Identification & Quality Standard
Cirsii Japonici Herba
Botanical Origin
The dried aerial portion and root of Cirsium japonicum Fisch. ex DC. (Asteraceae).
Production Regions
Primarily produced in the Chinese provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Sichuan.
Quality Requirements
Superior medicinal material has grayish-green aerial portion, numerous leaves, thick and dry root.
Macroscopic Features
Da ji cao: aerial portion is cylindrical, base is up to 1.2cm in diameter. Brown or greenish-brown, with straight ridges (numerous longitudinal ridges); slightly hard and brittle texture. Fractured surface is grayish-white; pith is loose or with a hollow center. Leaf is wrinkled and mashed, greenish-brown, intact leaves have an oblanceolate or obovate shape, pinniform with deep fissures, edges have obvious uneven long prickles. Stem and leaves all covered with grayish-white spiderweb-like hair; brittle texture; flower head grows from the apex, involucres are yellowish-brown, bracts are lanceolate with slightly purple-black tip; corolla always falls off, appears as a grayish-white pinniform tuft; faint odor; tasteless. Da ji gen: long fusiform and fascicled and twisted, 5~15cm long, 0.2~0.6cm diameter. Externally dark brown with irregular longitudinal wrinkles. Hard and brittle texture, easily broken, fractured surface is rough, grayish-white. faint odor, sweet and slightly bitter taste.
