Yin Yang Huo

Epimedium brevicornu is a low-growing perennial herb in the Berberidaceae family, native to central and northern China, where it occurs in mountain woodlands and rocky slopes. It grows 20-50 cm tall from a slender, branching rhizome, producing tufts of long-petioled basal leaves and similar stem leaves. Each leaf is typically twice ternately compound, with leaflets that are ovate to cordate, 3-7 cm long, with finely serrate, bristly margins and an asymmetric, often heart-shaped base; new growth is bronze-tinged. In spring, slender panicles bear small, distinctive white flowers with four spurred petals giving a delicate, downward-facing form. In TCM, the dried leaves (Yin Yang Huo) are used as an acrid, sweet, warm herb that tonifies kidney yang, strengthens sinews and bones, and dispels wind-damp.