The efficacy and function of blue flower tea

In modern life, everyone is very familiar with various Chinese herbal medicines, among which blue flower tea is a very common one. So what are the effects and functions of blue flower tea? Let’s take a look.

[Other names] Starving ghost, hungry grass, blue cauliflower, mountain wolfsbane, white wormwood

[Source] Medicinal material source: The tender stems and leaves of the Verbenaceae plant Caryopteris mongolica.

[Original form] Caryopteris mongolica, a small deciduous shrub, 30-150cm tall. It often branches from the base. The branches are cylindrical, purple-brown and hairy when young, and the hairs gradually fall off when old. Simple leaves are opposite; petioles are short, about 3mm long; leaf blades are thick papery, linear-lanceolate to linear-oblong, 0.8-4cm long, 2-7mm wide, entire, rarely sparsely toothed, dark green on the surface, slightly hairy, and densely grayish-white hairs on the back. The inflorescence is axillary; the calyx is bell-shaped, about 3mm long, deeply 5-lobed, the lobes are linear to linear-lanceolate, about 1.5mm long, and densely covered with grayish-white hairs on the outside; the corolla is blue-purple, about 1cm long, covered with short hairs on the outside, 5-lobed, the middle lobe of the lower lip is longer and larger, with fringed edges, the corolla tube is about 5mm long, and there are long and thin soft hairs in the throat of the tube; there are 4 stamens, nearly equal in length, and they extend out of the corolla tube with the style; the ovary is oblong and glabrous. The capsule is ellipsoidal-spherical, glabrous, and the fruit petals are winged. Flowering and fruiting period is August to October.

[Habitat distribution] Ecological environment: Grown in arid slopes, sand dunes, wilderness and arid alkaline soil at an altitude of 1100-1500m.

[Properties] Property identification: The stems and branches are cylindrical, slightly twisted, of varying lengths, 1-4mm in diameter, purple-brown in surface, with fine longitudinal lines and gray-green leaf scars. Most of the leaves fall off and break. The intact ones are strip-shaped or strip-lanceolate when flattened, 1-4cm long, 2-7cm wide, gradually pointed at the apex, cuneate at the base, entire, light green above, gray-green below, with short hairs on both sides; the petiole is about 3mm long, with axillary cymes visible, and the flowers are wrinkled into a ball, dark purple. The leaves and flowers have a fragrance after rubbing, and the taste is slightly bitter.

[Chemical composition] Blue flower tea contains hypo-lactin-7-glucoside and 38 terpene hydrocar-bons.

【Nature and flavor】 Spicy; sweet; warm

【Functions and indications】Regulating Qi and aiding digestion; promoting diuresis and relieving swelling. Indigestion; abdominal distension; edema; difficulty urinating; rheumatic pain in the waist and legs

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decoction, 10-15g. For external use: take appropriate amount and mash it for application; or boil it in water for washing.

【Excerpt】 Chinese Materia Medica

Through the introduction of the effects and functions of blue flower tea, everyone knows its magic. In fact, there are many seemingly ordinary people or things in life that contain power that we cannot imagine. Now that everyone knows the magical therapeutic effects and functions of blue flower tea, you can try it to test whether it is effective.