Zhenyuan Polygonum multiflorum

Zhenyuan Polygonum multiflorum

　　Polygonum multiflorum is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Polygonum in the family Polygonaceae. Its stems can grow over 3 meters long, often twining around other plants. The stems are reddish-purple, woody at the base or lower part, hollow, and become redder as they age. It grows in various counties and cities of Shiyan.

According to *Compendium of Materia Medica*, Polygonum multiflorum is also called Ye Miao (wild seedling), Jiao Teng (entangled vine), Ye He (night-blooming vine), Di Jing (earth essence), and He Shou Wu (black-haired Mr. He). It originally came from Shunzhou (now Jinping County), and can be found throughout the regions south of the Yangtze River.

Its seedlings resemble dried wood, with glossy leaves shaped like those of peach or willow trees, and it has male and female varieties: the male seedlings are yellow, while the female ones are yellowish-red. The roots rarely exceed three feet in length, and their vines intertwine at night. The root tastes sweet and warm, is non-toxic, and when combined with Poria cocos, treats hemorrhoids, lumbar and knee ailments, cold-induced chest pain, chronic fatigue, emaciation, phlegm accumulation, strengthens tendons, nourishes essence, builds vitality, preserves youthfulness, darkens hair, and prolongs life. Polygonum multiflorum mostly grows in lowland tropical areas, and its effects are remarkably extraordinary. Most famously, there is the legend of the Eight Immortals’ Zhang Guolao mistakenly consuming it and ascending to immortality. In Lu Xun’s *From the Herb Garden to the Study*, it mentions that eating roots resembling human figures could lead to immortality — though of course, that is superstition.