Wu Jia Pi, the bark of five leaflets
Wu Jia Pi reads “the bark of five added”: the name describes the leaf of this shrub, five leaflets joined in a fan on a single stalk, and the oldest texts already made it a selection criterion. It is the root bark of Acanthopanax gracilistylus, also named Eleutherococcus nodiflorus, a shrub of the ginseng family with small black thorns, which likes cool hillsides and woodland edges. It is harvested from summer to autumn, after three to four years of cultivation; its main sources are Hubei, Henan and Anhui. Good bark is recognised by its greyish-white cut surface and its very faint scent. Li Shizhen recorded the recipe for steeping it in wine, one of the best-known plant preparations in China.
Dispelling Wind and Dampness, loosening the joints
In traditional Chinese medicine, Wu Jia Pi is warm, pungent and bitter in taste. A classical commentary sums it up: its pungency disperses Wind, its warmth removes Cold, its bitterness dries Dampness. Three tastes for three factors, the very ones tradition sees lodging in the joints and meridians: Qi and Blood no longer pass, and what is blocked tightens and moves poorly. The bark loosens them. It is a herb of the lower body, turned towards the back, the hips, the knees and the legs.
Dislodging and strengthening at once
What makes it unusual is that it does two things usually set against each other: it dislodges and it tonifies. Associated with the Liver, which commands the tendons, and the Kidney, which governs the bones, it gently supports these two Organs, which earns it a place apart among the Wind-Damp herbs: those that can be given to an elderly or weakened person. With eucommia bark, it forms the lower-back pair: one nourishes the foundation, the other clears what has lodged there. It is not to be confused with Xiang Jia Pi, another bark from another family: good Wu Jia Pi barely smells.
Key benefits
Joints & movement
Pungent, warm and bitter, the bark loosens what Wind, Cold and Dampness stiffen in the joints, and promotes joint comfort.
Liver & Kidney supported
According to Chinese tradition, it tonifies the Liver and the Kidney, which hold the tendons and bones.
Lower back & knees
A herb of the lower body, it supports comfort in the lower back and knees, without depleting like purely dispersing herbs.
