The efficacy and function of shield fruit grass

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

【English name】 root of Sampsonii hance

[Other names] Black bone wind, wall grass, shield grass, wild ground, cat strips

[Source] Medicinal material source: the whole herb of the dicotyledonous plant Herba Lycopodii of the Boraginaceae family.

[Original form] Annual herb, 15-50cm tall. The stem is erect or ascending, often branched from the lower part, and the whole plant is densely covered with spreading long stiff hairs and short rough hairs. Basal leaves are clustered, with short petioles, spoon-shaped leaf blades, 3.5-19cm long, 1-5cm wide, obtuse at the apex, gradually narrow at the base, and covered with long stiff hairs and short rough hairs with a base disk on both sides; stem leaves are smaller, sessile, and narrowly oblong or oblanceolate leaf blades, 2-8cm long, 1-2cm wide. Flowers solitary in leaf axils or outside axils, or in scorpion-tail racemes, 6-16cm long; bracts narrowly ovate or lanceolate; calyx 5 deeply lobed, lobes narrowly elliptic, with long stiff hairs on the back and edges; corolla light blue or white, corolla tube slightly longer than lobes, lobes nearly round, spreading, with 5 linear appendages in the throat, hypertrophy, with nipple protrusions, and slightly emarginate at the apex; stamens 5, filaments short, hidden in the middle of the corolla tube; ovary small, style short, stigma capitate, 2 shallowly lobed. There are 4 small erect fruits, which are oval, dark brown, about 2mm long, densely covered with wart-like protrusions, and the upper part is split into 2 layers. The outer layer has a whorl of long teeth, while the inner layer has an entire margin. The inner and outer layers are tightly attached, forming bowl-shaped protrusions. The flowering period is April-May, and the fruiting period is June-August.

[Habitat distribution] Ecological environment: grows on hillside grasslands, roadsides or gravel piles, and bushes.

[Properties] Identification of properties: The stems are relatively thin, 1 to several, cylindrical, 10-30cm long, with a dull green surface and grayish-white rough hairs, brittle and easy to break, and white in cross section. The basal leaves are clustered, wrinkled and curled. When unfolded when wet, they are spoon-shaped, petiolate, 3.5-19cm long, 1-5cm wide, withered green or dark green, and have grayish-white coarse hairs on both sides. The stem leaves are smaller and sessile. The leaves are slightly thick. Small blue or purple flowers are sometimes seen. Or a small nut with two layers of bowl-shaped protrusions, the outer layer with upright gears on the top of the base and the inner layer close to the edge. Slight smell and slightly bitter taste.

【Nature and flavor】 Bitter; Cool

【Meridian】 Heart; Large Intestine

【Functions and indications】 Clears away heat, detoxifies and reduces swelling. Mainly used for carbuncle, furuncle, sore throat, diarrhea, dysentery

【Usage and Dosage】 For oral administration: decoction, 9-15g, fresh product 30g. For external use: take appropriate amount and mash the fresh product for application.

[Discussions by various scholars] "Xinhua Compendium of Materia Medica": The whole plant: bitter in taste, cool in nature. It has the functions of clearing away heat, detoxifying and reducing swelling. Used for enteritis, bacillary dysentery, carbuncles, furuncles, etc.

【Excerpt】 Chinese Materia Medica

From the above we can see that the Chinese medicine Herba Shieldii has very high medicinal value, so we can consider applying Herba Shieldii in our lives.