Herb Stories

Ling Zhi - "Spiritual Vegetable Meat" or Reishi mushroom Pharmaceutical Name: Ganoderma Lucidum In a small Chinese village a long time ago there lived a dedicated student with a great ambition to pass the empirical examinations to become a government official.  This student was so ambitious that...

27 October, 2013

Xia Ku Cao - "See-Me-Not-After-Summer" or Self-heal Spike Pharmaceutical Name:  Prunellae Spica The mother of a mayor in ancient China suffered from scrofula with a swollen neck.  All the doctors said there was no cure for it. One day, however, a herbalist came along who told the mayor...

27 October, 2013

Che Qian Cao – “Plant-Before-Cart” or Asiatic Plantain Pharmaceutical Name: Herba Plantaginis There was a Chinese general in the Han dynasty (206 B.C. – 220 A.D.) by the name of Ma-Wu.  One summer, the country was undergoing a severe drought and the people were suffering from famine. ...

12 April, 2013

Jin Ying Zi – Golden Tassel Seed or “Japanese honeysuckle” or Cherokee Rose Fruit Pharmaceutical Name: Fructus Rosae Laevigatae Once upon a time in northern China, there were 3 brothers who lived together with their wives.  But only one of the couples had a child and this...

10 April, 2013

Xian He Cao – Red-Crowned Crane’s Herb Pharmaceutical Name: Herba Agrimoniae One summer two Chinese officials were making a long trip to Peking (now called Beijing) to take a national examination for promotion.  Seeing that time was almost running out, they hastened their journey, only to find...

11 March, 2013

Pu Gong Ying – Asian Dandelion or “Fisherman’s Herb” Pharmaceutical Name: Herba Taraxaci The 16-year old daughter of a government official in ancient China was suffering from mastitis with a triangular lump underneath her left breast.  She was in pain and was becoming very worried, but she...

09 March, 2013

Gou Qi Zi - Goji berry or Wolfberry Pharmaceutical Name: Fructus Lycii There is a story about a Chinese traveler who, while passing through a village called Xihe, happened to witness a young lady beating an old man with grey hair all over his head.  The young...

12 February, 2013

A client I see in my acupuncture and Chinese medicine clinic, who grew up eating wild herbs in his native Caribbean country, had a friend dig up some knotweed roots and bring them back to Canada for him.  He thought it would benefit him with his...

11 February, 2013