A Detailed Guide to the Types of Rehmannia and How to Identify Them

Rehmannia is a perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Rehmannia in the family Scrophulariaceae. There are three main types of Rehmannia: raw Rehmannia, prepared Rehmannia and fresh Rehmannia. Let's take a look below at how to tell these three apart!

Raw Rehmannia

[Shape]Mostly irregular lumpy or oblong, swollen in the middle and slightly narrower at both ends; some are small and slender, elongated, slightly flat and twisted, extremely shrunken, with irregular transverse curved lines; heavy, relatively soft and tough, not easy to break, glossy, sticky, 6-12 cm long, 3-6 cm in diameter.

[Color]The surface is brownish black or brownish gray, and the cut surface is brownish black or pitch black.

[Odor]Slight odor, slightly sweet taste.

Prepared Rehmannia

[Shape]Irregular slices and fragments, varying in size and thickness, glossy, very sticky, soft yet somewhat resilient, not easy to break.

[Color]The surface is pitch black, and the cut surface is pitch black and glossy.

[Odor]Slight odor, sweet taste.

Fresh Rehmannia

[Shape]Spindle-shaped or strip-shaped, with a thin outer skin, curved wrinkles, transversely elongated lenticels and irregular scars; one part of the leaf has radial markings; 9-15 cm long, 1-6 cm in diameter.

[Color]The surface is light red-yellow, fleshy, and the cut surface is pale yellowish white, with visible orange-red oil dots.

[Odor]Slight odor, slightly sweet and slightly bitter taste.