<p>黃 is sometimes a plant name: 大黃 'rhubarb' (this used to be dai-huang, not da-huang), 麻黃 ephedra'; 地 sometimes means a tuber, seems that's not the case here. One source identifies 3 varieties: 天黃, 人黃, 地黃.  This is the 三合 system.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-23T02:11:47.783Z
see above quote,根茎 （rhizome; rootstock; tuber; rhizoma; rootstalk）肉质 ，鲜时黄色
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-23T02:26:43.727Z
Good catch!  (nice hat,too)
wpt
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-23T01:23:59.633Z
2015-12-23T01:23:59.633Z
wpt
<p>Does anyone know the reason why 生地黃 is called 地黃 [yellow earth]? I don't know if 六味地黄丸 took the name from 生地黃 or viceversa, but either way I couldn't find neither the etymology of 六味地黄丸 in English (I still can't understand Chinese properly). Any idea for the reason of the presence of 地黄 in the two?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-22T16:59:42.963Z
http://baike.baidu.com/view/301248.htm reason for yellow： 形态特征：。。。根茎肉质，鲜时黄色.
reason for  地黄 in 六味地黄丸：  http://www.baike.com/wiki/%E5%85%AD%E5%91%B3%E5%9C%B0%E9%BB%84%E4%B8%B8 ：
六味地黄丸由六味中药材组成，其中熟地黄为君药（monarch drug in a prescription），故名为六味地黄丸。
user6065
<etymology>
Why is 生地黃 called 地黃 [yellow earth]?
# Why is 生地黃 called 地黃 [yellow earth]?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-12-22)

Does anyone know the reason why 生地黃 is called 地黃 [yellow earth]? I don't know if 六味地黄丸 took the name from 生地黃 or viceversa, but either way I couldn't find neither the etymology of 六味地黄丸 in English (I still can't understand Chinese properly). Any idea for the reason of the presence of 地黄 in the two?

**Tags:** etymology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: http://baike.baidu.com/view/301248.htm reason for yellow： 形态特征：。。。根茎肉质，鲜时黄色. reason for  地黄 in 六味地黄丸：  http://www.baike.com/wiki/%E5%85%AD%E5%91%B3%E5%9C%B0%E9%BB%84%E4%B8%B8 ： 六味地黄丸由六味中药材组成，其中熟地黄为君药（monarch drug in a prescription），故名为六味地黄丸。  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2015-12-23. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

黃 is sometimes a plant name: 大黃 'rhubarb' (this used to be dai-huang, not da-huang), 麻黃 ephedra'; 地 sometimes means a tuber, seems that's not the case here. One source identifies 3 varieties: 天黃, 人黃, 地黃. This is the 三合 system.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: see above quote,根茎 （rhizome; rootstock; tuber; rhizoma; rootstalk）肉质 ，鲜时黄色  
> **username_2**: Good catch!  (nice hat,too)  

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