Book excerpt: This fifth volume contains 253 species of medicinal plants from 25 families, which are commonly used in Chinese medicine. The most important species are Stachyurus himalaicus of Stachyuraceae; Liquidambar formosana, Semiliquidambar cathayensis of Hamamelidaceae; Broussonetia papyrifera, Cudrania cochinchinensis, Cudrania tricuspidata, Ficus carica, Morus alba of Moraceae; Boehmeria nivea and Pouzolzia zeylanica of Urticaceae; Cannabis sativa of Cannabaceae; Ilex asprella, Ilex cornuta, Ilex latifolia, Ilex pubescens of Aquifoliaceae; Euonymus alatus, Tripterygium wilfordii of Celastraceae; Taxillus chinensis, Viscum liquidambaricola of Loranthaceae; Santalum album of Santalaceae; Berchemia lineata, Ventilago leiocarpa, Ziziphus jujuba, Ziziphus jujuba var. Spinosa, Elaeagnus pungens of Rhamnaceae; Citrus aurantium, Citrus grandis var. tomentosa, Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis, Citrus reticulata, Evodia rutaecarpa, Phellodendron chinense and Zanthoxylum bungeanum of Rutaceae. In each specie, it introduces the scientific names, medicinal names, morphologies, habitats, distributions, acquisition and processing methods of these medicinal plants, the content of medicinal properties, therapeutic effects, usage and dosage of these medicinal plants, and attaches unedited color pictures and pictures of part herbal medicines of each species. This book series has 10 volumes in total, which covers over 2000 kinds of Chinese medicines that are commonly used. These volumes not only introduce the efficacy function and some prescriptions of the medicines, but also introduce the biological characteristics of them in detail with clear photos of the habitats, so that readers can identify them in the field. Apart from the growing environment, the books expound the distribution areas and other information to facilitate researches and other applications. The volumes are targeted at readers of general interests and it is also of high referential value for scientific researcher and teachers. It can be used as a guide to researchers, clinical doctors, and students in the department of pharmaceutics and traditional Chinese medicine.