Medicinals
shí hú / 石斛 / 石斛 / dendrobium
Latin pharmacognostic name: Dendrobii Herba
Alternate English names:
Alternate Chinese names:
Origin: Plant
Use: medicinal
Category: Supplementing agents / Yīn-supplementing agents
Properties: Sweet; slightly cold.
Channel entry: stomach and kidney channels.
Indications:
- Nourishes yīn and clears heat: Damage to liquid in febrile disease.
- Nourishes the stomach and engenders liquid: Insufficiency of stomach yīn.
- Supplements kidney yīn: Steaming bone taxation heat, dim vision, and limp wilting sinews and bones, due to kidney yīn vacuity.
Dosage & Method:
Oral: 6–15g in decoctions. If the fresh form is used, the dose should be 15–30g.
Warning:
Shí hú is sweet and can constrain evil; it should not be used too early in febrile disease.
Product Description:
These are fine curved stems that are often split. Sometimes there are many stalks branching from one rhizome, with the stubble of fine roots. Stems vary from 8 to 12 cm in length and from 1 to 2 cm in diameter. The external surface is a golden yellow with conspicuous brown nodes at 1–2.5 cm intervals. The stems are supple, and when snapped reveal a loose fibrous interior. The decocting pieces are usually 2–4 cm lengths.
Quality:
The best quality is a bright golden color, and highly supple.
Product Area:
Sìchuān, Guìzhōu, Guǎngxī.
Etymology:
The name shí hú 石斛, literally ""stone dendrobium,"" reflects the plant's ability to grow on rock.