The efficacy and function of safflower

When it comes to safflower, we are all familiar with it. Safflower is not only edible but also has very high medicinal effects. Eating safflower regularly can play a very good health-preserving and health-care role.

[Alias] Rice bag (Compendium of Materia Medica for Famine Relief), Cardamine (Wild Vegetables), Qiaoyao, Qiaoqiao flower, wild broad bean (Illustrated Catalogue of Plant Names and Realities), Chinese milkvetch, lotus purslane (Mustard Garden Painting Manual), lotus sedge (Gengxin Farming Talk), Lotus Lang (Modern Practical Chinese Medicine), lotus grass, flower grass (Domestic Forage Plants), crab flower, lantern flower (Guizhou Folk Prescriptions and Medicines Collection), rice umbrella flower, wild duck grass (Guizhou Folk Medicines), turtledove flower (Guizhou Herbs), rolling dragon ball (Shaanxi Chinese Herbal Medicine), rice sieve flower grass, safflower grass, cauliflower (Jiangxi Herbal Handbook), safflower Lang (Su Medical Herbal Handbook).

[Source] It is the whole herb of the leguminous plant Astragalus membranaceus . Harvested in March and April, sun-dried or used fresh.

[Original form] Annual herb. The stem is erect or creeping, 10 to 40 cm high. Odd-pinnate compound leaves, with 7 to 13 leaflets, obovate or elliptic, 5 to 20 mm long, 5 to 12 mm wide, concave or rounded at the apex, cuneate at the base, covered with long stiff hairs on both sides; stipules ovate. Umbels are axillary, with 5 to 9 flowers, more than 10 flowers in cultivated ones, and a long peduncle; bracts are triangular ovate and covered with stiff hairs; calyx is campanulate, covered with long stiff hairs on the outside; corolla is purple or yellowish white, the standard petal is ovate, cuneate at the base, slightly rounded at the apex, the wing petals are slightly shorter, and the keel and standard petal are of equal length; 10 stamens (9+1), and the ovary, style and stigma are glabrous. The pods are rectangular, slightly curved, 1 to 2 cm long, black and hairless. The flowering period is from mid-February to early June. The fruiting period is from early March to late July.

[Habitat distribution] Distributed in Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Henan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and other places, and widely cultivated.

[Chemical composition] The whole plant contains fenugreek alkaloids, cholecalciferol, adenine, fat, protein, starch, multiple vitamins, histidine, arginine, malonic acid and canavanine.

【Nature and flavor】 Sweet and spicy, neutral.

【Functions and indications】 Clears away heat and detoxifies. Treats cough due to wind and phlegm, sore throat, conjunctivitis, furuncle, herpes zoster, and bleeding due to trauma.

[Usage and Dosage] For oral use: decocted in water, 0.5-1 liang; or mashed into juice for fresh use. For external use: mash and apply or grind into powder and apply.

[Additional prescription] ① To treat carbuncle: mash the flower of rice cyperus and apply it around the carbuncle, leaving the head exposed.

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

[Source] From "Illustrated Catalogue of Plant Names and Realities".

This article introduces to us what saffron cauliflower is. We know that saffron cauliflower has very high medicinal effects, but we must remind everyone that saffron cauliflower should not be eaten indiscriminately, otherwise it will cause serious consequences. I hope everyone will treat it with caution.