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[Shandougen]
(Grows in the mountain valleys of Jiannan, Yizhou, and Guozhou. It is also found in Guangxi today. The best quality comes from Zhongzhou and Wanzhou. The vines resemble those of beans, with green leaves that do not wither in winter. Roots are harvested in August. In Guangnan, the plants grow about one chi tall, resembling small locust trees. Stone rats eat their roots; therefore, people in Lingnan catch rats, extract their intestines and stomachs, dry them, and use them for detoxification and clearing heat with good efficacy.)
[Flavor and Nature]
Sweet, cold, non-toxic. (Note: Shen Kuo's *Bitan* states that Shandougen tastes extremely bitter; claiming it is sweet in the Materia Medica is a major error.)
[Indications]
Resolves toxicity of various medicines. Relieves pain. Reduces swelling and toxicity of sores, fever, and cough. Treats acute jaundice in humans and horses. Kills small insects. Holding it in the mouth and swallowing the juice is excellent for resolving throat swelling and toxicity. Grind into powder and take 5 fen with decoction to treat abdominal distension, wheezing, and fullness. Take 3 qian with wine to treat abdominal distension due to blood and qi stagnation in women. Also expels tapeworms and other parasites. Taken as pills, it stops dysentery. Ground juice taken internally stops sudden onset of heat-jue (cold extremities due to heat) with heart and abdominal pain. Treats pain from five types of hemorrhoids. Apply ground juice topically to various heat-swelling conditions, alopecia barbae/cutis, and bites/stings from snakes, dogs, and spiders.

[Baixianpi]
[Flavor and Nature]
Bitter, cold, non-toxic. Its nature is cold and promotes circulation; its flavor is bitter and drying. Enters the Foot-Taiyin Spleen and Foot-Yangming Stomach meridians. It is an herb that removes damp-heat. It also enters the Hand-Taiyin Lung and Hand-Yangming Large Intestine meridians. It is a key herb for treating various types of jaundice and wind-bi (painful obstruction). Physicians of later generations have only used it superficially in dermatology, which is limited.
[Indications]
Treats head wind and jaundice. Cough with reverse flow of qi and dribbling urination. Swelling and pain in the female vagina. Damp-bi causing necrosis of skin and muscle, inability to flex or extend joints, and difficulty walking. Restlessness of the four limbs. Epidemic excessive internal heat with thirst, desire to run, and shout. Pediatric convulsions and epilepsy. Residual pain after childbirth in women. Treats all heat-toxin wind syndromes, aversion to wind, wind-sores, scabies, tinea with redness and ulceration, loss of eyebrows and hair, tightness of skin and muscle, high fever with aversion to cold. Resolves heat-jaundice, alcohol-jaundice, acute jaundice, grain-jaundice, and labor-jaundice. Unblocks joints, benefits the nine orifices and blood vessels. Promotes water metabolism in the Small Intestine. Treats epidemic febrile diseases, headache, and eye pain. The flowers have similar efficacy. Treats pulmonary cough.
[Incompatibilities]
Contraindicated with Piao Xiao (Mantispidae Ootheca), Jie Geng (Platycodon Root), Fu Ling (Poria), and Bi Xie (Dioscorea Hypoglauca Rhizome).

[Xuanjinhua]
[Flavor and Nature]
Salty, warm, slightly toxic. Enters the Hand-Taiyin Lung and Hand-Yangming Large Intestine meridians.
[Indications]
Its functions are limited to promoting water metabolism, directing rebellious qi downward, and unblocking blood vessels. If the patient has deficiency patterns, this herb disperses too vigorously and should not be used, as it may cause cold-induced diarrhea due to laxative effects on the Large Intestine. Treats epigastric stiffness and fullness with persistent belching after sweating or purging in Shanghan (Cold Damage). Formulas include Qi Wu Xuan Dai Tang (Seven-Ingredient Xuanjinhua and Hematitum Decoction). Treats gynecological conditions with San Wu Xuanjinhua Tang (Three-Ingredient Xuanjinhua Decoction). Treats phlegm-fluid retention causing distension and fullness in the hypochondrium. Formula includes Xuanjinhua Wan (Xuanjinhua Pills). All these illustrate the principle of draining and unblocking. Users must examine carefully.