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Remove the thorns and seeds, stir-fry before use.
Acidic, astringent, non-toxic. Reduces urination and secures essence (Jing), stops diarrhea and dysentery, and consolidates Qi.
Found everywhere. Resembles Rosa multiflora but has thorns. Blooms white flowers in April. The fruit is as large as a finger, shaped like a pomegranate but longer; its seeds are fine and fragmented with white hairs.
Nourishes blood and benefits essence, bake until dry and powder, form pills with Amomum villosum (Sha Ren) and honey, take with wine. (Verified Formula No. 1.)

Soak in decoction, remove skin and tips, soak overnight in raw honey, dry in shade, grind into paste for use.
Pungent, bitter, non-toxic. Moistens intestines and promotes water metabolism, breaks blood stasis and aids digestion. Eliminates edema and swelling, guides out stagnant Qi and phlegm-rheum accumulation.
Grows abundantly in mountains and wilds. Leaves, flowers, and trunk resemble those of Prunus salicina (large plum), except the fruit is small like a cherry, sweet, sour, and fragrant.
Bitter, warm, non-toxic. Tonifies the middle jiao and nourishes the spirit, strengthens Yin and brightens the eyes, dispels hundred diseases, and pacifies the five zang organs. Strengthens waist and knees, darkens hair, plumps flesh, and lightens the body.
Found everywhere. Leaves do not fall, flourishing through winter, resembling Ilex cornuta (Chinese holly). Small flowers bloom in May, greenish-white. Fruits mature in September, resembling Prunus buergeriana (cow plum). Or perhaps these are two different species.

Remove red hairs, stir-fry with butter (Su). This refers to Euonymus atropurpureus (Wei Mao).
Bitter, neutral, non-toxic. Suppresses evil spirits, expels parasites and toxins; unblocks menstruation and induces abortion, moves blood stasis and dissipates masses. Stops metrorrhagia and leukorrhea with bleeding, resolves wind-swelling of the skin.
Found in valleys where it grows. Small shrubs grow in clusters, tender shoots emerge in spring, with feather-like structures on all sides of the stems like arrow feathers, leaves resembling Camellia japonica. Harvest stems and branches in August, November, and December.

Polygala tenuifolia (Yuan Zhi) serves as the guiding herb. Contraindicated with Scrophularia ningpoensis (Yuan Shen) and snake skin.
Pungent, warm, non-toxic. Treats all types of flaccidity and bi-syndrome, dispels various wind-dampness. Relaxes spasms of limbs and joints, assists in strengthening sinews and bones.
Native to Hanzhong and Yuanju. Harvest stems in May and July, roots in October. There are several varieties, generally resembling Rosa multiflora and Cherokee rose (Jin Ying Zi). Those with five leaflets are superior; those with four or three leaflets are inferior.
Blooms white flowers in March and April, bearing green fruits.
For men and women suffering from Hong Kong foot (podagra/foot swelling and pain), mix with Polygala tenuifolia (Yuan Zhi), powder, and take as wine pills. (Verified Formula No. 1.)
For children with delayed walking, mix with Achyranthes bidentata (Niu Xi) and Chaenomelis Fructus (Mu Gua), powder, and take as a dispersion. (Formula No. 2.)
Oil-Fried Powder: Acanthopanacis Cortex (Jia Pi), Moutan Cortex (Dan Pi), Paeonia lactiflora Rubra (Chi Shao), Angelica sinensis (Dang Gui)
Grind into fine powder. Take one qian per dose, use one copper coin, dip in oil, and decoct with the medicine. Treats women's wind-blood consumption, emaciation, fatigue, wheezing and fullness, deficiency-heat with vexation, shortness of breath, spontaneous sweating, dry mouth, astringent tongue, and loss of appetite. (General Formulas No. 1.)