MORPHOLOGICAL AND HISTOLOGICAL STUDIES ON THE CHINESE DRUG TIAN-HUA-FEN (RADIX TRICHOSANTHIS), ITS ADULTERANTS AND SUBSTITUTES (SECOND REPORT)

Fourteen additional kinds of commercial Tien-hua-fen are reported. Among which, 11 are derived from the Genus Trichosanthes, family Cucurbitaceae and the other three are derived from Thladiantha sp., Siraitia grosvenorii (Swingle) Jeffrey of the same family, and Stephania dielsiana Y. C. Wu, family Menispermaceae.The morphological and histological characters of the above 14 roots are described and compared, The relationships between the characters of the roots and that of the aerial parts, are further discussed.It is also found that among the Genus Trichosanthes, the presence or absence, shape and arrangement of stone cells, are one of the more important diagnostic characters for differentiating roots derived from the sections Foliobracteola, Involucraria and Cucumeroides.The plant names and habitats of the 14 drugs reported in this paper are listed in the following table: