Medicinals
qín pí / 秦皮 / 秦皮 / ash [bark];
Latin pharmacognostic name: Fraxini Cortex
Alternate English names: fraxinus [bark]
Alternate Chinese names: 秦白皮 qín bái pí; 苦榴皮 kǔ liú pí; 岑皮 cén pí; 蜡树皮 là shù pí
Origin: Plant
Use: medicinal
Category: Heat-clearing agents / Heat-clearing toxin-resolving agents
Properties: Bitter, acrid; cold.
Channel entry: liver, gallbladder, and large intestine channels.
Indications:
- Clears heat, dries dampness, and resolves toxin: Heat toxin diarrhea or dysentery; vaginal discharge and
genital itch . - Clears the liver and brightens the eyes: Painful swollen eyes or eye screens due to depressed heat in the liver channel.
Dosage & Method:
Oral: 3–12g in decoctions. Can also be made into pills and can be decocted for use as an eye wash.
Product Description:
The dried bark of the branches comes in channeled sections, or in single or double quills, about 30 cm long, 1.5–3 cm in diameter, and roughly 3 mm thick. The exterior surface is rough in texture, and brown or gray in color with lighter speckles. The interior surface is yellowish white. Sometimes the exterior layer peels away to reveal the reddish-brown color of the interior layer. This bark is hard and snaps easily, leaving a fibrous fracture. It has a blue fluorescent appearance when soaked in water. The decocting pieces are 1 cm long sections.
Quality:
Bark that comes in long, neat tubes is the best.
Product Area:
Fraxinus bungeana: Liáoníng, Jílín, Héběi, Hénán, Shǎnxī (Shaanxi), Sìchuān, and Inner Mongolia. Fraxinus rhynchophylla: Manchuria and the North of China.
Etymology:
The name qín pí 秦皮 is traditionally explained as reflecting the products origin, ""bark from Qín,"" i.e., from Shǎnxī (Shaanxi) Province, or as being derived from cén pí 岑皮, the bark of a tree that is ""small but tall"" (cén 岑).