陶隐居云∶其叶捣取汁服，疗泄精。大误矣！此药甘滑，利小便，走泄精气。经云∶
主小便赤，下气。有人作菜食，小便不禁，几为所误。
叶至初春亦可煮作菜食，凌冬不凋悴。唐武后九烧与灰入紧面药。九烧之义，已具
冬灰条中。
专泄决胸腹间滞塞冷气，他则次之。得橘皮、肉豆蔻、生姜相佐使绝佳，效尤速。又
一种，尝自岷州出塞，得生青木香，持归西洛。叶如牛蒡但狭长，茎高三四尺，花黄，一如
金钱，其根则青木香也。生嚼之，极辛香，尤行气。
附丛木中，即便蔓延花实，无绿叶，此为草中之异。其上有菟丝下有茯苓之说，未
必耳，已于茯苓条中具言之。
巴戟天本有心，干缩时偶自落，或可以抽摘，故中心或空，非自有小孔子也。今人
欲要中间紫色，则多伪，以大豆汁沃之，不可不察。外坚难染，故先从中间紫色。有人嗜酒
，日须五七杯，后患香港脚甚危，或教以巴戟半两，糯米同炒，米微转色，不用米，大黄一两
，锉、炒，同为末，熟蜜为丸，温水服五七十丸，仍禁酒，遂愈。
《图经》以谓“皮如松，子有鳞”。子字当为壳，于义为允。又曰∶“以酒净洗，
去黑汁作羹”。黑汁既去，气味皆尽。然嫩者方可作羹，老者苦。入药，少则不效。
蒺藜有两等∶一等杜蒺藜，即今之道旁布地而生，或生墙上，有小黄花，结芒刺，此
正是墙有茨者。花收摘荫干，为末，每服三二钱，饭后以温酒调服，治白癜风。又一种
白蒺藜，出同州沙苑牧马处。黄紫花，作荚，结子如羊内肾。补肾药，今人多用。风家惟用
刺蒺藜。
陶弘景说：将车前草的叶子捣碎取汁服用，可以治疗遗精。这完全错了！这种药性味甘滑，能通利小便，会导致精气外泄。医经中说：主治小便色赤，降气。有人把它当作蔬菜食用后，出现小便失禁的情况，差点因此被误导。
车前草的叶子在初春时节也可以煮着当菜吃，它能经历整个冬天而不凋谢枯萎。唐代武则天时期，将其经过九次烧制后的灰烬加入制作紧面（一种面食）的药物中。“九烧”的含义，已经在“冬灰”条目中详细说明过了。
车前草主要作用是疏通决断胸腹间的停滞冷气，其他功效则次要一些。如果与橘皮、肉豆蔻、生姜配合使用，效果极佳，且见效迅速。另外还有一种情况，曾经有人从岷州出塞归来，得到了一种野生青木香，带回西洛。它的叶子像牛蒡但更狭长，茎高三四尺，花是黄色的，就像金钱一样，其根就是青木香。生嚼它，味道非常辛辣芳香，尤其擅长行气。
车前草依附丛生的树木生长，就会蔓延开花结果，没有绿叶，这是草本植物中的异类。上面提到的“上有菟丝子寄生，下有茯苓生长”的说法，未必属实，这一点已经在“茯苓”条目中详细论述过了。
巴戟天本来是有心材的，但在干燥收缩时偶然自行脱落，或者可以通过抽摘去除，所以中心有时是空的，并不是它天生就有小孔洞。现在的人想要让药材中间呈现紫色，大多是用伪品，用大豆汁浇灌染色，这点不可不仔细辨别。因为外皮坚硬难以染色，所以先从中间染成紫色。有人嗜酒，每天必须喝五到七杯，后来患上了严重的脚气病（香港脚），病情危急。有人教他用半两巴戟天与糯米同炒，米稍微变色后，去掉米，取一两大黄，切碎、炒制，两者一起研成粉末，用熟蜂蜜制成丸药，温水送服五七十丸，同时禁止饮酒，于是痊愈了。
《图经本草》认为：“树皮像松树，种子有鳞片。”这里的“子”字应当理解为“壳”，这样解释才合理。又说：“用酒洗净，去掉黑汁做成羹汤”。既然去掉了黑汁，气味也就都消失了。然而只有嫩嫩的巴戟天才可以做羹汤，老的则味苦。入药使用时，剂量少了就没有疗效。
蒺藜分为两种：一种是杜蒺藜，就是现在路边贴地生长的，或者生长在墙上的，开小黄花，结出带芒刺的果实，这正是《诗经》中说的“墙有茨”。花朵采收后阴干，研成粉末，每次服用二三钱，饭后用温酒调服，可以治疗白癜风。另一种是白蒺藜，出产于同州沙苑的牧马处。开黄紫色的花，结成荚果，种子形状像羊的内肾。它是补肾药，现在很多人都在使用。治疗风邪病症的人只使用带刺的蒺藜。
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.