Bai Wei (Cao) Tincture & Alcohol-Free Extract

Bai Wei (Cao), the Chinese name of Cynanchum atratum, now classified by Kew as Vincetoxicum atratum, is a perennial herb of the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, native to northern and central China, Korea, Japan, and the Russian Far East, growing in open grassland and hillside scrub. It grows 40 to 80 centimeters with a single erect, softly hairy stem, opposite broad oval leaves hairy on both sides, and dense umbels of small, dark purple to blackish star-shaped flowers close to the stem in early summer. The short rhizome bears a thick tuft of long, slender, yellow-brown fibrous roots that are fragrant and bitter. We extract the dried root.