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Alternate English names: weeping forsythia [fruit] weeping golden bell [fruit]

Alternate Chinese names: 大翘子 dà qiào zǐ; 空壳 kōng ké; 连翘壳 lián qiào ké; 汉连子 hàn lián zǐ; 连壳 lián ké

Kingdom: Plant

Origin in PRC Pharmacopoeia: Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl. (PRC Pharmacopoeia)

Origin in unofficial sources: Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl.

Use: Medicinal

Category: Heat-clearing agents / Heat-clearing toxin-resolving agents

Properties: Bitter; slightly cold.

Channel entry: Lung, heart, gallbladder channels.

Actions and indications:

• Clears heat and resolves toxin: Initial-stage external contraction of wind-heat (warm disease); heat entering the pericardium in warm disease.
• Disperses welling-abscesses and binds: Swollen welling-abscesses, boils, and other sores; painful swollen throat; scrofula, phlegm nodes, and goiter.

Dosage and method: Oral: 10–15g in decoctions.

Warnings: Use with care in vacuity cold patterns. Do not use for ruptured flat- or welling-abscesses exuding clear pus in patients suffering from qì vacuity.

Product description: This fruit is ovate with acute points at each end. It is 0.7–2.5 cm long, and 0.5–1 cm wide, splitting into two points at the tip. The exterior surface of the exocarp is yellowish brown and bears irregular protuberant lines and speckles. Its interior surface is paler in color, and smooth and has a distinct septum, although the seeds are usually missing.

Quality: Dry, yellowish fruits with thick shells, and copious seeds are the best.

Production area: Shānxī, Hénán, Shānxī, Húběi, Shāndōng.

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