Root bark of Sapium sebiferum

Chinese Name: root bark of Sapium sebiferum

[category]: leather

English Name: Chinese Tallowtree root bark

[alias]: camphor tree, roll tree, ash tree, candle tree

[source]: the root bark of Sapium sebiferum (L.) Roxb.

[harvesting]: dig roots from October to February of the next year, take root bark, wash and dry in the sun.

[nature and taste]: slightly turbid in nature and bitter in taste; slightly toxic.

[plant morphology]: deciduous tree, up to 15m high, with white milk. The leaves are alternate, rhomboid ovate, 3-7cm long and 3-7cm wide, with a short apex. The lower part is pink at first, then turns yellow green, and turns red in autumn. There are two glands at the upper end of the petiole. The flowers are monoecious and dense in terminal spikes; the male flowers have one bract per 3 flowers and are born on the upper part of the inflorescence, calyx cup-shaped, 3-lobed, stamens 2-3; the female flowers are 1-4 flowers and are born on the base of the inflorescence, calyx 3-lobed, ovary superior, 3-locular, stigma 3-lobed. Capsule subglobose, black when ripe. The seeds are black with a layer of white wax on the outside. The flowering period is from July to August and the fruiting period is from October to November.

[growing place]: on hillside, village side and roadside. Produced in East China, Central South, southwest and Gansu.

[chemical composition]: it contains Xanthoxylin and ellagic acid.

Indications: clearing away heat and dampness, removing toxin and detumescence. It is used for edema, distention, accumulation of symptoms, obstruction of two stools, dampness sores, scabies and toxin.

Note: the skin is irregular or rolled into a semicircular shape. The outer surface is yellowish brown, with vertical and horizontal texture and long horizontal pores; the inner surface is smooth, light yellow, with slight vertical lines. The fracture surface is rough.