Bai Xian Pi

Dictamnus dasycarpus (Bai Xian Pi, densefruit pittany) is a perennial herb in the Rutaceae family, growing 40 to 100 centimeters tall from a stout, branched, fleshy taproot whose cortex is the medicinal material. Stems are erect, sparsely branched, and beset with gland-dotted hairs especially in the upper parts. The alternate leaves are odd-pinnate with 9 to 13 ovate to elliptic leaflets, each 3 to 9 centimeters long, with finely serrate margins and conspicuous translucent oil glands that emit a strong, characteristic lemon-like aroma when bruised. From late spring into summer, terminal racemes bear showy flowers with five spreading pink to pale purple petals veined with darker purple, ten declinate stamens, and a glandular-hairy ovary that becomes a five-lobed capsule densely covered in stalked glands. Native to northern China, Korea, Mongolia, and parts of eastern Siberia. The peeled root bark is harvested in spring or autumn, sliced, and dried for use as a cooling, anti-inflammatory remedy in damp-heat skin disorders.