acanthopanax, eleutherococcus, wu jia pi, ci wu jia

[Guest guest]

I do not claim to have the answers to this one, but a few more things...

A 1996 taxonomic symposium at the University of MD, Biological Nomenclature

in the 21st Century, was held to discuss several long-standing taxonomic

uncertainties. It was there determined that the genera Acanthopanax and

Elecutherococcus are the same, Acanthopanax considered an outdated name &

Eleuthero being the currently preferred genus name. This is not to say that

Ci Wu Jia and Wu Jia Pi are the same species, but, according to this meeting

of taxonomists, they are members of the same genus.

As with other peels & barks (e.g. Sheng Jiang Pi, Fu Ling Pi...) which often

tend to have more superficial & damp-resolving effects than deeper tissues

of the plant, it is natural to expect that Wu Jia Pi, the cortex of the

root, should have similar (but milder) tonic action to Ci Ju Wia, but with a

more pronounced effect on the surface and the ability to resolve dampness.

One clue that these two aren't the same plant is the fact that Wu Jia Pi is

mentioned in the Shen Nung Ben Cao Jing, while Ci Wu Jia is not. Maybe

there was little traffic to Siberia back then. One would think that if the

root bark was investigated as an herb that the whole root would also have

been considered & catalogued if it had the powerful tonic action we

recognize in Ci Wu Jia. (Thanks to my esteemed colleague Peter Eschwey for

mentioning this). Incidentally, I wonder what the bark of Ci Wu Jia does &

how similar it is to Wu Jia Pi. The pieces of Wu Jia Pi I have are quite

large - they look as if they came from 6-12 " long roots a couple inches in

diameter. Does anyone have any whole Ci Wu Jia & does it look like it could

yield bark this big?

By the way, Shen Nung says Yuan Zhi is the envoy of Wu Jia Pi. Wu Jia Pi

" fears " She Pi (Exuviae Serpentis) and Yuan Shen (Xuan Shen).