Medicinals
cāng ěr zǐ / 苍耳子 / 蒼耳子 / xanthium [fruit];
Latin pharmacognostic name: Xanthii Fructus
Alternate English names: cocklebur [fruit]; Siberian cocklebur [fruit]
Alternate Chinese names: 牛虱子 niú shī zǐ; 苍郎种 cāng láng zhǒng; 苍子 cāng zǐ; 苍棵子 cāng kē zǐ; 饿虱子 è shī zǐ; 胡苍子 hú cāng zǐ; 苍耳蒺苈 cāng ěr jí lì; 棉螳螂 mián táng láng; 苍子 cāng zǐ; 胡苍子 hú cāng zǐ; 胡寝子 hú qǐn zǐ; 苍棵子 cāng kē zǐ; 苍耳蒺藜 cāng ěr jí lí
Origin: Plant
Use: medicinal
Category: Exterior-resolving agents / Warm acrid exterior-resolving agents
Properties: Acrid, bitter; warm; slightly toxic.
Channel entry: lung channel.
Indications:
- Frees the nasal orifices: deep-source nasal congestion (bí yuān) with headache,
loss of smell , and periodic runny nose with turbid nasal mucus. - Dispels wind-damp and relieves pain: wind-damp impediment (fēng shī bì) pain with hypertonicity of the limbs.
Dosage & Method:
Oral: 3–10g in decoctions. Also used in pills.
Warning:
Unsuitable for blood vacuity headache. It is slightly toxic and can therefore in excessive doses cause vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
Product Description:
The dried fruit with involucre is spindle-shaped or elliptical. It is 1–1.7 cm long, and 4–7 mm in diameter. The exterior surface is yellowish green, or brown-green and is covered with hooked thorns roughly 2 mm long. At one end are two larger and thicker thorns joined or separate. The involucre (outer skin) is tough and supple. Within are two chambers, each with one achene that is spindle-shaped, flat on one side, and black in color. The seed is light gray and comprises two cotyledons with a radicle at the tip.
Quality:
Full, yellow fruits are the best.
Product Area:
Shāndōng, Jiāngxī, Húběi, and Jiāngsū.