Abstract:Through textual identification it has been found out that the traditional drug herb Asarum spp. recorded in compendiums of materia medica of the past dynasties in China is the normal Asarum spp., whose principal species should be Asarum sieboldii with the root as the medicinal part, whereas the herb Asarum<.i> spp. recorded in the 1985 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia is something different. The two herbs differ from each other in respect of principal species, medicinal parts, collecting season and processing methods. Besides, the one recorded in Chinese Pharmacopoeia is currently used in dosages different from what is specified in the Pharmacopoeia. It is therefore advisable to establish it as a separate drug by the name of Herba Asari