"Tao Hongjing":

"The one on the mulberry tree is called the mulberry tree. The poet said that when it is applied on powder, the Fang family also uses Yang Shangfeng, so each tree will be named after it. In short, the shape is the same, but the roots and causes are different."

On this colorful planet given to us by God, there are all kinds of strange plants, with orderly phenology and a proper way of survival.

Parasitic plants can be initially divided into herbaceous parasitism and woody parasitism. Among the precious Chinese herbal medicines, orchid plants such as crocus, Cordyceps sinensis, and dendrobium are herbaceous parasitics; while loranthema covers a variety of woody parasitics in its broad sense, and can usually be used to refer to a type of hemiparasitic. Perennial woody plant.

They are an extremely smart and hard-working species: in addition to being able to penetrate the tree body with their roots to absorb the essence of the host, they can also spread their leaves in the sky to absorb the essence of the sun and moon, and the rain and dew of day and night. Although they live under the shelter of others, they are not lazy or industrious; that is, they do not only rely on the water, nutrients, and minerals provided by their hosts, but they strive to continuously improve themselves and work hard to produce more carbon by themselves through the photosynthesis of the chlorophyll contained in them. Water compounds produce beautiful flowers and delicious fruits. After the birds come in search of delicious food, after eating these delicacies, the slimy seeds pass through the intestines and fall on the new host tree, where they will stick there, take root, sprout, and reproduce a new generation.

1.1 Alias

The English transliteration of locust is "Mistletoe phoradendron" (Mistletoe phoradendron). Its fruit period just crosses the Christmas season, and its clusters of crystal clear peach flowers are suitable for the festival. White berries, densely packed like pearls among the dark green leaves, look particularly sacred. It’s no wonder that Oklahoma in the United States adopted the “honey peach” as its legal state flower as early as 1893.

In the traditional American culture founded on God, white is more auspicious than red. As the Bible says: "Though your sins are like scarlet, they will turn to white as snow. Even though they are red, they will be as white as snow." The red face will be as white as wool (Isaiah 1:18). "If you place a bunch of "honey peach" fresh fruits on the eyebrow of the door or hang them under the chandeliers, you can kiss anyone who passes under it. There is no suspicion of being unreasonable; because those jade and clear little white fruits symbolize pure love, and all blasphemy can be forgiven. In the splendid 5,000-year history of Chinese medicine, there are many records of medical applications of locust. Therefore, among the three mountains and five ridges of China, it has been given many nicknames, here are some examples:

1.1.1 "Gong Pao Zhi Lun": Sang Jisheng.

1.1.2 "Ben Jing": Parasitism on mulberry trees.

1.1.3 "The Book of Songs": 茑.

1.1.4 "Tongzhi": 茑, radish.

1.1.5 "Outline": Tsutagi.

1.1.6 "Erya": Yumu, Wantong, sending shavings, parasitic tree.

1.1.7 "Southern Yunnan Materia Medica": parasitic grass, ice powder tree, capsule heart treasure.

1.2 Phenological ecology of woody parasitism

According to the classification system of “kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species” in modern botany, various types of woody This parasitic original plant belongs to various families, genera and species under the kingdom Planta, Phylum Vascular, Class Angiosperm, and Order Sandalales:

Chinese family name, Latin family name, Chinese genus name, Latin genus name, Chinese species Latin species name

Loranthaceae Loranthus Jacq. General sequence L.delavayi Van Tiegh

Loranthaceae Loranthus Jacq. .parasiticus (L.) Merr.

Loranthaceae Loranthus Jacq. L.yadoriki Sieb.

Viscaceae Viscum L . V. articulatum Burm. F.

Viscaceae Viscum L. V.coloratum (Kom.) Nakai

Santalaceae Thesium L. T.chinense Turcz.

Balanophoraceae Balanophora B.japonica Makino

1.2.1 Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nakai is a small evergreen shrub, 30-60 cm tall. The stems and branches are cylindrical, emerald green or yellow-green, slightly fleshy, with two or three forked branches, the branches are swollen into knots, and the internodes are 5-10 cm long. The leaves are opposite, born on the end nodes of the branches, without petioles, the leaves are fleshy, yellow-green, elliptical-lanceolate, 3-7 cm long, 7-15 mm wide, the apex is rounded, the base is cuneate, entire, with Luster, with five main veins and three prominent veins in the middle. The flowers are unisexual, dioecious, born in the middle of the two leaves at the end of the branch, beige or almost flesh-colored, without peduncle, about 2 mm long, bell-shaped perianth, four-lobed at the apex, thick, four stamens, and many anthers Chamber, no filaments, one to three female flowers, perianth bell-shaped, connate with the ovary, apex four-lobed, about 1 mm long, ovary inferior, 1-loculed, no style, stigma capitate. The berries are spherical, translucent, 6-7 mm in diameter, yellow or orange-red when ripe, and the peel is sticky. One seed, flattened on the side. Flowering period is April to May. The fruiting period is from September to December. Usually distributed on oak, elm, birch, willow, maple, poplar, pear and other trees in cold temperate zones around the world. There are many mistletoe modified plants, which are also used as medicine:

1.2.1.1 Viscum coloratum (Kom.) Nakai f. lutescens Kitag has orange-yellow fruits.

1.2.1.2 Red-fruited mistletoe V. coloratum (Kom.) Nakai f. rubroaurantiacum Kitag has orange-yellow fruits.

1.2.1.3 Ginkgo mistletoe V. album L. The fruit is white and translucent, and it is also commonly known as mistletoe in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou.

1.2.2 Loranthus parasiticus (L.) Merr., also known as: peach parasitism, pear parasitism, loquat parasitism, camellia parasitism. It is an evergreen small shrub. The old branches are hairless, with raised gray-yellow lenticels, and the tips of the small branches are covered with dark gray short hairs. Single leaves alternate or nearly opposite, leathery, oval or oblong, 3-7 cm long, 2-5 cm wide, apex rounded, base round or broadly wedge-shaped, entire margin, veins sparse and not obvious , petioles 1-1.5 cm long, smooth, or covered with very short star-like hairs when young.

The flowers are bisexual, one to three, forming axillary cymes. The total pedicel is 4-10 mm long and covered with reddish-brown stellate hairs. The pedicel is short, with one bract, ovate, very small, the calyx is nearly spherical, connate with the ovary, covered with reddish-brown star-like hairs on the outside, the flower tube is narrow and tubular, 2-2.5 cm long, with four lobes at the top. The lobes are purple-red, weak, slightly curved, covered with reddish-brown stellate hairs. The flower tube is narrow and tubular, 2-2.5 cm long, with four lobes at the top. The lobes are purple-red, weak, slightly curved, covered with reddish-brown stellate hairs, with one stamen. The style is slender, the stigma is oblate, and the ovary is inferior and spherical. The berries are oval with small wart-like protrusions. Flowering period is from August to October. The fruiting period is from September to November. It often parasitizes on more than 50 species of plants from nearly 30 families, including Moraceae, Theaceae, Fagusaceae, Rutaceae, Rosaceae, and Leguminosae. Distributed in Jiangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan and other places. The leaf-parasitic Lorauthus gracilifolius Schult of the same genus is similar to the above species. The leaves are often opposite, with blunt apex. The flowers have a 1-2 mm long peduncle. Each inflorescence has two to five flowers borne on a single pedicel.

1.2.3 Hairy leaf parasitism Loranthus yadoriki Sieb. Also known as: persimmon parasitism, camphor parasitism.

The shape is similar to that of Loranthus, but the branches and undersides of leaves are densely covered with reddish-brown star-like pubescence, the leaves are oval or ovate, the corolla lobes are reflected outward, and the berries are hairy. Often parasitic on mulberry, kapok, camphor, camellia oleifera, pear, jujube, longan and other trees. Distributed throughout the south of the Yangtze River Basin.

1.3 Collection

1.3.1 Mistletoe: Generally harvested in winter, cut with pruners, remove thick branches, and dry in the shade or sun.

1.3.2 Locust mulberry and mulberry leaf mulberry: branches are usually cut and dried in the summer.

1.4 Medicinal material form

1.4.1 Mistletoe, also known as: northern parasitism, willow parasitism

The dry branches and stems are cylindrical. No leaves or leaves on branches, about 30 cm long and 0.3-1 cm in diameter. The surface is yellow-brown or gray-brown, with obvious longitudinal wrinkles. The stems have nodes, and the internodes are 3-5 cm long. Two or three branches often grow from the nodes. Light and brittle, easy to break. The cross section is flat, the fibers are radial, and powdery matter is scattered. The leaves are opposite and grow at the ends of the branches and are easy to fall off. The leaves are long and oval, slightly thick and shiny, leathery and slightly soft, yellow-brown, with obvious wrinkles and three veins. The smell is slight and the taste is slightly bitter. The ones with even strips, tender branches, yellow-green color, leaves, neat and not broken are better. Mainly produced in North America, Northeast China, Northwest China, North China, and Central China.

1.4.2 Lobra, also known as: Eurycoma

The stems and branches are cylindrical, more than 30 cm long, 0.5-1 cm in diameter, with branches or branch marks .The surface is grey-brown or reddish-brown, with many small light-colored lenticels, and the twigs may have brown fine hairs and leaves. The leaves are oblong, opposite or alternate, easy to fall off, and resemble leather. The texture is hard and the cross-section is uneven. The gas is tasteless and tasteless. The outer skin is brown, evenly striped, with many leaves, preferably with mulberry trunk bark attached. Mainly produced in South China, West China, East China and other places.

1.4.3 Persimmon parasitism

It is the dry branches and leaves of Morus parasitica. The stems are cylindrical, the lower part is 0.5-1 cm thick, and the branch tips are only 2-3 mm, the surface is tan with purple red, with many small light-colored lenticels, and the twigs have irregular thin vertical lines. The leaves are oval, yellowish brown below, leathery and brittle, and most fall off leaving only leaf marks. Occasionally there are dried flowers and fruits. The texture is hard and the cross section is yellowish white. No gas, astringent taste. The ones with thin branches and brown skin are better. Mainly produced in Northwest, West China, East China and other places.