The efficacy and function of cotton ginseng

In our lives, Cotton ginseng has attracted our attention because of its extremely high medicinal value. Let's take a closer look at what is Cotton Ginseng?

【English name】 Wallich Eriophyton

[Other names] Cotton-haired ginseng, hairy herb, bare-stem ginseng

[Source] Medicinal material source: the root or whole herb of the plant Codonopsis pilosula of the Labiatae family.

[Original form] Perennial herb, the whole plant is covered with cotton hairs, 10-20cm tall. The roots are thick and cylindrical. The stem is erect, the lower part often grows in piles of stones, is white, fleshy, and hairless, and the leaves are bract-like, white and hairless. The leaves on the upper part of the stem are large, arranged in pairs, whip-shaped or round, about 3-4cm long and wide, with smaller leaves at the top, acute at the apex, broadly cuneate at the base, with crenate-serrate margins above the middle, and densely covered with cottony hairs on both sides; the petiole is short or nearly sessile. The cyme has 6 flowers and no pedicels; the bracts are spiny, up to 1.2 cm long, densely woolly; the calyx is broadly bell-shaped, about 15 mm long, hidden in the leaves, densely woolly on the outside, woolly on the inside at the tips and edges of the calyx teeth, and glabrous on the rest, with 5 teeth, triangular, nearly equal in size, and about 7 mm long; the corolla is lavender or pink, 2.2-2.8 cm long, the upper lip is large, helmet-shaped, curved downward to cover the lower lip, densely woolly on the outside, the lower lip is small, 3-lobed, the middle lobe is slightly larger, and slightly emarginate at the tip; there are 4 stamens, the front pair is longer, the tip is protruding, the filaments are pubescent, and the base of the filaments of the rear pair is thickened; the stigma is 2-lobed; the disk is flat-topped. The nutlets are obovate-triangular, about 3 mm long, and yellowish brown. The flowering period is from July to September, and the fruiting period is from August to October.

[Habitat distribution] Ecological environment: Grown in piles of severely weathered rocks in high mountains at an altitude of 2700-5300m.

【Properties】 Identification of properties: The whole plant is wrinkled and shaped like a cotton ball. The root is conical, 4-6cm long, dark brown or brownish black; brittle, easy to break, with an uneven cross section, and yellowish white. The stem is square columnar and has nodes. The leaves are opposite, the leaves at the lower part of the stem are scaly, and the leaves in the middle and upper parts are gathered. The leaf blade is ovate, 3-4cm long and wide, with an acute tip, a broad cuneate base, serrated edges on the upper part, and covered with folded cotton hairs on both sides, with rough and obvious reticular veins. The cyme is hidden among the leaves; the corolla is two-lipped, lavender to pink or light yellow. Slight odor, light taste.

【Nature and flavor】 Bitter; cold

【Functions and indications】 Clears away heat and detoxifies; relieves cough. Mainly influenza; pneumonia; lung abscess; tuberculosis; hepatitis; dysentery; carbuncle spleen

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decocted in water, 9-15g.

[Discussions by various scholars] "Xinhua Compendium of Materia Medica": The whole plant or root: bitter in taste, cold in nature. It has the function of clearing away heat and detoxifying. The whole plant can cure pneumonia, dysentery, aquatic plant poisoning and food poisoning. It is edible and has the effects of nourishing, regulating qi and blood, promoting lactation and enhancing the vital energy.

【Excerpt】 Chinese Materia Medica

The above are the effects and functions of Cotton ginseng. We can also consume Cotton ginseng reasonably according to our own situation to relieve the pain caused by the disease.