The efficacy and function of Mitsukoshi

I believe that many people have never heard of or seen Tripterygium wilfordii. Tripterygium wilfordii is actually a plant of the Cyperus family with a beaked red root and whole root. It is mainly distributed in East China, South China and Southwest China. Three-leafed grass has many functions. Some books say that it "induces labor and relieves exterior symptoms. It can treat difficult labor in women and prevent measles in children." It is a traditional Chinese medicinal material with very high medicinal value. So what does it look like and what specific functions and effects does it have?

1. Morphological characteristics

The tuber is spherical, 1-2 cm in diameter, with fibrous roots. There are 2-5 leaves, sometimes 1 leaf. The petiole is 15-20 cm long, with a sheath at the base, and there are bulbils with a diameter of 3-5 mm inside the sheath, above the sheath or at the base of the leaf blade (petiole top). The bulbils germinate on the mother plant or after falling to the ground; the leaves of seedlings are ovate-cordate to halberd-shaped, entire and simple, 2-3 cm long and 2-2.5 cm wide; the leaves of old plants are 3-divided, the lobes are green, the back is light, oblong-elliptical or lanceolate, with sharp ends, the middle lobe is 3-10 cm long and 1-3 cm wide; the lateral lobes are slightly shorter; the margin is entire or with inconspicuous shallow wavy round teeth, the lateral veins are 8-10 pairs, thin and weak, the fine veins are reticular, dense, and there are 2 circles of collective veins.

Inflorescence stalk is 25-30(-35) cm long, longer than petiole. The spathe is green or greenish-white, with a narrow cylindrical tube, 1.5-2 cm long; the eaves are oblong, green, sometimes with bluish-purple edges, 4-5 cm long, 1.5 cm wide, and blunt or acute. Spadix: Female inflorescence 2 cm long, male inflorescence 5-7 mm long, 3 mm apart; appendages green to purple, 6-10 cm long, erect, sometimes S-shaped. The berries are oval, yellow-green, and gradually narrow at the tip into a distinct style. The flowering period is from May to July, and the fruit matures in August.

It can reach 1.5 meters in height, with a triangular stem, lance-shaped leaves growing in a whorl, and brown flowers on the top that gradually turn yellow after fruiting. It grows in water areas everywhere. The hard root can be peeled and boiled, or dried and ground into powder to make a coffee substitute.

2. Original form

Beaked red-bracted sedge is a perennial herb. The rhizome is short and horizontal. The culms grow in clusters, are 20 to 60 cm high, and are triangular in shape. The leaves are linear, often as long as the culm, about 6 mm wide, and have leaf sheaths. The flowers are unisexual and monoecious; the inflorescence is usually 10 to 15 cm long; there are 3 to 10 spikelets, the male spikelets are terminal, slightly slender, 2 to 5 cm long; the female spikelets are lateral, cylindrical, 2.5 to 5 cm long; the scales are arranged in a shingle-like manner, the scales of the female flowers are ovate, light brown, with 3 veins, and the ridges extend into a long tip; there are 3 stamens; the style is 2-lobed; the theca is ovate, with a short beak, and brown. The nutlets are light brown and triangular. The heading period is summer and autumn. Growing in grass on hillsides.

3. Main Functions

Induce labor and relieve exterior symptoms. It can cure difficult labor in women and prevent measles in children.