grayish-yellow, slightly translucent, horny, hard, sometimes with cracks, and sometimes broken into granular pieces.
Processed Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome): The outer surface is yellowish-white, rich in powder, and light in texture.
The decoction pieces are longitudinal or transverse slices, round or kidney-shaped. Raw Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) is pure white and rich in powder. Ginger-Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) is slightly translucent, horny, and relatively hard. Processed Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) is rich in powder and white. Both can be found in the decoction pieces with sunken stem scars (sheep’s eyes).
【Processing】
1. Raw Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) 2. Ginger-Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) 3. Processed Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome)
【Identification】
Shen Nong’s Materia Medica: “Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) comes from Sanfu. The white ones are good.”
Annotations to the Materia Medica: “The ones with white flesh are the best.”
Newly Revised Materia Medica: “Gong said: The ones that grow in the plains are called sheep’s eye Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome), and the round and white ones are superior.”
The Secret Essentials of the Outer Platform: “All Euphorbia, Citrus aurantium, tangerine peel, Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome), Ephedra, and Evodia are better when they are old and aged. The rest should be fresh and new.”
Illustrated Materia Medica: “The ones from Qizhou are the best,” “However, the round, white, and aged ones are the best.”
Essentials of Materia Medica: “Those collected in the eighth month are smaller and more substantial, but the round, white, and aged ones are the best.”
Essentials of Benevolent Techniques: “Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) with round, white, and large ones are the best.”
Eight Chapters on Following Life: “Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) is best from the Qi region. Qi Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) is the large, pockmarked Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) produced in Shandong.”
Discernment of Good and Bad: “Large and round grains, white in color, and pure skin are excellent products, and those with hard and brown skin are inferior products.”
The best are those with large individual size, clean skin, white color, firm texture, and sufficient powder content. The next best are those with small individual size, unclean peeling, yellowish-white color, and small powder content.
【Identification Terms】
1. Indentation: The sunken stem scar at the top of the roots and rhizomes of medicinal materials such as Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome), Bai Zhi (Angelica Root), and Arisaema, which is the mark left after the above-ground stem falls off.
2. Sheep’s eye: Slices with a sunken yellowish-brown stem scar in the center are the characteristics that distinguish genuine Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) from Water Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome).
3. Pockmarks: (1) Refers to the small brown dots densely distributed around the sunken top of fibrous root scars, such as Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome) and Arisaema. (2) Refers to the white dotted vascular bundles on the cross-section of rhizome medicinal materials, such as Cao He Che and Hu Huang Lian (Coptis Rhizome).
4. Brown eyes: Generally refers to the many pockmarked fibrous root scars around the sunken stem base scar of rhizome medicinal materials, such as Arisaema and Ban Xia (Pinellia Rhizome).
【Chapter】
Rhizomes