RESUMO
Curcumae Longae Rhizoma (CLR) is a commonly used drug in clinic, it is widely used as an important drug of activating blood and Qi in ancient prescription. But the records of the original plant of CLR are not consistent in modern literature: Wenyujin Concisa Rhizoma (WCR) was recorded as the main plants of CLR originally, and then it was excluded. The historical evolution of WCR used as medicine and the similarities and differences among WCR, CLR, and Curcuma Rhizoma (CR) in efficacy were tracked down through the records in ancient and modern literatures. It showed that from the materia medica in Tang and Song Dynasty, WCR was recorded as one of the original plants of CLR which was continually used until the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. In modern literature, WCR was also firstly recorded as one of the original plants of CLR. The longitudinal section of WCR was different from CR in efficacy, but identical with CLR exactly. So that, the means of classifying WCR as a part of the original plant of CLR not only conform to the ancient and modern literatures, but also in accordance with the rules of drug efficacy and the actual clinical application. So this method is beneficial to clinical application of ancient prescriptions.