Ma Wei Lian

Ma Wei Lian is derived from several species of Thalictrum (Ranunculaceae) — most often T. baicalense, T. minus, T. foliolosum, or T. glandulosissimum — perennial herbs of cool montane meadows and forest margins across northern and western China and the Himalayan foothills. The plants grow 30–100 cm tall from a knotted rhizome producing wiry yellow roots that recall a horse's tail (hence the name). The foliage is tripinnately compound with small, three-lobed, glaucous leaflets reminiscent of columbine or meadow-rue. Small apetalous flowers with prominent tufts of stamens are borne in airy terminal panicles in early summer. The rhizome and rootlets are dug in autumn, washed, and dried; their bright yellow interior reflects a high content of berberine and related protoberberine alkaloids, the basis of the herb's use as a Coptis chinensis (Huang Lian) substitute.