The discovery of the Chinese hoshouwu root, often called fleece-flower root in English, and with the botanical name Radix Polygoni Multiflori, is legendary.

As the story goes, in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, natural disasters and famines were annual events in Deqing. An old man surnamed He was imprisoned and hadn’t had anything to eat for days. Starved to the verge of death, he ate the leaves of the vine on the barrier wall to quench his thirst and ate the vine root to relieve his hunger. Later on, he dug some tubers that looked like a human figure to eat. Day in and day out, he not only survived but also became even healthier and his gray hair turned black. His jailers were very surprised and told each other the news. The old man was released because he had discovered a new medicine.

It is recorded in the Compendium of Materia Medica that fleece-flower root may promote the secretion of body fluid and cool blood if it is eaten without cooking. In addition, if it is served after boiling and drying in the sun, it may tonify the liver and kidneys, enrich blood and qi, blacken hair, maintain beauty and lengthen life. It mainly treats blood deficiency, dizziness, involuntary ejaculation of semen during sleep and mild lumbago, a painful condition of the lower back. It may also treat dysphoria, insomnia, dreaminess and other symptoms.

Currently, Deqing fleece-flower root is planted in general. It is smaller than wild fleece-flower root. The one with a chrysanthemum pattern on the cross section and golden yellow in color is the best.