Objective To expound the origins of Salviae prionitis which was widely used in the folk of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and establish pharmacognostic identification methods of S. prionitis. Methods Through studying the records and drawings in the herbals, investigating the plant and collecting specimens of S. prionitis in producing areas, checking the specimens and consulting the specialist of taxol., the plant morphol., properties, microscopic characteristics and TLC of S. prionitis were observed and studied. Results Now, in the market, the original plant of Zhuang drug Honggencao was S. prionitis, the established methods can be used to identify the S. prionitis effectively. Conclusion The convenient and effective pharmacognostic identification methods have been established, which provide a theor. basis for quality control and medical material supply of S. prionitis for the pharmaceutical factory.