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Tao Hongjing stated: Crushing the leaves of Plantago asiatica (Cheqiancao) to extract juice and taking it can treat seminal emission. This is completely wrong! This herb has a sweet and slippery nature, promotes urination, and causes leakage of essence and qi. The medical classics state: It mainly treats red urine and directs qi downward. Someone who ate it as a vegetable suffered from urinary incontinence and was nearly misled by this error.

The leaves of Plantago asiatica can also be boiled as a vegetable in early spring; they do not wither even after enduring winter. During the reign of Empress Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty, its ash, subjected to nine burnings, was added to medicines for making tight dough. The meaning of "nine burnings" has been fully explained in the entry for Donghui (Winter Ash).

Its primary function is to unblock and resolve cold qi stagnation in the chest and abdomen; other effects are secondary. When combined with Chenpi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium), Roudoukou (Myristicae Semen), and Shengjiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma), the effect is excellent and particularly rapid. Additionally, there is another case: someone once returned from crossing the pass at Minzhou and obtained wild Qingmuxiang (Aucklandiae Radix), bringing it back to Xiluo. Its leaves resemble those of Arctii Fructus (Niubangzi) but are narrower and longer; the stem is three or four chi high; the flowers are yellow, resembling coins; and its root is indeed Qingmuxiang. Chewing it raw yields a very pungent and aromatic taste, especially effective for promoting qi movement.

Growing among shrubs, it spreads and bears flowers and fruits without green leaves, which is unusual among herbs. The saying that "Cuscutae Semen (Tusizi) grows above it and Poria (Fuling) grows below it" is not necessarily true; this has been discussed in detail in the entry for Fuling.

Morinda officinalis (Bajitian) originally has a pith. During drying and shrinkage, the pith may fall out accidentally or be removed by extraction, so the center is sometimes hollow; it does not naturally possess small holes. Nowadays, people often use fakes to achieve a purple center by soaking them in soybean juice; this must be carefully examined. Because the outer bark is hard and difficult to dye, the dyeing process starts from the center to make it purple. There was an individual addicted to alcohol, drinking five to seven cups daily, who later suffered from severe podagra (Honggangjiao/Jiaoxie). Someone advised him to stir-fry half a liang of Bajitian with glutinous rice until the rice slightly changes color, then remove the rice. Take one liang of Dahuang (Rhei Radix et Rhizoma), cut into pieces, stir-fry, and mix both into powder. Form pills with mature honey, take 50-70 pills with warm water, and strictly abstain from alcohol. He was subsequently cured.

Tu Jing Ben Cao states: "The bark resembles pine, and the seeds have scales." The character "zi" (seed) should be understood as "ke" (shell), which makes sense. It also says: "Wash cleanly with wine, remove the black juice to make soup." Once the black juice is removed, the flavor and aroma are lost. However, only tender Bajitian can be used for soup; old material is bitter. For medicinal use, a low dosage is ineffective.

Tribuli Fructus (Jili) comes in two types: One is Du Jili, which now grows flat on the ground by roadsides or on walls, produces small yellow flowers, and forms spiny fruit capsules. This is precisely the "Qiang You Ci" mentioned in the Book of Songs. After harvesting the flowers, shade-dry them, grind into powder, take 2-3 qian per dose, mixed with warm wine after meals, to treat vitiligo. The other type is Bai Jili, produced in Shayuan Pasture, Tongzhou. It has yellow-purple flowers, forms pods, and the seeds resemble sheep kidneys. It is a kidney-tonifying herb, widely used nowadays. Practitioners treating wind disorders use only the spiny Tribuli Fructus.