Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine | Alisma

Description

Alisma, a member of the plant family Alismataceae, is a herb commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The medicinal part of the plant is the dried root of Alisma plantago-aquatica. Alisma is also called mad-dog weed, water plantain, American water plantain, or northern water plantain. It belongs to a different species from the edible plantain or cooking banana of the Caribbean or the plantain that produces psyllium seed. The Chinese name for alisma is ze xie.

Alisma is a perennial plant that grows aggressively in shallow water and boggy spots in parts of Europe, North America, and northern China. Its leaves take different shapes...