The efficacy and function of water sedge

Water grass is one of the common traditional Chinese medicines in our country. The medicinal history of water grass is very long. There are records of water grass in many ancient medical books. Water grass has good edible value and medicinal value. Let’s take a look.

【Other name】 Jinfeicao

[Source] Medicinal material source: the whole herb of the Asteraceae plant.

[Original form] Water lily is a perennial herb. The rhizome is long, often with fine branches with scale-like leaves and terminal buds, and adventitious roots are often present at the lower part of the stem. The stem is erect, 30-80cm high, branched at the top, green with purple spots. Simple leaves are alternate; leaf blades are ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, 4-10cm long, 1.4-4cm wide, the lower leaves gradually narrow into petiole-shaped, withering during flowering; leaves above the lobate part are sessile, with rounded or wedge-shaped base, semi-amplexicaul, glabrous above, with yellow glandular dots below, and short soft hairs on the veins. The capitula grows at the end of the stem or right end, with a diameter of 2.5-4.5cm; the involucre is hemispherical; the involucre bracts are multi-layered, the outer layer is linear, and the inner layer is linear-lanceolate; the ligulate flowers are 2-3 times larger than the involucre bracts, the ligules are yellow, linear, and about 1.5cm long; the corolla of the tubular flowers is about 3mm long, with lanceolate lobes, and the lobes have glandular dots; the pappus is dirty white. Achenes are cylindrical, with 10 deep grooves, and are glabrous. The flowering period is from June to October, and the fruiting period is from September to October.

[Habitat distribution] Ecological environment: Grown on moist slopes of low mountains, stream banks in forests, rice fields or beside rivers.

【Properties】 Characteristic identification: The whole plant is 50-100cm long and the whole plant is hairy. Stems green-brown with purple-brown spots. The leaves are alternate, the complete leaves are ovate-lanceolate or oblong, 3.5-7cm long, 1.5-3cm wide, and the leaf margins have irregular serrations. It has a faint smell and a slightly bitter taste.

【Nature and flavor】 Spicy; sweet; warm

【Functions and indications】Descends qi and resolves phlegm; dispels wind and dampness. It is mainly used for cough with a lot of sputum; pancreatic tightness and asthma; rheumatic pain; furuncle and swelling

【Usage and Dosage】 For wind-induced diseases: decoct in water, 6-15g. For external use: take appropriate amount and mash it for application.

[Additional prescription] "Southern Yunnan Materia Medica" states that it "grows in water and flowers facing the sun", hence the name water sunflower.

【Excerpt】 Chinese Materia Medica

It can be seen that the medicinal value of water hyacinth is still very obvious. However, not everyone can use water lily. We can judge based on our own physical condition.