Qin Pi (Ash Bark) Slices (Gray-brown with whitish spots, rough, yellow-brown inside, strong fibers)

Qin Pi (Ash Bark) (Fraxinus mandshurica) (Solution is yellow-green)

Qin Pi (Ash Bark) Slices (Fraxinus mandshurica) (Aqueous solution is yellow-green, Qin Pi (Ash Bark) has bluish fluorescence)

【Naming】

Qin Pi (Ash Bark)

 【Source】

Classified as a “Medium Grade” herb in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Divine Farmer’s Materia Medica)

 【Common Usage Level】

D

 【Botanical Origin】

The dried branch bark or trunk bark of Fraxinus rhynchophylla Hance, Fraxinus bungeana DC., or other species of Fraxinus in the Oleaceae family.

 【Characteristics】

The dried branch bark is in the form of rolled tubes or trough-shaped strips. The outer surface of the branch bark is smooth and may have a few raised small lenticels. It is 30-70cm long, 1.5-3cm wide, and about 3mm thick. The surface is gray-brown or gray-black, often unevenly mixed. The outer bark is not smooth and has light-colored spots. The inner surface is yellowish-white or brown and shiny. It is hard, easily broken, the fracture surface is yellowish-white, fibrous, odorless, and bitter in taste. The water extract is yellow-green and has blue fluorescence.
Dried trunk bark is slightly rough on the outside, densely covered with raised small lenticels, and large, raised branch marks, forming long, strip-shaped pieces that do not curl, and are 6-10mm thick. The outer bark is grayish-brown, with reddish-brown spots interspersed to form irregular patterns. The inner surface is light reddish-brown and smooth. The rest is the same as the branch bark.
Processed slices (Yin Pian) have a grayish-brown or grayish-black outer bark with light-colored spots. The inner surface is yellowish-white or brown and shiny. The texture is hard, the cut surface is yellowish-white, and fibrous. Odorless and bitter in taste.

 【Identification】

“Bencao Tujing” (Illustrated Materia Medica): “If you take the bark and soak it in water, the color will turn blue. Writing on paper with it will result in a blue color, which is the true indication.”
“Bencao Qiu Zhen” (Seeking Truths in Materia Medica): “From the western upper regions, the bark has white spots. Soaking in water produces a blue color, and writing on paper does not fade, which is the real one.”
The best quality is when the bark is dry, the strips are neat and cylindrical, the outer bark is grayish-white, has spots, and is not moldy.

 【Identification Terminology】

1. Cylindrical: Refers to the state where the bark-type medicinal material curls inward and joins together like a cylinder during the drying process due to more water loss in the inner layer. The outer layer curls into a cylindrical shape, such as Qin Pi (Ash Bark).
2. Trough-shaped: Bark-type medicinal materials curl inward after drying due to different water content in the inner and outer bark, called trough-shaped, such as Qin Pi (Ash Bark).

 【Category】

Bark Category