The efficacy and function of water lily

Water flower is a kind of Chinese medicinal material with very wide effects. We can use water flower in many places. Water flower also plays a very important role in the treatment and relief of many diseases. Now let us learn about water flower.

[Other names] Water bayberry (Flora of Guangzhou), water yellow chisel (Luchuan Materia Medica), Qinglongzhu (Guangxi Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicinal Plants), Chuanyu Liu, false bayberry (Guangzhou Army's Handbook of Commonly Used Chinese Herbal Medicines), water-added bayberry, stream cotton strips (Fujian Chinese Herbal Medicines), Manshanxiang, ball-flowered water bayberry (Jiangxi's Handbook of Herbal Medicines).

[Source] It is the branches, leaves , flowers or fruits of the Rubiaceae plant Water Chestnut . It can be harvested at any time and used fresh or dried.

[Original form] Evergreen shrubs to small trees, usually about 2 meters high, up to 5 meters high. The branches are weak and have lenticels. Leaves are opposite, papery, oblanceolate or oblong-elliptic, 4-12 cm long, 1.5-3 cm wide, with a broad cuneate base and a long, pointed and obtuse tip; petioles are very short; stipules are 2-lobed, 5-7 mm long, and fall off early. The inflorescence is small, solitary in the leaf axil, spherical, with a diameter (including style) of about 2 cm; the peduncle is 3-4.5 cm long, covered with powdery pubescence, with 5 whorled bracts below the middle; there are 5 sepals, linear-oblong; the corolla is white, long funnel-shaped, covered with fine pubescence, 5-lobed, and the lobes are ovate-oblong, about 1 mm long; there are 5 stamens, with short filaments inserted in the throat of the corolla tube; the disc is cup-shaped, the ovary is inferior, 2-chambered, and the style is filiform, extending out of the corolla tube. The capsule is cuneate, about 3 mm long; the seeds are numerous, oblong, with narrow wings at both ends. Flowering period is from July to August. Fruiting season: August to September (Guangdong).

[Habitat distribution] It likes to grow by rivers, streams and under dense forests. Distributed in Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Zhejiang, Guangxi, Guangdong and other places.

【Nature and flavor】 Bitter, neutral.

【Functions and indications】 Clears away heat and dampness, eliminates blood stasis and relieves pain, stops bleeding and promotes tissue regeneration. It is used to treat dysentery, enteritis, edema due to damp heat, carbuncles, eczema, rotten feet, ulcers that do not heal, and bleeding from trauma.

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decocted in water, 3-6 qian of flowers and fruits; 0.5-1 liang of branches and leaves. For external use: decoct branches and leaves in water for washing or mash for application.

[Additional prescription] ① Treat bacillary dysentery: decoct 3 grams of Eryngium elata in water (10 minutes after boiling), take three times a day. (Jiangxi "Handbook of Herbs")

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

[Source] From "Compendium of Materia Medica".

Through the introduction in this article, we can learn some relevant knowledge about water lilies. Whether from the perspective of food health or traditional Chinese medicine, the role of water lily cannot be underestimated.