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Fleeceflower is the dried tuber root of the Polygonum multiflorum Thunb., a plant from the Polygonaceae family. This product is mainly produced in Song County and Luhua of Henan Province, and Deqing of Guangdong Province. Additionally, it is also produced in Hubei, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Jiangsu, and other provinces and regions, with Henan and Guangdong being the most authentic producing areas.

Materia medica research suggests that Fleeceflower was first recorded in the Tang Dynasty, and its original plant has always been the mainstream Polygonum multiflorum from the Polygonaceae family. As for the so-called male and female or red and white Fleeceflower in legends, they are all this species or its variant Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. var. angulatum S.Y. Liu, not the bunge auriculate root or the female Fleeceflower from the Cynanchum genus of the Asclepiadaceae family as commonly mentioned in literature. From the perspective of the evolution of its production areas, its original production areas were in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Jiangxi. The "Fleeceflower Biography" considers the product from Nanhe County, Shunzhou (now around Luchuan County, Guangxi) to be the best. In the Song Dynasty, the product from Henan was considered superior. Combining medicinal habits, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Henan can be regarded as the two authentic production areas of this product in the south and north.

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The medicinal history of Fleeceflower can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. Li Ao wrote the "Fleeceflower Biography" describing its discovery and the origin of its name. The biography mentions: "This medicine is as big as a fist, with beads connected, and there are shapes of birds, beasts, mountains, and rivers inside, which is precious." This refers to the brocade-like patterns formed by the arrangement of multiple round-shaped abnormal vascular bundles in the cutaneous region of the Fleeceflower medicinal material's cross-section, which is also an important feature for the shape identification of modern Fleeceflower medicinal materials. From this, it can be seen that the Fleeceflower used initially was the Polygonum multiflorum from the Polygonaceae family.

Since the discovery of Fleeceflower, it has been associated with strong mythical colors. For example, the "Fleeceflower Biography" praises: "Its miraculous effects assist the Tao, recorded in immortal books. Male and female intertwine, close at night and open during the day. Taking it removes grains, as days and months pass. It returns youth to the old, changes and calms the sick body. Those with fate encounter it, pass it on without leaking, and become most at ease." It also says: "The immortal grass, fifty years old, is as big as a fist, called Shan Nu, taking it for a year, the beard and hair turn black. One hundred years old, as big as a bowl, called Shan Ge, taking it for a year, the complexion becomes red and joyful. One hundred and fifty years old, as big as a basin, called Shan Bo, taking it for a year, teeth fall and regrow. Two hundred years old, as big as a bucket, called Shan Weng, taking it for a year, the face becomes like a child's, and one can run as fast as a horse. Three hundred years old, as big as three buckets, called Shan Jing, taking it for a year extends life, a pure yang body, long-term use turns one into an earth immortal." It is these legends that laid the groundwork for the so-called "male and female Fleeceflower" and "human-shaped Fleeceflower."

Li Ao has already mentioned that Fleeceflower has two types, male and female: "Its seedlings are like wood sprouts, glossy, shaped like peach and willow leaves, with a biased back, growing singly and not opposite each other. There are male and female types; the female seedlings are yellow-white, while the male ones are yellow-red. They grow far apart, and at night the seedlings and vines intertwine, sometimes disappearing without a trace." Later, "Rihuazi" also stated, "The male seedlings and leaves are yellow-white, the female ones are red-yellow. When preparing medicine, it is necessary to combine male and female types for efficacy." The "Tujing" says: "It sprouts in spring, with leaves opposite each other, resembling yam leaves but not glossy. Its stems spread among bamboo, wood, and walls. In summer and autumn, it blooms with yellow-white flowers, similar to Gehua, bearing angular seeds, resembling buckwheat but finer, as small as foxtail millet. In autumn and winter, the roots are harvested, large ones like fists, each with five angular lobes, resembling small sweet melons. There are two types: red is male, white is female." Starting from the "Fleeceflower Biography," through "Rihuazi," "Kaibao," "Tujing," up to "Jiuhuang" and "Gangmu," it has been consistently stated that Fleeceflower has two types, male and female, differing only in the color of the seedlings and leaves. However, "Rihuazi" says, "The male seedlings and leaves are yellow-white, the female ones are red-yellow," which "Jiuhuang" follows, while "Tujing" quotes Li Ao in contradiction: "The female seedlings are yellow-white, the male ones are yellow-red." To conclude that female Fleeceflower is a different plant based on this is insufficient evidence. Synthesizing the descriptions from various sources and the medicinal illustration in "Jiuhuang Bencao" (Figure 1), it can be concluded that the Fleeceflower referred to in the literature, regardless of gender, mainly refers to Polygonum multiflorum. As for the Xijing Fleeceflower illustration attached in "Zhenglei," it is clearly not this plant, nor does it resemble the Cynanchum species of the Asclepiadaceae family, later considered as bunge auriculate root or female Fleeceflower. It might have been arbitrarily drawn based on the "Fleeceflower Biography" statement: "Suddenly seeing two vines, about three feet apart, their seedlings and vines intertwined for a long time before separating, then intertwining again."

Fleeceflower not only has the distinction between male and female, but also officially had the distinction between red and white in the Ming Dynasty. The "Gangmu" volume 18 Fleeceflower preparation section states: "Recent treatment methods use one catty each of red and white Fleeceflower." Prescriptions such as the Seven-Jewel Beard-Blackening Pill also use both red and white Fleeceflower. However, whether the male and female or red and white Fleeceflower are the same plant is quite controversial in modern literature. For example, "Chinese Materia Medica" believes that the plant described in the "Tujing" as "leaves opposite, like yam but not glossy, with yellow-white flowers in summer and autumn" is Cynanchum auriculatum Royle ex Wight, Cynanchum bungei Decne, or Cynanchum wilfordii (Maxim.) Hemsl. of the Asclepiadaceae family. This is questionable because plants of the Cynanchum genus produce follicles, which can be over 10 cm in size, a very distinctive feature. If the female Fleeceflower (or bunge auriculate root) refers to this type, ancient people generally would not have overlooked it. The distinctions between male and female Fleeceflower and the later red and white classifications were likely due to its discovered benefits for essence and fertility, combined with the Taoist inclinations of its discoverer, He Nengsi (Fleeceflower's grandfather), who "often admired Taoist arts." Thus, the concept of "harmonizing yin-yang" from Taoist immortals was fabricated. To this day, there are still so-called human-shaped Fleeceflowers sold in the folk, one male and one female, vividly reflecting this idea. As for plants like Cynanchum auriculatum being called bunge auriculate root, it might be because their seedlings and leaves resemble those of the Polygonaceae Fleeceflower, originally a confused product. After long-term use, it was found to have certain tonic effects, hence also called "Shouwu," with the addition of "white" to distinguish it. Additionally, Mr. Zhou Yanhua's research suggests that white Fleeceflower might be a variant of Fleeceflower. (See Zhou Yanhua: "Research on 'White' Fleeceflower," Chinese Medicinals Journal, 1999; 24(4): 244.)

bubble_chart Historical Origins

According to the "Fleeceflower Biography," the original discoverer of this product, He Nengsi, was from "Nanhe County, Shunzhou." According to the "Songshi·Geography·Six," "In the fifth year of Kaibao, Shunzhou was abolished, and the four counties of Longhao, Wenshui, Longhua, and Nanhe were merged into it." Thus, this Shunzhou Nanhe is in the area of present-day Luchuan County, Guangxi. The biography also states, "Originally from Qianzhou (now Ganzhou City, Jiangxi), it is found in various regions south of the Yangtze River." It further states, "The experience recorded by Li Yuan, the magistrate of Mingzhou, states that Fleeceflower comes from Nanhe County, Shunzhou, and is also found in Shaozhou, Chaozhou, Enzhou, Hezhou, and Sihui County, Guangzhou, and Panzhou, with the above origins being superior. It is also found in Jinxing County, Yongzhou, Guizhou, Kangzhou, Chunzhou, Lezhou, Gaozhou, and Xunzhou, with the above origins being secondary." Most of these production areas are in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Jiangxi, which should be the main production areas of Fleeceflower in the Tang Dynasty.

The "Bencao Tujing" states: "Fleeceflower, originally from Nanhe County, Shunzhou, is also found in regions south of the Five Ridges and various prefectures south of the Yangtze River. Now it is found everywhere, with the best from Xiluo, Songshan, and Zhecheng County, Nanjing." According to the seventh year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1014), Ying Tianfu (LU3) was elevated to Nanjing, now Shangqiu City, Henan Province. Additionally, according to the "Zhenglei" volume 20, the "Tujing" states: "Zhecheng County, Nanjing, has Fleeceflower honey, which is even redder." This proves that the authentic production area of Fleeceflower in the Song Dynasty had shifted from the south to Henan. This remained the case in the Ming Dynasty. The "Jiuhuang" states: "Now it is also found in the valleys of Mi County, Junzhou," and the "Pinhui Jingyao" also considers Zhecheng County, Huaiqing Prefecture, as the authentic production area.

The Qing Dynasty's "Compendium of Medicinal Production" mentions that Fleeceflower "is authentic when produced in Deqing, Guangdong." Additionally, according to "Chinese Medicinals Production and Sales," "During the Ming Dynasty, Fleeceflower was already cultivated in Deqing, Guangdong. However, due to its widespread wild distribution and abundant resources, there was little development in cultivation for a long time, and medicinal products mainly relied on wild harvesting." In fact, after the late Qing and Republic of China periods, Fleeceflower was distributed both in the north and south, with many regions producing it, and its regional specificity gradually became less prominent. According to the collected internal tickets of Chinese medicinals from Beijing pharmacies during the Republic of China, such as the Tuber Fleeceflower Stem from Huai Detang in Beiping and the processed Polygonum multiflorum tickets, none specified the place of origin. The "Regulations of the Medicinal Trade Association" of Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, in the 29th year of the Republic of China (1940), under the entries for Fleeceflower and Tuber Fleeceflower Stem, stated: "It is a wild vine grass, found everywhere."

In summary, Fleeceflower has a wide distribution range and is extensively documented in local chronicles. However, from the perspective of medicinal history, the regions of Guangdong, Guangxi, and Henan have the longest history and should be considered as the authentic production areas for this herb in the south and north, respectively.