The efficacy and function of the earth melon

Many people are not very clear about the wild gourd, so when choosing the wild gourd, you need to understand it so that you can feel at ease when eating it, which is beneficial for disease treatment.

[Other names] Earth egg (Zunyi Prefecture Records), Yunnan earth melon (Illustrated Catalogue of Plant Names and Realities), mountain earth melon (Experienced Identification Method of Chinese Medicine Shape and Properties).

[Source] It is the tuberous root of the Convolvulaceae plant , the wild cucurbita serrata. Dig up in autumn, wash off the mud and sand, slice and dry.

[Original form] Perennial twining herb. The tuber is spherical or oval, with a reddish brown or yellowish white epidermis and milky mucus. The stem is slender and hairless. Leaves are alternate; petiole 0.9-2.1 cm long; leaves are broadly ovate, elliptical or rectangular, 3-5 cm long, 1.4-3.5 cm wide, mucronate at apex, rounded or obtuse at base, entire or with shallow wavy wrinkles, smooth and glabrous on both sides, or with soft hairs near the base edge. Flowers are solitary in leaf axils or in cymes; pedicels are three times as long as petioles, with two bracts near the top; sepals are 5, ovate; corolla is yellow, funnel-shaped, 3 to 4.5 cm in diameter and about 4 cm long; stamens are 5, anthers are white and elliptical; pistil is 1, ovary is superior, with yellow nectaries attached to the base, and style is longer than filaments. The capsule is oblate and contains many seeds. Flowering period: summer and autumn.

[Habitat distribution] Growing in bushes on hillsides. Distributed in Yunnan, Guizhou and other places. Produced in Yunnan.

[Properties] Most of the dried tubers have been cut into round slices about 5 mm thick. The cut surface is yellowish-white, powdery, loose in texture, and has shrinkage wrinkles. The surrounding root bark is thin, and the outer surface is reddish brown or yellowish white and rough. Slight odor, slightly sweet taste. It is best to be dry, white and not broken.

[Nature and flavor] "Southern Yunnan Materia Medica": "sweet, neutral."

[Meridian] "Compendium of Materia Medica in Southern Yunnan": "Red soil melon enters the spleen and stomach meridians. White one enters the lung meridian."

【Functions and indications】 Clears the liver and promotes bile secretion, moistens the lungs and relieves cough. Treat jaundice, chronic hepatitis, lung heat cough, bleeding, lack of milk, leucorrhea, and infantile malnutrition.

[Usage and Dosage] For internal use: decoct in water, 4 to 5 qian; or eat raw. For external use: mash and apply.

[Additional prescription] ①Treatment of chronic hepatitis: one liang of red earth melon. Use brown sugar or honey as a guide and decoct in water. (Yunnan Chinese Herbal Medicine)

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

[Source] From "Southern Yunnan Materia Medica"

Through the detailed introduction of this article, I believe everyone has a certain understanding of the functions and effects of ground melon. The several functions and effects introduced in the article are relatively common. I hope everyone can remember them and they will be helpful in your life.