Ming Dangshen (Slender cylindrical, yellowish-white, smooth longitudinal grooves and spots, waxy luster)

Ming Dangshen (Silver Teeth) (Fractured surface is horny, hard and brittle)

【Name】

Ming Dangshen

 【Source】

Bencao Gangmu Shiyi (Supplement to Compendium of Materia Medica)

 【Commonly Used Degree】

D

 【Botanical Origin】

The root of Changium smyrnioides Wolff (Umbelliferae) with the cork removed.

 【Characteristics】

Spindle-shaped, long spindle-shaped, or long cylindrical, 6~15㎝ long and 0.5~1.5㎝ in diameter. The outer surface is light yellowish-white or light brownish-yellow. The outer surface is smooth and bright with a waxy luster (silver teeth). The surface is flat, sometimes with shallow longitudinal grooves, obvious branch root scars, and reddish-brown spots. The texture is hard and brittle, easily broken, and the fractured surface is horny.

 【Identification】

The best quality is characterized by being thick, uniform, bright in color, hard, solid and heavy, with fine skin, and a yellowish-white, semi-transparent fractured surface.

 【Identification Terminology】

1. Silver Teeth: Refers to Ming Dangshen that is as thick as ivory chopsticks, long and strip-shaped, and yellowish-white in color.

 【Category】

Root