A botanical name called fo-ti is listed in most of the recent herbal listings, this name is sometimes cross referenced to the he shou wu - this is the name of the plant that the majority of herbalist authors claim as the proper name for the listed herbal medication. The dried tuberous root of the plant Polygonum multiflorum is what both of these names are directed at, this plant is an herbaceous climbing vine belonging to the plant family Polygonaceae that is a native of Japan. Traditionally and even now, the plant has seen widespread use in the folk remedy of China and other far eastern countries. The designation fo-ti is not accepted by some herbal writers because of the potential for confusion that exists in mistaking this herb with the herbal mixture that is marketed as fo-ti Tieng in many parts of the world. Fo-ti or he shou wu is very different from this product having the registered trademark name Fo Ti Tieng. The product called the Fo-ti Tieng is made from a mixture of the leaves and stems of a dwarf variety of the herb gotu kola - botanical name Centella asiatica belonging to the plant family Apiaceae, with the root of Indian physic herb - botanical name Gillenia trifoliata, which has emetic and laxative actions, and belongs to the plant family Rosaceae, along with minute quantities of the caffeine bearing cola or kola nuts, and some dried cotyledons of the Cola nitida herb, of the plant family Sterculiaceae, and other similar species. Thus the mixture Fo-ti Tieng is not referring to the same he shou wu.