① animals

pearl

This product is a commonly used Chinese medicine. It was first published in Kaibao Materia Medica in the Song Dynasty. The secretion produced by pearl mussels and snails is layered. Commercially available products are divided into two categories: one is natural pearls; A kind of cultured pearl called "cultured pearl" is formed by putting raw concha Haliotidis particles or sand in mussels for several years.

[protozoa]

1. Fritillaria Fritillaria alias: pearl oyster.

Molluscs, Claphabranchia, Pseudoclaphabranchia, Pteristidae, Mollusca.

It is a warm benthic shellfish with two shells, which are not equal. The left shell is slightly larger than the right shell, and the depression is deeper than the right shell. The length and height of the shell are almost equal, generally about 6 ~ 7 cm, and the maximum can reach more than 10 cm. The preauricular process is large and short, and the posterior auricular process is long. The shell surface is yellow-brown, with black radiation stripes. The growth level is obvious. The scales are dense, fragile and broken, and smooth near the top of the shell. The shell is white or yellowish with pearl luster. The shell edge is thin and yellow-brown, and there are 1 ~ 2 main teeth at the hinge. Ligaments are slender and brown. The muscle scar of the closed shell is large, slightly ear-shaped, almost in the center of the shell. The top of the shell is located at the front end, which is close. Feet are small, and silk thread can grow out from the small hole in front of the right shell. Sand attached to rocks.

When mother-of-pearl and mussel grow in water, if tiny sand or hard creatures accidentally break into the mantle inside the shell, the mantle will feel uncomfortable after being stimulated, so the secreted mother-of-pearl will gradually surround the sand or creatures that break in from the outside and become pearls day by day.

Pearl culture is also based on this principle. Generally, individuals about 3 years old are selected for nucleus insertion surgery, and sand particles are consciously put in, which makes the mantle feel uncomfortable and secretes a large number of real pearls to wrap these sand particles, thus forming artificial pearls, and even artificially making the input into various shapes. Therefore, cultured pearls are also diverse.

It is found in the warm sea with a depth of 1 ~ 10 meter. Larvae inhabit shallow water and gradually move to deep sea when they grow up. Mainly distributed in Hainan Island and Guangdong coastal areas.

2. Cremastra plicata

Cremantria plicata of Mytilapia

Freshwater benthic shellfish. The shell is very thick, just like an equilateral triangle. The front part is short and low, the coronoid process at the front and rear edges is not obvious, and the Kobuko and the rear edge are inclined upward, extending into a big crown. The back of the shell has a series of longitudinal ribs, which gradually thicken from the top of the shell. The abdominal edge of the trailing edge circle is almost straight. The top of the shell is about 1/6 from the front shell, and there are several ribbed veins on the top of the shell. Adult crowns often leave only remnants, and larvae' shells are generally intact. The shell surface is dark yellow-green to dark brown, and the top of the shell is often eroded and loses its surface color. Strong hinge and strong ligament, located at the base of crown. The left shell and the right shell each have a high back tooth. The front teeth are thin, and there are several longitudinal protrusions and grooves below the rear teeth corresponding to the outside. The front closed shell scar is wedge-shaped, the extended foot scar is round, the front contracted foot scar is small and deep, the rear closed shell scar is large and shallow, the shell scar is wide, and the pearl layer is shiny.

Living in the mud bottom of rivers and lakes, moving slowly.

It is distributed all over the country, including Jingbo Lake and Songhua River in Heilongjiang Province, Ningguo in Anhui Province, Wujin in Jiangsu Province, Beijing and other places. This mussel can be used to produce real pearls, and shells are the raw materials for making buttons.

The key to the above two protozoa:

1. Freshwater benthic shellfish. The shell is approximately triangular. The front is short and low, the coronoid process at the front and rear edges is not obvious, and the rear edge protrudes obliquely upwards ... this is a big crown. There are several ribs on the top of the shell. ......................................................................................................................................................................

1. Warm benthic shellfish, the shell size varies from left to right, usually the left shell is larger than the right shell, and the length and width of the shell are slightly equal. The preauricular process is large and short, and the posterior auricular process is long. .............................................................................................................................................................

[acquisition]

It is produced all year round, usually in1February, diving to the bottom of the sea, taking mussels from aquatic plants or stones and pearls from them. Meat is edible.

[concoct]

Wrap it in cloth, put it in tofu paste, boil it for about 3 hours, take it out and wash it, and grind it into very fine powder.

[Medicinal Materials and Production and Marketing]

This product is a granular pearl obtained from mussels.

"Name" Pearl Margarita alias: Zhu Zhen.

[Origin and sales habits] Mainly produced in Hepu, Guangdong, Qing 'an, Heilongjiang, Xuancheng, Nanling, Dangtu, Taiwan Province and other places, and sold all over the country.

[chemical composition]

It mainly contains calcium carbonate. And contains a variety of amino acids: leucine (leucine), methionine (methionine), alanine (alanine), glycine (glycine), glutamic acid (glutamic acid), aspartic acid and so on.

Trait recognition

Natural pearls are spherical, oval, irregular spherical or rectangular with a diameter of 1 ~ 6mm. The surface is white, yellowish white, light pink, light blue, etc. , with beautiful color and smoothness. Most decorated pearls have holes in the middle. It's hard and difficult to break, and the section has a layered feeling. It crackled with fire. No gas, slightly salty.

The shape and shape of cultured beads

Natural pearls are similar, but the surface luster is weak. There are round sand or concha Haliotidis fragments in the center of the section, and a thin layer of real pearls on the surface. Only the nacre is used as medicine. No gas, slightly salty.

Round particles, transparent luster, bright luster and hard texture are preferred.

[utility]

[Sexual taste] Sweet and salty, cold in nature.

【 Function 】 Tranquilize the nerves, relieve convulsion, clear away heat and nourish yin, improve eyesight and detoxify.

Indications: febrile convulsion, insomnia, sore throat, aphtha, ulcer, red eyes and skin moistening.

[Dosage] 0.6g ~1.2g.

【 Taboo 】 Use it with caution for those without deficiency heat.

Pearl is an organic gem, which has been regarded as a rare treasure since ancient times. According to the research of geology and archaeology, there were pearls on the earth 200 million years ago. China is one of the first countries to use pearls in the world. As early as more than 4,000 years ago, it was recorded in Shang Yu Shu Gong that mussels could produce pearls, and the contents of pearls were also recorded in The Book of Songs, Classic of Mountains and Seas, Erya and Zhouyi. Pearls are divided into natural pearls and cultured pearls according to their causes. Natural pearls mainly refer to pearls naturally formed in shellfish and mussels. Traditionally, pearls are divided into three types: seawater pearls, freshwater pearls and artificial pearls. Freshwater pearls refer to pearls produced in rivers. China's natural freshwater pearls are mainly produced in the islands south of China. There are five kinds of pearls: white, red, yellow, black and variegated, and most of them are opaque. In ancient times, people called natural round pearls walking beads.

The formation of pearls

After the pearl mussel in the lake and sea is opened, some foreign impurities, such as sand, will enter the shell and come into contact with its mantle. When the mantle is stimulated, it will secrete a compound of calcium carbonate, which will be wrapped around impurities layer by layer for three to five years or more until pearls are formed.

Most of the substances that make up pearls and shells are calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate forms calcite, aragonite, etc. Have different crystallization conditions. Pearls are made of aragonite, while shells are prismatic layer made of calcite. Therefore, although they are all calcium carbonate crystals, different substances-pearls and shells-are formed due to different crystal systems.

(2) (see "A Dream of Red Mansions" for the 29th time) Jia's girl. Yuanyang hanged herself, which was the first thing she found. When xiren was a handmaiden in grandma's house, her name was Pearl.

Pearl's English name is Pearl, which evolved from Latin Pernulo. As early as ancient times, when primitive humans were foraging by the sea, they found white pearls with colorful auras and were attracted by their crystal splendor. Since then, pearls have become people's favorite ornaments and have been passed down to this day.

Pearl is an ancient organic gem, which is produced in mollusks such as Pinctada and Pinctada. The calcium carbonate-containing mineral (aragonite) beads produced by endocrine function consist of a large number of tiny aragonite crystals. The chemical composition of pearl is: CaCO39 1.6%, H2O and organic matter 4% each, and other 0.4%. Pearl has various shapes, such as round, pear-shaped, egg-shaped, teardrop-shaped, button-shaped, arbitrary shape, etc., among which round is the best. Not an isotropic body. Colors are white, pink, light yellow, light green, light blue, brown, lavender, black and so on. , mainly white. White stripes. It has typical pearl luster, soft luster and rainbow color. Transparent to translucent. The refractive index is 1.530- 1.686 and the birefringence is 0. 156. There is no dispersion. The hardness is 2.5-4.5. The density of natural freshwater pearls is generally 2.66-2.78g/cm3, which varies from place to place. No cleavage. Good toughness. Under short-wave ultraviolet light, pearls show white, light yellow, light green and blue fluorescence, and black pearls emit light red fluorescence; There is yellow-white fluorescence under X-ray. Foam in hydrochloric acid.

Pearl has always been loved by people for its warmth, elegance and splendor, and is known as the queen of jewelry. Pearl contains organic calcium carbonate, which has poor chemical stability and can be dissolved in acid and alkali. It is not advisable to touch perfume, oil, salt, alcohol, hair cream, vinegar and dirt in daily life. It is even more impossible to contact organic solvents such as banana oil; In summer, the human body sweats a lot and is not suitable for wearing pearl necklaces. When not in use, gently clean it with high-grade neutral soap or detergent, and then dry it. Exposure or exposure in the sun is not allowed. When collecting, you can't use mothballs, and don't put them in the bank vault for a long time. The hardness of pearls is very low. White pearls will turn yellow and their luster will become worse if worn for a long time. They can be bleached with 1%- 1.5% hydrogen peroxide. Be careful not to bleach excessively, otherwise it will lose its luster.

Western legends about pearls

In western legends, it is said that Venus was born in a shell, and when the shell was opened, the dew dripping from her became crystal clear pearls. During the Renaissance, the famous painter Botticelli put the goddess on a huge scallop and slowly emerged from the bottom of the water in the painting The Birth of Venus. The water drops shaken off by the goddess form pearls, which are flawless and dazzling. Danes associate pearls with mermaids. Mermaids miss the prince but can't. They shed tears and are treasured by Fritillaria and mussels that guard them. Over time, tears turn into pearls.