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Common yam rhizome is used today as the dry rhizome of the common yam rhizome family plant common yam rhizome Dioscorea opposita Thunb. This product is widely cultivated across the country, among which it is produced in Wenxian, Wuzhi, Qinyang, Mengxian and Boai in Xinxiang area of ​​Henan. It is the best and is one of the "four major medicinal herbs". In addition, it is also produced in Hebei, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan and other places.

materia medica research believes that the common yam rhizome or common yam rhizome used in the past dynasties are all plants of the common yam rhizome family Dioscorea. The history of use of the genuine Dioscorea opposita can be traced back to the Song Dynasty. In the early Ming Dynasty, Huaiqing, Henan Province has become a common yam rhizome. In authentic areas, cultivated products are mainly used as medicine.

[Variety review and ordering]

Common yam rhizome was originally named "Shu", first written as "Yu", or as "common yam rhizome". It was first published in Bencao Jing, and was listed as top grade. Because the clan name of the Tang Dynasty was Yu, it was renamed "Yam Yao" to avoid taboos, and because Emperor Yingzong of the Song Dynasty tabooed Shu. , changed to common yam rhizome. According to Gao Sisun's "Shan Lu" of the Song Dynasty, Zhang Shizheng's "Jianyou Zalu" said: "common yam rhizome, the ancestral name of the Tang Dynasty was Yu, was changed to medicine. The taboo of the Ying Temple was powder on quarter of a coin, but it was called coriander. Wen Gong Sending common yam rhizome Miao poems: A guest came from the capital of Wei and left me some sweet potato seeds. Then they were called mountain potatoes. Wang Jinggong, Wang Qigong and Cai Privy Common yam rhizome poems, then they were called common yam rhizome. Huang Luzhi and his seventh brother Shanwei Decoction poem, Then it is called Shanwei." Or according to Wang Youjun's "common yam rhizome post" in "Xuanhe Shupu", Wei Yingwu's sentence "The rain in Qiuzhai has stopped, common yam rhizome Han Shihua", and Han Yu's poem "The monks still come to visit, common "Yam rhizome can be dug when boiled", so the name common yam rhizome was changed to common yam rhizome, which is not due to taboo. That's not right. According to common yam rhizome, there are many aliases. "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" "Beishan Jing" says: "Jingshan, there are many grasses and yam." Guo Pu notes: "Today the south of the Yangtze River is called potato." "Guangya" says: "Yu Yan, yam, are also pre-prepared." Seen in materia medica, There are also names such as Zhushu, Yam, Tuyao, Xiucui, Ercao and so on. The sound of "common yam rhizome" is interchanged with "山芋". Although this name existed before the Tang Dynasty, it was rarely used after all. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, the name common yam rhizome was extremely complicated and taboo, so the name was quite inconvenient, so During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, "common yam rhizome" was gradually unified as the correct name of this product. This is just as Kou Zong-shi lamented: "common yam rhizome, according to materia medica, goes up to powder on quarter of a coin, which violates the British temple taboo, goes down to powder On quarter of a coin is called Powder, the name of the clan in the Tang Dynasty was Yu (Yu), so it was changed to "powder on quarter of a coin" as a medicine, and today people call it "common yam rhizome". In this way, it is completely inappropriate to the Japanese name. common yam rhizome is something else, so it is written.”

"Wu Pu" says: "Shu Yu, one of the various departments, Qin and Chu were named Yuyan, Qi Yue was named goat (sheep is suspected to be a corruption of taro), Zheng and Zhao were named goat." Bielu wrote " The name of Qin and Chu is Yuyan, and the name of Zhengyue is Tushu." This reporter's place name is from pre-Qin times, which proves that common yam rhizome has a history of use or medicinal use of more than two thousand years and is widely distributed. "Wu Pu" also describes the shape as follows: "The first red stems are thin vines, white in May, green and yellow in July, ripe and fall in August. The roots are white, and the skin is yellow, like taro." Although the description is simple, it is defined as common yam rhizome family Dioscorea plants should be no problem.

The ancient common yam rhizome is not one kind. "Xinxiu" says: "There are two kinds, one is white and good, the other is green and black, and the taste is not good." "Zheng Lei" painted four pictures of common yam rhizome medicine. Obviously they are all plants of the genus Dioscorea, but they are by no means the same species. Bencao Tujing also mentioned that there are several species of common yam rhizome, but Su Song's description of the genuine product is close to the Dioscorea opposita used today, or the Japanese common yam rhizome Dioscorea japonica Thunb., Su Yun: "Spring seedlings, spread along the fence, purple stems and green leaves, with three pointed corners, similar to lobedeleaf pharbitis seeds, thicker and glossier, fine white flowers blooming in summer, similar to jujube flowers, and solid leaves in autumn. "Between the leaves, the shape is like a bell." The so-called "bearing fruit between the leaves and the shape is like a bell" is the bulbil of the common yam rhizome. Interestingly, Su Song specifically said that common yam rhizome is better in the wild than domestic species: "There is a kind in the south, which grows in the mountains. The root is as thin as a finger and is very compact. When it is scraped and ground into soup and boiled, it will not fall apart into pieces and the taste will be better." It is precious and beautiful, and eating it in the clouds is more beneficial to people than growing it at home." Based on this, it may be concluded that the cultivation of common yam rhizome as a medicine was not yet common in the Song Dynasty.

Ming DynastyJiuhuang Bencao common yam rhizome and wild common yam rhizome each have one line, common yam rhizome line says: "Spring sprouts, spreading fences, purple stems, The leaves are green and have three pointed angles, and are glossy like the leaves of a thousand-leaf dog seedling. They have white flowers and are as big as Chinese honeylocust fruit. The root bark is dark yellow and the middle is white. People who grow it in the garden are as fat as arms and have a delicious taste. Those grown in Mongolia are best used as medicine." According to the picture and text, it is undoubtedly a cultivated product of common yam rhizome Dioscorea opposita. (Picture 1) Common yam rhizome in the wild reads: "In the wilds of Taihang Mountain in Shenghui County. It grows from a vine. Its vines are slightly thinner like grape sticks, and the vines are quite purple. Their leaves are like those of common yam rhizome. The leaves are large and slightly pointed. The root of common yam rhizome is very thin, very hard, and the skin is slightly red. The taste is slightly sweet, warm, flat, and non-toxic." It also says: "Today, people use it together with the common yam rhizome of materia medica." In In the "Illustrated Book of Higher Plants of China" and "Compendium of Xinhua Materia Medica" and other documents, common yam rhizome is classified as Japanese common yam rhizome Dioscorea japonica. However, judging from the plant distribution and the morphological characteristics of common yam rhizome described in this book, " The wild common yam rhizome of "Saving Wilderness" is probably just a wild species of common yam rhizome. (figure 2)

Gangmu's description of common yam rhizome is more specific: "It blooms into ears in May and June, light red, and has pods in clusters. The pods are triangular, hard and without kernels, and the seeds are borne on one side. Like Thunder Ball, different sizes." Although Li Shi-zhen still respected Su Song's opinion and said: "Common yam rhizome is used as medicine, the wild one is the winner, and if it is used as a food, the home-grown one is good." But in fact, common yam rhizome began in the Shangming Dynasty. yam rhizome is superior to those produced in Henan. Bencao Mengquan said: "Both the northern and southern prefectures and counties produce it, but the one produced in Huaiqing is the best." Bencao Yuanshi said: "Today, people use more "Huaiqing." Zhiwu Mingshi Tukao Yiyun: "Those born in Huaiqing Mountain are white, fine and solid, and are used for medicine." Obviously, regarding the wild situation of common yam rhizome in Ming Dynasty, those living in Henan Zhu Xiao's record is much more reliable than Li Shi-zhen's, which proves that common yam rhizome was cultivated at home and became the mainstream medicinal use in the Ming Dynasty.

It should be noted that common yam rhizome is often confused with Dioscorea esculenta (Lour.) Burk. or Dioscorea alata L. in ancient literature. Until today, ginseng is still the main source of pseudo-varieties of common yam rhizome. one. There is a sweet potato cloud in the volume of "Southern Vegetation and Trees": "It is covered with common yam rhizome and the like, or taro. The roots and leaves are also like taro, and they are as big as a fist. The skin is purple and the flesh is white. Steam it and eat it. It tastes like common yam rhizome and is not very cold in nature. People in the sea in the old Zhuya land do not cultivate crops, but dig the ground to grow sweet potatoes. Harvest them when they are ripe in autumn, steam and dry them and cut them into grains of rice, and store them in warehouses for food. , is called potato grain." Its original plant is considered to be sweet potato. "Zhenglei" quotes "Yiyuan" as saying: "I presuppose that if you want to dig up what the savages call potato, you will get it, and you will not be able to get it if you call it a name. If people plant it, they will be like what they plant. ." The so-called "it resembles what it is planted" is what Zhiwu Mingshi Tukao said: "There is a kind of flat potato in Jiangxi and Hunan, commonly known as foot potato, which has a bland taste." Also quoted from " "The Records of the Phenomenon of Things" says: "The potato is planted by hand, and the hoe and spade are planted according to the shape of the object." The original plant is ginseng potato.

In the Song Dynasty, ginseng and potato were completely regarded as common yam rhizome. "Illustrations" says: "There is a kind of ginseng in Jianghu and Fujian, with roots like ginger taro, which is particularly beneficial to people. A large one can weigh more than a kilogram, and it can be scraped Peeled, fried and cooked, it is delicious, but the frigidity is in the ears of those in the north, where the natives call it potato alone, also called mountain potato." "Illustrations" also mentioned that "the ones from Siming (now Ningbo, Zhejiang) are better." , and according to Volume 41 of "Chunxi Three Mountains Chronicles": "Common yam rhizome, with roots like ginger taro, the natives call them all singly, and they are good ones born in the stone crevices in the mountains." Volume 58 of "Xian Chun Lin'an Chronicles" says: "The common yam rhizome shaped like a palm is called finger citron." It seems that they are all Dioscorea alata and not the genuine common yam rhizome.

【Authentic History】

Bencao Jing said: "Common yam rhizome is born in Songgao Valley." "Fan Zi Ji Ran" says: "There are three auxiliaries in various tribes, and the white ones are good." "Wu Pu" says: "Maybe they are born. Linqu and Zhongshan." "Collected Notes" says: "Nowadays, there are shortcuts everywhere. In Dongshan and Nanjiang, there are many digs for food to supplement food. Nankang is the largest and most beautiful, and it is also used for taking medicine." "Xinxiu" believes that Shu The Taoist is particularly good. Bencao Tujing said: "Those from Beidu and Siming are better." As discussed in the variety section, the common yam rhizome produced above may not all be this species. Dioscorea opposita may become a genuine medicinal product. It is related to the widespread planting in Huaiqing, Henan Province during the Ming Dynasty or earlier. To this day, common yam rhizome is still produced in Wenxian, Wushe, Qinyang, Mengxian and Boai in Henan.