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Today, Pineilia is used as the dried rhizome of the Arisaema family plant Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Breit. The Pineilia plant is widely distributed, mainly produced in Suining, Anyue, Zhaojue in Sichuan; Wanzhou in Chongqing; Jingzhou, Wuchang, Laohekou, Xiangyang, Yangxin, Tianmen in Hubei; Runan, Lingbao, Lushi in Henan; Jinxiang, Juye in Shandong; Huaining, Ningguo, Xuancheng in Anhui, and other places.

Materia medica research suggests that Pineilia is named after its growing season, with early varieties being unclear. The use of Pinellia ternata likely began around the Wei and Jin dynasties. Although it was occasionally confused with other plants of the same family during use, this variety has always been the mainstream in medicinal applications. Pineilia is distributed everywhere, and since the Song dynasty, the most authentic product was from Qizhou, Shandong (now Licheng). Starting from the Republic of China, with the increase in production in Hubei, Sichuan, Henan, etc., the production advantage of Shandong gradually declined.

bubble_chart Variety Examination

The name Pineilia first appeared in "The Book of Rites·Monthly Orders": "In the middle of the summer month, Deer Horn sheds, cicadas begin to sing, Pineilia grows, and hibiscus flourishes." "Lüshi Chunqiu" and "Huainanzi" also mention it. In "Jijiu Pian," the sentence "Pineilia Chinese Honeylocust Fruit Ai Tuowu" is annotated by Yan Shigu: "Pineilia, its seedlings begin to grow in May, in the middle of summer, hence the name." Clearly, this Pineilia was named because it grows in the fifth month of the lunar calendar, which does not match the biological characteristics of the Arisaema family plant Pineilia used in later generations. Sun Xingyan and Mori Ritsushi both subtly expressed their doubts about this in their works. Sun's annotation in the Bencao Jing Pineilia section quotes "Monthly Orders" as "Pineilia grows in February," and almost all of Sun's editions and Huang Shi's editions are the same. Clearly, changing "May" to "February" should not be seen as a textual error but as an intentional alteration. Pineilia Bencao Jing is also known as Shuiyu, and Sun Xingyan further states: "Liexian Zhuan says that Chi Songzi took Shuiyu to teach Shennong, which is another name for Pineilia." According to Liexian Zhuan, if the "Shuiyu" taken by Chi Songzi was Pineilia, it indeed does not match the status of this medicine in the lower category of Bencao Jing. Mori Ritsushi, on the other hand, explains the "May-grown Pineilia" from another perspective. The annotation in the Bencao Jing examination note states: "There are two types of leaves, narrow and broad, and two types of flowers, purple and white. In May, fruits grow at the base of the stems, similar to Lily Bulb fruits and bulbils. These fruits are actually young roots that fall to the ground and sprout. This is what 'Monthly Orders' refers to as Pineilia growing in May." Mori Ritsushi explains the May-grown Pineilia as the bulbils at the base of the leaf stalks. In fact, no matter how it is explained, until the Han dynasty, medicinal Pineilia was probably not the variety used today.

The Pineilia mentioned in Wei and Jin literature should be close to the current species. Mingyi Bielu mentions: "Raw, it causes vomiting; cooked, it causes diarrhea. Use it by washing it in hot water to make it smooth and clean." Tao Hongjing also said: "When using it, first wash it in hot water more than ten times to make it completely smooth, otherwise it will irritate the throat." Modern research suggests that raw Pineilia contains 2,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde glucoside, which has a mucous membrane irritant effect and can induce vomiting. When heated, this component is destroyed, and other heat-resistant components have an antiemetic effect. As for the "smoothness" mentioned in the two books, it should describe the mucilage in the rhizome cells of Pineilia. Additionally, "Wu Pu Materia Medica" describes the plant characteristics of Pineilia: "Also known as Hegu, it grows on small hills or in the wild. The leaves grow in threes, starting in February, with white round flowers on top." This basically matches the characteristics of the currently used Pinellia ternata.

Starting from around the Tang Dynasty, several drugs derived from the Arisaema family: Tiger Palm, Youba, and the relationship between Arisaema and Pineilia became ambiguous, which laid the groundwork for the confusion of Pineilia varieties in later generations. The Xinxiu Bencao entry on Pineilia states: "Pineilia can be found everywhere, and the one that grows in flat wetlands is called Sheep's Eye Pineilia, with round and white being the best. However, those in Jiangnan are large, up to an inch in diameter, and are highly valued by southerners. Recently, they have been used interchangeably, but their effects are quite different. When asked, southerners say the seedlings are Youba. Tao's annotation says Tiger Palm is very similar to Pineilia, and the annotation on Youba mentions Iris. In this annotation, it seems to refer to Youba. These three matters are confused, and Tao ultimately did not recognize them." Su Jing's statement reveals the confusion between Pineilia, Youba, and Tiger Palm during the Tang Dynasty, but attributing the cause of the confusion to Tao Hong-jing does not seem reasonable. It is better to clarify them in order:

1. Tiger's Palm is also recorded in the Bencao Jing. Tao Hong-jing said: "It is also found near the roads, resembling Pineilia in shape, but larger, with seeds on all sides, like a tiger's palm. Nowadays, it is often broken into three or four pieces for use." Su Jing criticized: "This medicine is derived from the old roots of Yuba. Its stem has one leaf at the top, with branches extending from the stem. The larger roots are as big as a fist, while the smaller ones are like chicken eggs, resembling flat persimmons, with round teeth around them, looking like a tiger's palm, hence the name. The Yuba is a new root, still two to three times larger than Pineilia, but without the seed teeth around it. Tao said that Tiger's Palm resembles Pineilia, which is Yuba; using Yuba as Pineilia; explaining that the Yuba seedling is entirely the Iris. Southerners still use Yuba as Pineilia today." According to Tao Hong-jing, Tiger's Palm should be the Arisaema family's Pinellia pedatisecta Schott, while Su Jing mentioned that the tuber of Tiger's Palm is "as big as a fist, the smaller ones like chicken eggs," far exceeding the standard of Pinellia genus tubers, perhaps belonging to the same family as Amorphophallus rivieri Durieu. In the Song Dynasty, the first-grade rectification, Shu Bencao Bencao Tujing's description of the Tiger's Palm plant, and the Zhenglei Bencao's drawing of the Jizhou Tiger's Palm medicine map, all directly point to Pinellia pedatisecta, especially Su Song's description being the most accurate: "The initial root is as big as a bean, gradually growing larger and flatter like Pineilia, with perennial roots round and up to an inch, the larger ones like chicken eggs, surrounded by two or three round teeth, or five or six. In March and April, the seedling grows over a foot tall, with a single stem, leaves like claws at the top, divided into five or six sharp and round parts. A clump produces seven or eight stems, sometimes one stem forms a spike, straight up like a mouse's tail, with a leaf like a spoon in the middle, wrapping the stem to form a chamber, opening a mouth on the side, pointed at both ends, with flowers inside, slightly greenish-brown, bearing fruit as big as hemp seeds, turning white when ripe, falling to the ground on its own. One seed produces one clump. In September, the withered seedlings are taken, the roots are soaked in water in a container for five to seven days, the water is changed when cold, changing three or four times, washing away the slime, dried in the sun for use, or roasted again. Nowadays, people in Jizhou plant it in vegetable gardens, also calling it Arisaema." It seems that since the Song Dynasty, there has been a trend to use Pinellia pedatisecta as Arisaema, which is why Bencao Gangmu mistakenly combined this product with Arisaema into one entry, leading to later generations calling this plant "Tiger's Palm Nanxing," as a confused product of Arisaema medicine.
2. Yuba is seen in Bielu, Tao Hong-jing said: "Originally from Shixing, now also planted in the capital. It looks like a black fan spread on the ground, with purple flowers, roots resembling Aconite Lateral Root." The simple description does not reveal what it is, Su Jing believed that what Tao mentioned was the Iris root, "Xin Xiu" said: "Yuba root, according to Tao's note, is the Iris root, that is, the Iris head. Yuba, now southerners use it as Pineilia, completely deviating, not only not recognizing Pineilia, but also not knowing Yuba and Iris." It is impossible to evaluate the correctness of Su Jing's judgment, but according to the meaning of "Xin Xiu," Tiger's Palm and Yuba are actually the same thing, that is, the previously quoted Tiger's Palm "is the old root of Yuba," and "Yuba is the new root." Since Su Jing said that Tiger's Palm is Amorphophallus rivieri, then Yuba should be the one-year-old or at most two-year-old seedling of Amorphophallus rivieri, which is proved by Chen Cang-qi's Bencao Shiyi description of Yuba: "Yuba seedling is one to two feet tall, resembling Amorphophallus konjac, root like a chicken egg, growing under the forest, that is the so-called Yuba." Amorphophallus konjac is correctly written as "Konjac," newly recorded in "Kaibao," Bencao Tujing Arisaema entry says: "Now Yuba seedling is one to two feet tall, stem resembles Konjac but without spots, root like a chicken egg." It is known that Yuba is indeed the seedling of Amorphophallus rivieri, its smaller tubers impersonating Pineilia.
3. Arisaema entered the materia medica relatively late. The Bencao Shiyi mentions: "It grows in the valleys of Andong, with leaves like lotus, a single stem, and the root is the most effective." The Kaibao states: "It grows in flat wetlands and is found everywhere. Its leaves resemble those of the taro, and its roots are like yams. It is harvested in February and August." The Tujing describes: "In February, it sprouts, resembling a lotus petiole, with a stem over a foot tall. The leaves are like konjac, with two branches embracing each other. In May, it blooms with flowers resembling a snake's head, yellow in color. In July, it bears fruit in clusters like pomegranate seeds, red in color. The root is like a yam but round, harvested in February and August, also similar to the konjac root, often mistakenly collected. The stem is spotted, and the flowers are purple, which is konjac. Some say Arisaema, as described in materia medica, is actually Huzhang, with the smaller ones called Youba. Later generations adopted it and gave it a different name. Nowadays, the larger Arisaema have seeds all around, which are all removed when harvested." Although the descriptions of Arisaema by various scholars in the Tang and Song dynasties vary, it can be basically identified as a plant of the Arisaema genus in the Arisaema family. However, later works like Bencao Gangmu and Zhiwu Mingshi Tukao mistakenly identified Huzhang of the Pinellia genus and Ruotou of the Amorphophallus genus as Arisaema, adding to the confusion. The confusion between Arisaema and Pinellia was already evident in the Tang dynasty, as seen in Hou Ning-ji's "Yao Ming Pu," which used "Pinellia essence" to allude to Arisaema.

Despite the confusion between Pinellia and Arisaema since the Tang and Song dynasties, the description in Wu Pu's materia medica of "leaves in threes" as a botanical characteristic of Pinellia has remained consistent. For example, the Shu Bencao's Tujing states: "The plant has one stem, with three leaves at the top and two roots overlapping, smaller at the top and larger at the bottom. If harvested in May, it is small and hollow; if harvested in August, it is large and solid." The Bencao Tujing adds: "In February, it sprouts with one stem, and three leaves emerge at the top, light green in color, somewhat resembling bamboo leaves but smoother. In Jiangnan, the leaves resemble those of peony roots." This is what is described in Tujing, volume 24: "Pinellia has one stem with three leaves, with no discrepancies in various texts." Combined with the illustrations in Zheng Lei, Pin Hui Jing Yao, Gangmu, and Tujing (Figure 1), it is undoubtedly Pinellia ternata.

bubble_chart Historical Evolution of Authentic Pineilia

The "Fan Zi Ji Ran" states that Pineilia "originates from Sanfu, and the white-colored ones are of good quality." The "Bencao Jing" mentions: "It grows in the valleys of Huaili," which is present-day Nanzheng County in Shaanxi. Tao Hongjing noted: "Huaili belongs to Fufeng, but now the best comes from Qingzhou, and it is also found in Wuzhong." Additionally, the "Taiping Yulan" Volume 992 cites the "Guangzhou Ji": "Zhangguang County produces Pineilia," and the "Jiankang Ji": "Jiankang produces Pineilia, which is of the finest quality."

Today, Pineilia is widely distributed. The "Xin Xiu" mentions that "Pineilia can be found everywhere." The "Qianjin Yifang" records that Pineilia is offered as tribute in Henan Prefecture, Runzhou, and Xuanzhou. The Song Dynasty's "Taiping Huanyu Ji" lists Henan Prefecture, Tangzhou, and Rongzhou as tribute-producing regions for Pineilia. Furthermore, Southern Song works such as the "Lin'an Zhi," "Sanshan Zhi," "Chicheng Zhi," "Haiyan Ganshui Zhi," and "Jiankang Zhi" all mention local production of Pineilia. However, the most authentic Pineilia during the Song Dynasty came from Qizhou, present-day Licheng County in Shandong Province. Not only does the "Zheng Lei" specifically depict Qizhou Pineilia, but the "Bencao Tujing" also states: "It is found everywhere today, but the best comes from Qizhou." The preface of the "Bencao Yanyi" pairs Qizhou Pineilia with Shangdang Ginseng, Sichuan Chinese Angelica, and Huazhou Asarum as top-quality herbs. Song and Yuan medical texts such as "Sushen Liangfang," "Yishuo," "Furen Daquan Liangfang," and "Shiyi Dexiao Fang" also use Qizhou Pineilia. Kong Pingzhong's poem "Changfu Sends Pineilia" vividly recounts a humorous incident where an old friend sent Pineilia from Qizhou, which was eagerly shared by his family, nearly causing poisoning. The poem reads: "Qizhou abounds in Pineilia, gathered from the sunny side of Que Mountain. Round and white, it was sent from afar. The new bride unwrapped it, and the children rejoiced wildly. All claimed it was prepared, safe to taste. The eldest son seized it, sitting sternly aside. The second daughter snatched from under his arm, half already gone. The youngest crawled like a crab, the nurse helping her grab. Each chewed their share, forgetting caution. Soon stung by its pungency, they discarded the rest. Rubbing their tongues, the hall filled with cries. The father arrived, laughing in surprise, quickly fed them ginger. By midnight, calm returned, the lamps still bright. The great universe sows all things, without distinguishing good or bad. Tiger's palm grows in deep valleys, kite's head on high ridges. Spring grass kills fish, wild kudzu twists human guts. Each thrives by its kind, who dares to dictate? Though named 'water jade,' Shennong recorded its use. Outside it gleams pure, inside it yearns for strength. Yet it harbors poison, harming when consumed. Old friend, fond of taking medicine, such things you should guard against. In urgent need, we act, moved to write this verse."

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Pineilia from Qizhou in Shandong was considered the best, as noted in the "Pin Hui Jingyao" and "Bencao Gangmu." Later, the "Yaowu Chuchan Bian" claimed that "Pineilia from Jingzhou in Hubei is the finest." Zheng Xiaoan's "Weiyao Tiaobian" simply states that Pineilia "is found everywhere in Qingzhou, Qizhou, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang," while Cao Bingzhang's revised edition asserts that the best comes from Fuyang in Hangzhou, with Quzhou and Yanzhou also producing good quality, while Sichuan and Jingzhou produce inferior varieties. In the early Republic of China, the internal label of Qing Pineilia from Beijing's Xihenian Hall specified "herbal root, produced in Jining," still favoring Shandong. According to the 1940 "Yaocai Xinggui" by the Xi'an Traditional Medicine Trade Association, "Pineilia pieces" were produced in "Sichuan, Jiangnan, and northern provinces," while the entry for "Fermented Pineilia" states: "The best comes from Baoning in Sichuan." In fact, until the Republican era, apart from Shandong, Pineilia did not truly form a major authentic production region. Perhaps for this reason, "China Genuine Regional Materia Medica" classifies it as a southern medicinal, the "Genuine Regional Materia Medica Illustrated" includes it under Hubei Province in the Central-South volume, and "Chinese Medicinals Commodity Science" categorizes it as a Sichuan medicinal. Quality research is documented in the "Common Chinese Medicinal Varieties and Quality Research (Northern Edition)" Volume 1. Therefore, relevant provinces can combine this herb's cultivation background for artificial planting.