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Latin pharmacognostic name: Stalactitum

Alternate Chinese names: 钟乳 zhōng rǔ; 留公乳 liú gōng rǔ; 芦石 lú shí; 夏石 xià shí; 黄石砂 huáng shí shā; 卢布 lú bù; 夏乳根 xià rǔ gēn; 公乳 gōng rǔ

Kingdom: Mineral

Use: Medicinal

Category: Phlegm-transforming cough-relieving panting-calming agents / Cough-relieving panting-calming agents

Properties: Sweet*; warm*.

Channel entry: Lung, kidney, and stomach channels.

Indications:

• Warms the lung and calms panting: Cold wheezing and phlegm panting.
  • Assists yáng and promotes qì absorption: Kidney vacuity yáng wilt (impotence), seminal emission, and vacuity panting.
  • Disinhibits the orifices and frees milk: Breast milk stoppage.

    Dosage & Method: Oral: Decoct (9–15g); use in pills and powders.

    Warnings: Contraindicated in yīn vacuity with effulgent fire and lung heat cough or wheezing and panting.

    Product Description: This product takes the form of cylindrical or spindle-shaped pieces of stone substance, 5–15 cm long, and 2–7 mm thick, with a white, pale gray, or brown pitted surface. It is hard and heavy and breaks cleanly to reveal a whitish or light brown interior with small holes surrounded by annular markings. It has no smell and is slightly salty to the taste. One specific form of stalactite is tubular stalactite 滴乳石, characterized by a hollow center. This comes in 3–5 cm lengths, with a diameter of 1–1.5 mm, has a cream or grayish-brown surface and is usually translucent.

    Quality: White stalactite with a luster is best.

    Product Area: Guǎngxī, Guǎngdōng, Húběi, Sìchuān, Guìzhōu, Yúnnán, Shānxī, Gānsū, and Shǎnxī (Shaanxi).

    Etymology: The name zhōng rǔ shí 钟乳石, literally bell-nipple stone, in allusion to the form.

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