The efficacy and function of deer ear feathers

Deer ear feathers are a famous traditional and commonly used Chinese medicinal material in my country with a long history of application. Today we will learn about deer ear feathers.

[Other names] Deer Ear Poria, Deer Ear Grass (Essentials of Raw Medicinal Herbs), Bashique, Maoliuhedgehog, Hexagonal Petals, Liushitou, Liuducao, Balengfeng, Bamianfeng, Wadada Grass, Sixty Petals, Hexagonal Heart, Sheep Chrysanthemum (Fujian Folk Herbs), Stinky Elastic Dan (Seed Plants in Southern Jiangsu), Luzhoufeng (Luchuan Materia Medica), Four-sided Root (Nanning City Pharmacopoeia), Sheep Ear Sanren (Guangdong Traditional Chinese Medicine II), Luxuxiao, Liuerxiao (Guangxi Traditional Chinese Medicine), Tufangfeng, Liupanjin (Mindong Materia Medica), Sheep Grass (Guizhou Herbs), Hexagonal Grass (Fujian Traditional Chinese Medicine).

[Source] It is the whole herb of Hexapoda chrysanthemum of the Asteraceae family. Harvest in autumn, wash, cut and dry.

[Original morphology] Perennial, stout, upright herb. Many branches, densely covered with light yellow short glandular hairs, and the stems and branches are winged. The leaves are alternate, oblong, 2.5 to 10 cm long, undivided, gradually pointed at the apex, with small teeth on the edges, and the base extends down to the stem to form wings. The capitula is terminal or axillary, arranged in a rectangular or spire-shaped panicle with leaves; the flowers are purple with short petioles; the involucre is bell-shaped, with multiple layers of bracts; the receptacle is flat and bare; all flowers are tubular; the outer rows are female flowers, which are well-developed and linear; the central ones are bisexual flowers, which are in multiple rows, well-developed, and have 5 lobes at the apex. Achenes, hairy; pappus white. The flowering period is from late autumn to early spring of the following year.

【Habitat distribution】Grows in wilderness. Distributed in the eastern, southern and southwestern parts of my country. Produced in Guangdong, Fujian, Guangxi and other places.

[Properties] The whole plant is dried, with old stems that are thick, about 6 mm thick, gray-brown, and have irregular longitudinal wrinkles; the branches are brown-yellow, with wrinkles and yellow glandular hairs, and the stems and branches have 4 to 6 wings, which are gray-green to yellow-green and covered with short glandular hairs; the texture is hard and brittle, with pith in the center of the cross section. Leaves are alternate, mostly broken, gray-green to yellow-brown, and covered with short yellow glandular hairs. It has a fragrant aroma and a slightly bitter and spicy taste. The best ones are those with many leaves, green and yellow color, and no roots.

【Chemical composition】 Contains flavonoids, phenols, organic acids, amino acids and sugars.

【Nature and flavor】 Spicy, warm.

[Entry into meridians] "Mindong Materia Medica": "enters the lung, spleen, and bladder meridians."

【Functions and indications】 Dispel wind, remove dampness, resolve stagnation, disperse blood stasis, reduce swelling, and detoxify. It is used to treat colds, coughs, body aches, abdominal pain, diarrhea, rheumatic joint pain, amenorrhea in women, injuries from falls, carbuncles, scrofula, and itching caused by dampness and toxins.

[Usage and Dosage] For internal use: decoct in water, 3-5 qian (1-2 liang for fresh); or mash into juice. For external use: mash and apply or decoct in water for washing.

[Additional prescription] ① Treat joint pain: 1 to 2.5 liang of whole Hexagram herb. Stew with pork.

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

[Source] From "Ben Cao Qiu Yuan"

Above we introduced what deer ear feathers are, their effects and functions. We know that deer ear feathers can not only improve immunity, but also play an indispensable role in treating certain diseases.