Medicinals

dù zhòng / 杜仲 / 杜仲 / eucommia [bark]

Latin pharmacognostic name: Eucommiae Cortex

Alternate English names:

Alternate Chinese names: 石思仙 shí sī xiān; CHAR mián; 丝连皮 sī lián pí; 丝楝树皮 sī liàn shù pí; 丝绵皮 sī mián pí; 扯丝皮 chě sī pí; 思仙 sī xiān

Origin: Plant

Use: medicinal

Category: Supplementing agents / Yáng-supplementing agents

Properties: Sweet; warm.

Channel entry: liver and kidney channels.

Indications:

Dosage & Method:

Oral: 10–15g in decoctions. Some sources indicate that the stir-fried form is more effective medicinally.

Warning:

Use with care in yīn vacuity with effulgent fire.

Product Description:

This bark comes in flat strips with a slight curl, 1–6 mm thick, with pale grayish-brown cork bearing longitudinal wrinkles and furrows, and transverse lenticels. Thicker areas of cork are often partly removed, leaving a flat, brown surface. The inner surface has a smooth texture and is dark, purplish, or blackish brown in color. This bark is brittle, but when broken the parts are held together by silvery, extensible filaments. The decocting pieces are sections with multiple cuts allowing the filaments to be stretched. When char-fried in with brine, they are brownish black in color.

Quality:

Best when hard and dry, with rubbery threads that do not easily break.

Product Area:

Sìchuān, Guìzhōu, Húběi.

Etymology:

The name dù zhòng 杜仲, according to Lǐ Shí-Zhēn, is named after Dù Zhòng, who attained enlightenment after ingesting this agent. Several alternate names such as sī lián pí 丝连皮, sī mián pí 丝绵皮, and zhǐ sī pí 扯丝皮, refer to the filaments ( 丝) that hold the broken bark together.

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