Herbs
Each entry pairs the original Donguibogam text with a modern explanation, properties, traditional applications, and cautions. Sources are cited on every page.
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A
Acorn橡實
Acorn is best known in Korea today as dotori-muk, the jelly made from its starch, but the Donguibogam rec…
Adenophora Root沙參
Deodeok is a mountain vegetable and a lung-nourishing herb in one — the balloon flower’s close cousin, fa…
Agarwood沈香
Agarwood is prized precisely because it does not form naturally — the Donguibogam explains that southern …
Aged Tangerine Peel橘皮
Tangerine peel is a kitchen-cabinet remedy for stuck qi and phlegm, and the Donguibogam records that Kore…
Alisma Rhizome澤瀉
Alisma rhizome is the classic water-draining herb of Korean tradition, valued for clearing heat trapped i…
Angelica Dahurica Root白芷
Angelica dahurica root is a classic remedy for wind-type headache with watery, teary eyes, and the Dongui…
Areca Nut檳榔
Areca nut, the Donguibogam notes, was eaten in southern regions the way fruit is eaten elsewhere — locals…
Astragalus Root黃芪
Astragalus is the classic qi tonic for the body's surface. Where ginseng restores deep vitality, astragal…
B
Balloon Flower Root桔梗
Balloon flower root — doraji in Korean — is as familiar on the dinner table as in the medicine cabinet, e…
Bitter Orange (mature fruit)枳殼
Bitter orange is harvested young as jishi (枳實) and mature as jigak (枳殼) — the Donguibogam explains the cl…
Black Atractylodes Rhizome蒼朮
Black atractylodes is white atractylodes's rugged sibling — the Donguibogam itself notes that early mater…
Black Pepper胡椒
Black pepper needs no introduction as a kitchen spice, and the Donguibogam records exactly the role that …
Bovine Bezoar (Calculus Bovis)牛黃
Bovine bezoar is a gallstone that forms naturally in domestic cattle, gathered as a byproduct rather than…
Burdock Fruit惡實
Burdock's root is a familiar side dish in Korea (ueong-jorim), but the entry in the Donguibogam under thi…
C
Chestnut栗子
The chestnut is a food the Donguibogam treats as quietly medicinal: recorded as boosting qi, thickening t…
Chinese Quince木瓜
The fragrant quince — famous for perfuming a room and for its role in traditional tea — is recorded in th…
Cinnamon Bark桂皮
Cinnamon bark is the great warmer of the traditional pharmacy. Where ginger warms the surface and the sto…
Clematis Root威靈仙
Clematis root earned its reputation as "the essential medicine for pain" through a curious folk method of…
Clove丁香
Clove is the same nail-shaped flower bud known worldwide as a spice, recorded in the Donguibogam as a war…
Cnidium Rhizome芎藭
Cnidium rhizome is celebrated in Korean tradition as the premier herb for blood-related headache, prized …
Cornus Fruit山茱萸
Cornus fruit is a foundational kidney-nourishing herb in Korean tradition, valued for strengthening what …
Curcuma Tuber鬱金
A close relative of turmeric, this tuber is noted in the Donguibogam not for a strong fragrance but for a…
D
Dandelion蒲公草
Dandelion is one of the most familiar roadside plants in Korea, its yellow flowers and milky sap known to…
Dianthus Seed瞿麥
Dianthus seed's name is refreshingly literal — its seeds resemble wheat grains, giving it the name "wheat…
Dittany Root Bark白鮮
Dittany root bark's Korean folk name literally translates to "white goat-smell," a nickname the Donguibog…
E
Eleuthero Bark五加皮
Eleuthero bark — from a thorny relative of ginseng — is the Donguibogam’s herb for strengthening sinew an…
Epimedium淫羊藿
Epimedium's Korean folk name, "three branches, nine leaves grass" (samji-guyeopcho), describes its distin…
Eucommia Bark杜仲
Eucommia bark is still sold in Korea today as duchung-cha, a tea for the lower back and knees. The Dongui…
F
G
Gardenia Fruit梔子
Gardenia fruit is familiar in Korean kitchens as a natural yellow food dye (chija-mul), but the Donguibog…
Gastrodia Rhizome天麻
Gastrodia is a leafless orchid that lives off fungal partners rather than photosynthesis, and the Donguib…
Ginseng人蔘
Ginseng is the most celebrated tonic herb in Korean traditional medicine, often called the king of herbs.…
Goji Berry枸杞子
Goji berry is the classic tonic for the liver and kidney in East Asian tradition, long associated with no…
Gromwell Root紫草
Gromwell's Korean name, jichi, is still recognized today mainly through its use as a purple dye and as th…
H
J
K
Korean Angelica Root當歸
Danggwi is the foremost blood tonic of Korean tradition, central to formulas such as Samul-tang. Its name…
Korean Mint藿香
Korean mint carries a fragrance the Donguibogam itself notes was once blended into incense, and that same…
Korean Yam薯蕷
Korean yam bridges food and medicine as directly as any herb in this tradition, gently tonifying the sple…
Kudzu Root葛根
Kudzu root is the source of the familiar hangover tea (galgeun-cha) still sold across Korea today. The Do…
L
Licorice Root甘草
Licorice root appears in more traditional Korean formulas than almost any other herb. Known as the harmon…
Lily Bulb百合
Lily bulb is still eaten in Korea as a mild, starchy porridge ingredient (baekhap-juk), and the Donguibog…
Liriope Tuber麥門冬
Liriope tuber takes its name from the shape of its root, which forms small beads resembling wheat grains …
M
Magnolia Bark厚朴
Magnolia bark, marked in the Donguibogam as an imported (Tang) medicine, is a foundational herb for stagn…
Magnolia Flower Bud辛夷
Magnolia flower bud is gathered just before it opens, when the furry bud still resembles a small peach. T…
Moutan Root Bark牡丹
Moutan is peony's tree-form relative — the source of the root bark used in medicine rather than the flowe…
Mugwort Leaf艾葉
Mugwort leaf — ssuk, woven through Korean food, rice cakes, and the founding myth itself — is recorded in…
Musk (historical record)麝香
Musk was recorded by the Donguibogam as one of the most powerful mind-opening substances in the classical…
P
Peony Root芍藥
Peony root partners danggwi at the heart of Samul-tang, the foundational blood-nourishing formula. Tradit…
Perilla Leaf紫蘇葉
Perilla leaf is another herb that lives equally in the kitchen and the medicine cabinet, its purple-backe…
Pinellia Rhizome半夏
Pinellia is one of the most important phlegm-resolving herbs in Korean tradition, but the Donguibogam is …
Polygala Root遠志
Polygala root carries a name that means 'far-reaching ambition,' reflecting the Donguibogam's description…
Poria茯苓
Poria is unusual among traditional herbs in that it is not a plant at all, but the dried sclerotium of a …
Prepared Rehmannia Root熟地黃
Prepared rehmannia is the richest blood-nourishing root in Korean tradition, made by steaming and drying …
R
S
Sanguisorba Root地楡
Sanguisorba root's old alternate name, "jade black bean paste," comes from its purple-black seed clusters…
Schisandra Berry五味子
Schisandra is named 'five-flavor berry' because tradition finds sour, sweet, bitter, pungent, and salty a…
Schizonepeta荊芥
Schizonepeta is a classic early-response herb for the first chill and headache of a cold, traditionally n…
Scutellaria Root黃芩
Scutellaria root is one of the most enduring heat-clearing herbs in East Asian medicine, its old alternat…
Sophora Root苦參
Sophora root's name says it all — "bitter root" — and the Donguibogam does not soften the point, warning …
Sparrow-Tongue Tea Leaf苦茶
Jakseolcha ("sparrow-tongue tea") takes its name from its tiny, tongue-shaped young leaves, picked early …
T
Tatarian Aster Root紫菀
Tatarian aster's poetic old name, "soul-returning grass," reflects how highly it was regarded for lung co…
Thuja Seed柏實
Thuja seed comes from the arborvitae, a tree the Donguibogam describes with real botanical curiosity: whi…
V
W
Walnut胡桃
The walnut, its kernel folded like the brain it was fancifully linked to, is recorded in the Donguibogam …
White Atractylodes Rhizome白朮
White atractylodes is one of the most widely used spleen-tonifying herbs in Korean tradition, central to …
Wild Jujube Seed酸棗仁
Wild jujube seed comes from a different tree than the sweet jujube eaten as food — a smaller, thornier wi…