The efficacy and function of cattail

When it comes to stinking cattail, many people may not know what it is. This is a local dialect name. It is also called mugwort or mugwort leaf. I believe everyone is familiar with this name. Especially during the Dragon Boat Festival, it is often used to ward off evil spirits at home, and mugwort is used to repel mosquitoes. It is said to have a certain effect in relieving women's uterine cold. The editor will explain to you the effects and functions of cattail.

"Compendium of Materia Medica" records: "Acorus calamus has a pungent, warm and non-toxic taste. It is used for wind-cold dampness arthralgia, cough and reverse breathing, opening the heart, nourishing the five internal organs, opening the nine orifices, brightening the eyes and ears, and treating deafness. Regular consumption makes people younger, not forgetful, not confused, beneficial to the mind, and prolongs life. It is mainly used to treat paralysis of the limbs, inability to bend and stretch, children's febrile diseases, and body heat accumulation. It can be used as a bath soup, treat tinnitus, dizziness and tears, invasion of evil spirits, kill various insects, sores, scabies, and remove wind and gas. Men have dirty water and women have cold blood, and it can also treat stroke and epilepsy.

The main functions of Puhuang as a medicine are to stop bleeding, resolve blood stasis and relieve stranguria. Used for hematemesis, epistaxis, hemoptysis, metrorrhagia, traumatic bleeding, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, stabbing pain in the abdomen, swelling and pain due to falls, and pain caused by blood. Water candle is the correct name for cattail. It grows in shallow water of lakes, rivers, and ponds, with a water depth of 1 meter or more. It is also common in swamps and ditches. When the water body dries up, it can grow in wetlands and cracked surface environments. Cattail is a wild aquatic plant that grows widely in China and can be used as food, medicine and daily necessities. The white and tender part of its pseudostem and the young and tender part at the tip of the underground runner (i.e. the grass bud) are edible and taste refreshing and delicious; the mature runner can be used as bath soup and feed. After ripening and harvesting, it can also be used to weave daily necessities such as cattail mats and cushions. Weaving daily necessities and handicrafts with cattail has a history of more than 6,000 years in my country.

Because it is wild, cattail is naturally insect-proof and moth-proof; because it grows in water and is not damaged by water, cattail is naturally moisture-proof and dehumidifying; because of its internal mesh structure, cattail has its own elasticity and is not soft when you first sit on it, and does not become hard when you sit on it for a long time; because of its dense surface and stagnant air inside, it is heat-insulating; because the product is made of multiple roots and multiple layers, it is breathable, so cattail does not feel cold in winter and does not feel hot in summer. "Compendium of Materia Medica" records: Mugwort, also known as domestic mugwort, mugwort leaves, and aged mugwort. It is bitter, dry, pungent and dispersing, and can regulate qi and blood, warm the meridians, expel cold and dampness, and relieve cold pain. It is an important gynecological medicine. It is used to treat cold pain in the abdomen, irregular menstruation, uterine cold and infertility, such as Ai Fu Nuan Gong Pills. Stir-fried charcoal can stop bleeding and can be used to treat excessive menstruation due to deficiency and cold, metrorrhagia, and fetal leakage during pregnancy, such as Jiao Ai Decoction. This product can be pounded into moxa sticks and moxa cones. External moxibustion can dispel cold, relieve pain, and warm Qi and blood. The decoction can be used for external washing to treat eczema, scabies, and eczema, and to relieve itching.

Mugwort is a perennial herb with a wide distribution. "Moxibustion" is generally used in acupuncture. Acupuncture is actually divided into two parts. "Acupuncture" means pricking the acupuncture points with a needle, while "moxibustion" means using burning mugwort to fumigate and scald the acupuncture points. The acupuncture points are certainly stimulated by the heat, but not all paper or grass that can be burned can be used for "moxibustion". The smell and natural functions of mugwort play a key role. When Chinese people use cupping to treat rheumatism, the effect is better when using mugwort as fuel.