Medicinals

ròu cōng róng / 肉苁蓉 / 肉蓯蓉 / cistanche

Latin pharmacognostic name: Cistanches Herba

Alternate English names:

Alternate Chinese names: 苁蓉 cōng róng; 淡苁蓉 dàn cōng róng

Origin: Plant

Use: medicinal

Category: Supplementing agents / Yáng-supplementing agents

Properties: Sweet, salty; warm.

Channel entry: kidney and large intestine channels.

Indications:

Dosage & Method:

Oral: 10–15g in decoctions. As a single medicinal, up to 30g may be used. Use the raw form for constipation or vaginal discharge. Stir-fry it with wine to treat impotence, infertility, and lumbar pain.

Warning:

Contraindicated in yīn vacuity with effulgent fire, sloppy stool, and diarrhea. It is unsuitable for dry bound stool due to repletion heat in the stomach and intestines.

Product Description:

This stalk takes the form of dark brown, slightly crooked lumps about 15–30 cm long (10 cm long if broken), and 3–6 cm in diameter. The outer surface is densely covered with the remains of imbricate scaly leaf bases. The lumps are soft and fleshy and break easily to reveal an uneven fracture. The decocting pieces are oblique slices 2 mm thick. On the cut edge, the skin and the medulla are blackish brown, while the vessels appear brownish white in radial formation.

Quality:

1) Sweet cistanche: The best quality is soft, fat, oily, and a rich dark brown in color on the outside.2) Salty cistanche: The best quality is of large diameter, soft, and black, with fine scales.

Product Area:

Mongolia, Gānsū.

Etymology:

Ròu 肉 means fleshy, while the compound cōng róng 苁蓉 is understood as its homophone 从容, which means easy, calm, gentle, and to reflect the strong but gentle supplementing action of this agent.

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