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[Flavor and Nature]
Sweet, slightly bitter, non-toxic. Hollow and light in texture. Yin within Yang. Ascending and floating in action.

[Indications]
Treats eye diseases. Eliminates corneal opacity (pterygium). Tonifies the Liver and Gallbladder. Releases the muscle layer and stops tearing. Shares similar morphology and nature with Ephedrae Herba (Mahuang, 麻黄); it can also disperse fire stagnation and wind-dampness, and induce sweating.

[Flavor and Nature]
Sweet, neutral, non-toxic.

[Indications]
Tonifies Qi and lightens the body. Tonifies deficiency and restores severance. Nourishes the Liver and improves vision. For impotence, it promotes firmness and elongation. Women who consume it may conceive. Its tonifying efficacy is equivalent to that of Morus alba Fruit (Sangshen, 桑椹).

[Flavor and Nature]
Bitter, sour, neutral, non-toxic. It is a herb governing the Foot Jueyin Liver Meridian and Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian.

[Indications]
Treats flaccidity and bi-syndrome caused by cold-dampness. Limb spasms and knee pain with inability to flex or extend. Induces abortion. Treats male xiaoke (wasting-thirst syndrome). Treats urinary incontinence in the elderly. Treats amenorrhea in women. Tonifies the Kidney and fills essence. Expels evil blood and stagnant clots. Assists the twelve meridians. Strengthens the yang pathway. Generally, processed with wine, it tonifies the Liver and Kidney; raw, it removes evil blood. It is best at guiding other herbs downward to the feet. Another view states that stems and leaves are used in spring and summer, roots in autumn and winter, and the juice of leaves acts especially quickly.

[Flavor and Nature]
Sweet, neutral, non-toxic. Yin within Yang. Enters the Hand and Foot Shaoyin and Jueyin meridians.

[Indications]
Tonifies the Kidney and calms the spirit. Treats yin malaria (malaria characterized mainly by chills). Astringes dampness. Treats hypersomnia, seminal emission, and spontaneous urination. Promotes tissue regeneration and heals sores. Since astringent flavors can treat collapse, Longgu (Dragon Bone) can converge floating and hyperactive Zheng Qi (Upright Qi), secure the Large Intestine, and calm fright. It also treats diseases of the Dai Mai (Girdle Vessel).

[Flavor and Nature]
Sweet, slightly cold, non-toxic. Floating and ascending in action. Enters the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian and can tonify Yin fire. When used with herbs of the same organ as assistants and guides, it supplements one organ according to its guidance; entering the Spleen meridian, it returns to what it favors.

[Indications]
Stops thirst and generates fluids. Calms the spirit. Stabilizes the Hun and Po. Stops palpitations due to fright. Harmonizes the Stomach and Middle Jiao. Disperses pathogenic factors causing cholera-like vomiting and regurgitation. Stops wasting-thirst syndrome. Unblocks blood vessels. When guided by Cimicifugae Rhizoma (Shengma, 升麻), it tonifies Yuan Qi (Original Qi) of the Upper Jiao and clears Fire from the Lungs. When guided by Poria (Fuling, 茯苓), it tonifies Yuan Qi of the Lower Jiao and clears Fire from the Kidneys. Combined with Ophiopogonis Radix (Maidong, 麦门冬), it generates the pulse. Combined with Zingiberis Rhizoma (Ganjiang, 干姜), it tonifies Qi. Persons with white, yellow, or blue-green complexions appearing haggard have insufficient Qi of the Spleen, Lungs, and Kidneys and can use this herb. Persons with red or black complexions have strong Qi and robust Spirit and should not use it. Pulses that are floating and knotted, wiry, deficient, large, slow, weak, or deep, slow, choppy, thin, intermittent, and forceless indicate deficiency and insufficiency, making them suitable for use. Pulses that are wiry, long, tight, solid, slippery, rapid, and forceful indicate internal Fire stagnation and excess, making them unsuitable for use. Do not use for wheezing and coughing when there is phlegm-heat and Qi obstruction, as it would increase the excess. If there is Kidney deficiency with shortness of breath and urgency, use it urgently. If there is Lung cold with cough, it indicates cold binding heat pathogens obstructing the Lungs, which must be contraindicated. If there is spontaneous sweating, aversion to cold, and cough due to disharmony of Middle Qi, use it urgently. If there is prolonged illness with stagnant Heat in the Lungs, Fire is suppressed internally; dispersal is preferred over tonification, so it is contraindicated. If there is Lung deficiency with Hyperactive Fire, shortness of breath, and spontaneous sweating, without Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (Renshen, 人参) as the sovereign herb, how can one tonify Lung Yang and clear Lung Yin? For various pains, do not use abruptly when pathogenic factors are acute; dispersal is preferred over tonification. For interior deficiency with vomiting and diarrhea, or prolonged illness with weak Stomach, deficiency-pain relieved by pressure, without Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (Renshen, 人参) as the sovereign herb, how can one ascend Middle Qi Yang and descend Middle Qi Yin? Therefore, ancients treated Lung cold with Wen Fei Tang (Warm the Lungs Decoction), Lung heat with Qing Fei Tang (Clear the Lungs Decoction), middle fullness with Fen Xiao Tang (Divide and Eliminate Decoction), and blood deficiency with Yang Rong Tang (Nourish the Nutritive Decoction), all containing Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (Renshen, 人参). Wherever pathogenic factors gather, Zheng Qi (Upright Qi) must be deficient. Nourishing the righteous causes the evil to eliminate naturally. When Yang is vigorous, Yin Blood is generated. This is a fundamental principle, relying on appropriate combination.

Incompatible with: Euphorbiae Humifusae Herba (Loulou, 漏芦)
Averse to: Crataegi Fructus (Shanzha, 山楂), Daphne Genkwa Flower (Sushe, 溲疏), Salty substances (Luxian, 卤咸)
Avoid: Iron utensils