The efficacy and function of water redwood leaves

Water rosewood leaves are a very common Chinese medicine in our daily life and are also very important in our daily life. However, some people don’t know much about the effects and functions of water rosewood leaves, so let us learn about it in detail below.

[Other names] Hangbai leaves, pink handkerchief leaves, fried noodles leaves, rubbed white leaves, pink tung leaves, gray leaves, wild gray indigo leaves, touch the face, turn the face leaves, horse fan lotus, draw the knife red, pinch the face camphor

[Source] Medicinal material source: leaves or bark of the water mahogany plant of the Caprifoliaceae family.

[Original form] Water redwood is an evergreen shrub or small tree, up to 8m tall. Young branches are finely hairy, old branches are reddish brown, becoming hairless, and sparsely lenticel-bearing. Leaves opposite; petiole 1-3.5cm long; leaves leathery, leaf blade elliptic to oblong or ovate-oblong, 6-16cm long, 3-5cm wide, leaves on sturdy branches thinner and larger, up to 17-24cm long, 10cm wide, apex acuminate to acute acuminate, base narrow to thin and larger, up to 17-24cm long, 10cm wide, apex acuminate to acute acuminate, base narrow to broad cuneate, entire or in the middle and upper parts often with a few irregular sparse teeth, dark green above, gray-green below, sparsely covered with red or yellow tiny glandular dots, with 1 to several glands on both sides near the base, 3-5 pairs of lateral veins, arcuate; leathery. The inflorescence is in the form of a cyme, 4-10cm in diameter, with fine hairs to only tiny glandular dots; the peduncle is 1-6cm long, with usually 7 first-order radiating branches; the flowers are usually borne on third-order radiating branches; the calyx tube is about 1.5mm long, with tiny glandular dots, and the calyx teeth are very small; the corolla is white or has a red halo, bell-shaped, 4-6mm long, with 5 lobes, round-ovate, about 1mm long, first red and then purple-black; the nucleus is ovate, flat, with 1 shallow ventral groove and 2 shallow dorsal grooves. The flowering period is June-July, and the fruiting period is August-October.

[Habitat distribution] Ecological environment: Growing on sunny slopes, sparse forests or shrubs at an altitude of 500-3300m.

[Chemical composition] The leaves contain amentoflavone and apigenin.

【Nature and flavor】 Bitter; astringent; neutral

【Functions and indications】Promotes dampness and detoxifies; promotes blood circulation. It is used to treat dysentery, diarrhea, hernia, dysmenorrhea, traumatic injury, urinary tract infection, carbuncle, psoriasis, stomatitis, and burns.

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decoction, 15-30g. For external use: take appropriate amount, crush the fresh product and apply; or grind the dry product into powder and apply; or boil it in water and wash externally.

【Excerpt】 Chinese Materia Medica

Everyone should know about the medicinal value of water rosewood leaves. We should pay more attention to information in this area so that we can be prepared when encountering problems and not panic.