Common Chinese Materia Medica

This ninth volume describes 285 species of medicinal plants of 30 families, which are commonly used in Chinese medicine. The most important species are Alisma orientale of Alismaceae; Commelina communis of Commelinaceae; Eriocaulon buergerianum of Eriocaulaceae; Alpinia galanga, Alpinia hainanensis, Alpinia officinarum, Alpinia oxyphylla, Amomum compactum, Amomum kravanh, Amomum villosum, Amomum villosum var. xanthioides, Amomum longiligulare, Amomum tsao-ko, Costus speciosus, Curcuma aromatica, Curcuma kwangsiensis, Kaempferia galanga, Zingiber officinale of Zingiberaceae; Anemarrhena asphodeloides, Asparagus cochinchinensis, Disporum cantoniense, Fritillaria cirrhosa, Fritillaria delavayi, Fritillaria unibracteata, Lilium brownii, Lilium brownii, Liriope muscari, Ophiopogon japonicus, Polygonatum kingianum, Polygonatum sibiricum, Polygonatum odoratum of Liliaceae; Paris polyphylla of Trilliaceae; Smilax glabra and Smilax riparia of Smilacaceae；Acorus calamus, Acorus tatarinowii, Aglaonema modestum, Alocasia macrorrhiza, Arisaema amurense, Homalomena occulta, Lasia spinosa, Pinellia pedatisecta, Pinellia ternata, Pistia stratiotes, Typhonium giganteum of Araceae; Sparganium stoloniferum of Sparganiaceae; Typha angustifolia of Typhaceae; Allium chinense , Allium sativum, Allium tuberosum of Amaryllidaceae; Crocus sativus, Belamcanda chinensis of Iridaceae; Dioscorea opposita of Dioscoreaceae; Areca catechu of Palmae; Bletilla striata, Dendrobium aduncum, Dendrobium loddigesii, Dendrobium nobile, Dendrobium officinale, Gastrodia elata of Orchidaceae; Juncus effusus of Juncaceae; Cyperus rotundus of Cyperaceae; Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen of Gramineae.

In each specie, it introduces the scientific names, medicinal names, morphologies, habitats, distributions, acquisition and processing methods of these medicinal plants, the content of medicinal properties, therapeutic effects, usage and dosage of these medicinal plants, and attaches unedited color pictures and pictures of part herbal medicines of each species.

This book series has 10 volumes in total, which covers over 2000 kinds of Chinese medicines that are commonly used. These volumes not only introduce the efficacy function and some prescriptions of the medicines, but also introduce the biological characteristics of them in detail with clear photos of the habitats, so that readers can identify them in the field. Apart from the growing environment, the books expound the distribution areas and other information to facilitate researches and other applications. The volumes are targeted at readers of general interests and it is also of high referential value for scientific researcher and teachers.  It can be used as a guide to researchers, clinical doctors, and students in the department of pharmaceutics and traditional Chinese medicine.