Wiseman’s Chinese Medical Database

lǎo guàn cǎo / 老鹳草 / 老鸛草 / heron's-bill/cranesbill

Latin pharmacognostic name: Erodii seu Geranii Herba

Alternate English names:

Alternate Chinese names:

Origin: Plant

Use: medicinal

Category: Wind-damp–dispelling agents / Wind-damp-heat–dispelling agents

Properties: Acrid, bitter; balanced.

Channel entry: liver and large intestine channels.

Indications:

• Dispels wind-damp and frees the channels and network vessels: Wind-damp impediment (bì) pain; painful injury from knocks and falls.
• Clear heat and resolves toxin; checks diarrhea and dysentery: Damp-heat diarrhea and dysentery; swollen welling-abscesses (yōng); sores.

  Dosage & Method:

  Oral: Decoct (10–30g); can also be steeped in wine or prepared as a paste.

  Product Area:

  Most parts of China.