Pieris trifoliata

Pieris trifoliata

RhizomaDioscoreaeHypoglaucae

Hypoglaucous Collett yamrhizome

[alias] Rhizoma Dioscoreae, Rhizoma Dioscoreae and Rhizoma Zingiberis.

[source] it is the rhizome of Dioscorea hypoglauca palibin.

[plant morphology] perennial grass Liana. Stem slender, sinistral. The leaves are alternate, papery, triangular heart-shaped or rectangular round heart-shaped, wavy below the middle of the edge, with white powder on the back, 7 veins, sparse hairs along the veins, and dark brown after drying. The flowers are unisexual; the male inflorescence is spicate; the female inflorescence is drooping. Capsule suborbicular, 3-winged, reflexed upward and drooping at maturity, wings longer than wide. The flowering period is from May to July and the fruiting period is from June to September.

It grows under or at the edge of mixed forest on hillside. It is mainly produced in Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and Hunan.

[harvesting] in autumn and winter, the rhizomes were dug, the fibrous roots were removed, the thin sections were cut and dried in the sun.

[character] the rhizome is bamboo like, cylindrical, with shrunken surface, and often remains with withered stem scar and slender fibrous roots. Most of the products are irregular flakes with different sizes, about 0.5mm thick, irregular edges, and some have brown black or gray black skin. The section is yellowish white or grayish brown, flat, with pink and irregular yellow vein like vascular bundles. It is loose and easy to break. It is slightly bitter and pungent.

[chemical constituents] it contains diosgenin and yamogenin.

[nature and taste] it is flat in nature, bitter and sweet in taste.

[indications] it can remove dampness, turbidity, wind and arthralgia. It is used for plaster, turbidity, excessive leucorrhea, wind cold arthralgia, joint disadvantageous, waist and knee pain.