In the same way that people have unique Qi, so do herbs. Successful treatment comes from matching the herbal Qi with the needs of the body.

There are three main ways to describe the qualities of herbs. Temperature: herbs can be hot, warm, neutral, cool or cold. These varying temperatures correspond to specific types of illness. Cold herbs treat hot conditions such as fevers or infections, whereas hot herbs are used to treat cold conditions such as some types of bladder problems or constipation.

The second way of categorising herb is by their taste. There are six groups into which all tastes fit; they are, sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and bland. The first five tastes relate to the five elements (Earth, Wood, Water, Fire, Metal respectively) and the five yin organs (Spleen, Liver Kidney Heart Lung respectively). Bland tasting herbs would have neutral qualities: ie, neither warm or cool and not relating to any specific organ.

Finally, herbs are split up according to which organ in the body they correspond to. Herbs are prescribed specifically to act on certain organs, with certain temperatures and tastes. So, for example, Xin Yi Hua (Magnolia flower), which is a pungent herb, affects the lungs and is used to treat cold conditions such as a blocked nose due to a cold. Where you see pictures of herbs throughout the site, click on them to find out about their unique properties.