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The materia medica of Chinese medicine — literally "root grasses" — comprises the medicinal substances drawn from plants, minerals, and animals. Each herb is characterized by its nature (one of the four temperatures plus neutral), its flavor (one or more of the five tastes), and its channel tropism (which meridians it preferentially affects). Together, these properties determine an herb's therapeutic direction and how it combines with others in formulas. This collection currently includes 161 commonly-used herbs, each property verified against standard pharmacology textbooks.