Gouji (Cibotium Rhizome) gǒu jǐ · 狗脊

Safety. Two things a buyer should know before ordering this across a border. First, the source is a tree fern, and Cibotium barometz is listed in CITES Appendix II, so international trade in it is controlled and a buyer is not in a position to assume a shipment is lawful to move. Second, the plant is slow-growing and largely collected from the wild, so the cheapness of a packet is information about its origin, not a bargain. The golden hairs have a further caution attached: as a wound dressing they are a traditional practice, not an established one, and a wound that needs pressing shut needs care rather than a herb. Warm, and classically avoided where there is heat or depleted Yin, and where urination is difficult and dark. Safety in pregnancy is not established. No amount is given here.