Feng Wei Jiao Ye

Feng Wei Jiao Ye (凤尾椒叶), literally "phoenix-tail pepper leaf," is a regional folk-name applied inconsistently to the leaves of Zanthoxylum simulans Hance or related prickly-ash species (Rutaceae) in some references, and in other sources to the fronds of Pteris vittata L. (Pteridaceae, Chinese ladder brake fern), neither of which can be assigned definitively from the Pinyin alone. The two candidates are unrelated — Zanthoxylum is an aromatic shrub or small tree with pinnate, citrus-scented leaves and small red follicular fruits, whereas Pteris vittata is a terrestrial fern with simply pinnate fronds of narrow lanceolate pinnae. Because the identification is uncertain and the substance is not in standard pharmacopoeial use under this exact name, the entry follows the unidentifiable null-pattern pending source-record clarification.