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Carthami Flos
Carthamus [flower]
红花 〔紅花〕 hóng huā
Alternate English names: safflower
Alternate Chinese names: 草红花 cǎo hóng huā; 刺红花 cì hóng huā; 红蓝花 hóng lán huā
Kingdom: Plant
Origin in PRC Pharmacopoeia: Carthamus tinctorius L. (PRC Pharmacopoeia)
Origin in unofficial sources: Carthamus tinctorius L.*
Use: Medicinal
Category: Blood-quickening stasis-transforming agents / Blood-quickening menses-regulating agents
Properties: Acrid; slightly warm.
Channel entry: Liver and heart channels.
Actions and indications:
- Quickens blood and frees the menses: Blood stagnation leading to menstrual pain, amenorrhea, or postpartum stasis obstruction abdominal pain.
- Dispels stasis and relieves pain: Concretions, conglomerations, accumulations, and gatherings; stasis pain in the heart region and abdomen; injury from knocks and falls; welling-abscesses and
sore s. - Additional uses: Hóng huā is also used to treat dark maculopapular eruption arising from depressed fire and blood stasis. In this application, it should be combined with Zǐ cǎo (紫草 Arnebiae/Lithospermi Radix, arnebia/lithospermum), Dà qīng yè (大青叶 Isatidis Folium, isatis leaf), and Niú bàng zǐ (牛蒡子 Arctii Fructus, arctium [seed]).
Dosage and method: Oral: 3–9 g in decoctions; also used externally. In decoctions, hóng huā should be added at the end.
Warnings: Contraindicated in pregnancy. Avoid high doses when a tendency towards bleeding is present.
Product description: This is a tubular flower without ovaries, about 1.5 cm long, and orangey red or brown in color. The corolla is long and narrow and has five incisions, each lobe being 5–7 mm long. There are five stamens. The anthers are yellow and form a tubular shape that projects beyond the lobes, within which is a stigma.
Quality: Large brightly colored flowers that are soft to the touch and do not contain any stalks are the best.
Production area: Hénán, Zhèjiāng, Sìchuān, Japan, and India.
Etymology: Hóng huā 红花, literally red flower,
describes the color of this item.