Description and Microscopic Identification of Chinese Herbal Materials Penthorum chinense Pursh

Objective To discuss the description and microscopic identification of Penthorum chinense Pursh.Methods Medicinal traits and characteristics of the microstructure observation,measurement of Penthorum chinense Pursh.were investigated,and the samples of different origin products of the wild were compared with those of the cultivated.Results Penthorum chinense Pursh.was whole plant medicine,stems cylindrical 60~90 cm long and 3~8 mm in diameter,the spiral-shape dinflorescence at the top of stems.Different plants of the wild origin were slightly different on height,and the Penthorum chinense Pursh.cultivated was larger and higher than the wild.Its microstructure had special characters such as gas chambers in the cortex and pith of the stem,bordered pit vessels with a more primitive type of scalariform perforation plate and parenchyma cells containing clusters of calcium oxalate.Conclusion The results could be used for the description and microscopic identification of Penthorum chinense Pursh.,and the vessels and clusters of calcium oxalate of Penthorum chinense Pursh.would be of value in taxonomy for further discussions.