Thisisnotthephotoalbumofpainters,butthe“herbalkit”ofTibetandoctors.Morethan300yearsago,DoctorsofTibetanmedicine,basedonmedicalworkssuchastheFourMedicalClassics,hadvividlypresentedmedicinalmaterialsintheformofthangka,allowingreaderstodifferentiatevariousherbsataglance.Canyourecognizethismedicalherb?Thisshredded-meat-likefloweriscalled“Saffron”(or,XizangRedFlower).Thoughtheword“Zang”iscontainedinitsname,thespeciesoriginatesfromoverseas.IttraveledacrosstheAsiancontinent,tookrootinChina,andformedanindissolublebondwithXizang–ajourneythatspannedthousandsofyears.Saffroncamefromoverseasandwasinitiallyusedasadye.AfterbeingintroducedtoXizang,saffrongraduallytookroot.TherobeswornbyTibetanmonks,thePotalaPalace,andthewallsoftheJokhangTemplearedyedwithsaffronasarawmaterial.Saffron’sdistinctivefragrancealsomakesitacomponentinTibetanincense.AlthoughtheplaceofitsoriginisnotontheQinghai-XizangPlateau,itistheQinghai-XizangPlateauthattrulymakesitvaluable.AftermanyyearsofpracticalresearchinTibetanmedicine,ithasbeendiscoveredthatsaffronholdssignificantmedicinalvalueinreducingbloodlipid,reducingbloodpressure,andloweringcholesterol.Nowarecentdiscoveryindicatesthatithasanti-cancerandtumor-suppressingeffects.Timeisthekeyfornurturinggoodmedicine.Somemedicinalherbs,likesaffron,havetravelledthroughthousandsofyearsandvastdistances,leavingbehindthefootprintofbenefitinghumanitythroughouthistory.Someherbsexhibitdifferentmedicaleffectsacrossseasons,showingdifferentseasonalformsandhealingeffects,andCordycepsSinensisisaprimeexample.Itcanimproveimmunity,relievecoughing,eliminatephlegmandnourishthelungs,withmedicaleffectsasmysteriousashowtheherbiscalledinChinese–“WinterBugSummerGrass”.Whyisitcalled“WinterBugSummerGrass”?Inwinter,it’sthelarvaeofthebatmoththatbecomeinfectedbyundergroundfungiontheQinghai-XizangPlateau.Afterdyingfromthisinfection,inMayandJune(thefollowingsummer),itgrowsoutintheformoffungi.Inmid-May,afterthesnowonthegrassymountainmelts,theharvestseasonhasarrivedforthismedicalherb.AftercollectingCordycepsSinensis,weshouldtreadgentlyontheground,refillingtheholewiththesoilthatwasdugout,sothatitsoriginalappearanceisrestored.Afterfinishing,alltheareaswouldbecleanedup.Whenwashingwithriverwater,thedirtypartswillbescatteredfartheraway,oronthesurroundinggrass,andundernocircumstancestheywouldbepouredintotheriver.Tibetansholddeepreverencefornature.ThetheoryofTibetanmedicinegivesguidanceonwhichtypesofmedicalherbsshouldbeharvestedduringspecificseasons.Ayearisdividedintosixseasons,eachwithadistinctgrowthcycleformedicalplants.Takingfromnatureandgivingbacktonature,Tibetanmedicineseeksanswersthroughoutthousandsofyearsofmedicalpractice,thatiswhytheyunderstandthesecretofharmoniouscoexistencebetweenhumanandnature.Evolvingfromoncebeingatropicalparadisetotheice-and-snow-coveredworldtoday,thefloraandfaunahaveenduredandthrivedhereacrossgenerations,turningtheQinghai-XizangPlateauintoa“HubStation”fordiversespecies,andleavingbehindatouchingjourneyoflifethroughouttime.Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.