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Lisao caomu shu 離騒草木疏 is a commentary on the many plants mentioned in the elegy Lisao 離騒, which is traditionally attributed to Qu Yuan 屈原 (d. 278 BCE), a high official in the regional state of Chu 楚 during the Warring States period 戰國 (5th cent.-221 BCE).
The commentary of 4 juan length was written during the Southern Song period by Wu Renjie 吳仁傑 (fl. 1197), courtesy name Dounan 斗南, style Duju Yinshi 螙居隱士, from Luoyang 洛陽 (in today's Henan province). He held the offices of district magistrate of Luotian 羅田 and provost in the Directorate of Education (guozi xuelu 國子學錄), and also wrote the books Yi tushuo 易圖說, Gu Zhouyi 古周易 and Liang-Han kanwu buyi 兩漢刊誤補遺.
Wu explains 55 words and expressions from the botanical realm, such as sunquan 蓀荃 (Calamus spec.), furong 芙蓉 (hibiscus), cha 荼 (wild tea), bili 薜荔 (Ficus pumila), ju 橘 (tangerine), gui 桂 (cassia), ci 薋 (thorny amaranth) or lu 菉 (Setaria viridis).
Wu observed that the Lisao uses fragrant herbs to symbolise loyalty and integrity, while foul-smelling plants represent villains (yi xiangcao wei zhongren, youcao wei xiaoren 以薌草為忠臣，蕕草為小人). The book is organised according to this symbolism, with plants representing human virtues standing at the beginning of the book, and such symbolising human vices coming last. Besides the metaphorical interpretation of the Lisao, Wu's book is also beneficial for botanical studies. He corrects a lot of wrong interpretations made by earlier scholars. However, Wu overly relied on the book Shanhaijing 山海經, a text known for its mythological and fantastical descriptions, including legendary plants
For each plant mentioned, Wu not only cites explanations from renowned scholars such as Wang Yi 王逸 (c. 89-158 CE; Chuci zhangju 楚辭章句) and Hong Xingzu 洪興祖 (1090-1155; Chuci buzhu 楚詞補注), but also draws upon a wide range of classical texts. For example, in his commentary on the plant furong, he extensively cites Zhou Dunyi's 周敦頤 (1017-1073) famous essay on the lotus plant, Ai lian shuo 愛蓮說.
The book was first printed in 1200 in Luotian. A manuscript was compiled in 177 by Fang Ganbai 方甘白. The text is included in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Zhibuzuzhai congshu 知不足齋叢書 and Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編.
A supplement called Lisao caomu shu bu 離騷草木疏補, comprising 4 juan, was compiled during the Ming period by Tu Benjun 屠本畯 (1542-1622).
Tu gives each fascicle a headline characterising the plants discussed, namely Fragrant herbs (1-2 Xiangcao bu 香草部), Wondrous trees (3 Jiamu bu 嘉木部), and Evil plants (4 Ecao emu bu 惡草惡木部). Tu added plants such as hemp (ma 麻), black millet (ju 秬), glutinous millet (shu 黍), vetch (wei 薇), algae (zao 藻), rice (dao 稻), maple (feng 楓), and the parasol tree (wu 梧).
By quoting the original text of the Lisao and incorporating Wang Yi's ancient commentary, Tu attempts to mimic the minor prefaces (xiaoxu 小序) of the individual songs of the Shijing 詩經. However, Tu's explanations are often forced or unnecessary, contributing little to the core meaning of the text. Certain interpretations seem arbitrary rather than insightful, rendering them redundant instead of helpful. Some plant identifications are also incorrect. The book was printed in 1593.