Hedgehog Skin
Hedgehog Skin
Stir-fried Hedgehog Skin (Dense, interwoven spines on the exterior)
【Naming】
【Source】
別錄 (Bie Lu – Miscellaneous Records of Famous Physicians)
【Common Use Level】
F
【Botanical Source】
The dried outer skin of the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus L.) or the Daurian hedgehog (Hemichianus dauricus Sundevoll) of the Erinaceidae family.
【Characteristics】
The dried skin is shaped like a polygonal scrubbing brush or a straight strip, some with edges curled into a cylindrical or coiled shape, about 3~4 cm long. The exterior is densely covered with interwoven spines, 1.5~2 cm long, hard as needles, and varies in color from grayish-white, yellow, to grayish-brown. The skin on the abdomen often has grayish-brown soft fur. The inner surface of the skin is grayish-white or brownish-gray, with residual muscle marks. It has a peculiar fishy odor.
【Identification】
《證類本草》 (Zheng Lei Ben Cao – Classified Materia Medica): “The best are those that are pale white and have feet resembling pig’s trotters,” “It is best to take it and smoke it until yellow smoke comes out of the mouth.” 《本草品彙精要》 (Ben Cao Pin Hui Jing Yao – Essential Compendium of Materia Medica): “Mix with pit mud and take it to smoke; it is best when yellow smoke comes out of the mouth.” The best are those with large, flat, and straight skin, dry, with the meat and fat scraped clean, with intact spines, free from mold and insects, and without feet and claws.
【Category】
Vertebrates