Chinese Herbs. John D. Keys
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TRACHYCARPUS FORTUNEI H. Wendl. (Palmae) |
| Hemp or windmill palm. Growing to 15 m., the trunk covered with the remains of the old leaf sheaths. Leaves numerous, roundish, 40-80 cm. long by 0.6-1.2 m. wide, deeply divided into narrow, pointed segments 3 cm. wide, the leafstalk rough. Flowers in large hanging panicles among the crown of leaves, dioecious, yellowish; sepals and petals free; stamens 6; carpels 3. Fruit drupe-like, bluish, pea-sized, pericarp fleshy. Southern China, Burma, Japan. (Syn. T. excelsa Wendl., Chamaerops excelsa Thunb.) The seeds are officinal and occur 1 cm. long by 6 mm. in diameter, reniform, greenish yellow, leathery. They contain mannosan, galactan, saccharose, and a large amount of tannin.47 Used as astringent hemostatic, both internally and externally. Dose, 7-15 gm. |
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STEMONA TUBEROSA Lour. (Stemonaceae) |
| An herbaceous volubilate plant, attaining 10 m. in height. Roots tuberous, fusiform. Leaves opposite, triangular-oval, barely cordate at the base, rather truncate, acuminate, 9-15 cm. long by 6-12 cm. wide. Inflorescence axillary; March-June; perianth in 4 segments, reddish yellow, 4 cm. in diameter; stamens 4; ovary 1-celled, conical. Fruit an oblong capsule, 35 mm. long. Central China, Indochina, Taiwan, India. (Syn. Roxburghia gloriosoides Roxb., R. viridiflora Smith, R. stemona Steud.) The drug occurs as yellowish white, cylindrical tubers, the interior hollow and dark brown. The taste is bittersweet. The tubers contain stemonine (C22H33NO4; white needles, odorless, slightly bitter; soluble in alcohol, ether, acetone, toluene, benzene, chloroform; m.p. 160°),151 which is mildly toxic. Stemonine calms the respiratory center; it is strongly effective against Pediculus capitus, P. corporis, and Phthirus pubis without irritation or toxicity.151 Used internally as antitussive. Dose, 5-10 gm. Externally, as pediculicide. |
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TYPHA LATIFOLIA L. (Typhaceae) |
| Cattail. A reed-like plant growing in dense stands. Root-stock thick. Leaves stiff, 1.5-2.7 m. long, scarcely 19 mm. wide. Floral spike terminal, cylindrical, brownish, 15-20 cm. long. Flowers extremely minute, numerous, being crowded in the dense spike, monoecious. Staminate flowers at upper end of the spike, evanescent; no perianth; stamens 2-7 united at the base to a common short filament; usually accompanied by numerous bristly hairs. Pistillate flowers consisting of a single, simple pistil on a short stalk; style long, slender; stigma flattened; ovary 1-celled. Cosmopolitan. The yellow pollen is collected for medicinal use. It contains iso-rhamnetin (C16H12O7), fatty oil, and a sitosterol.140 Used internally as hemostatic and diuretic. Dose, 5-10 gm. Externally, as astringent and dessicant vulnerary. |
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ALPINIA OFFICINARUM Hance. (Zingiberaceae) |
| Galanga. A ginger-like, perennial, leafy-stemmed herb, 0.7-1.2 m. tall. Rhizome creeping, 12-18 mm. in diameter, reddish brown, glabrous, covered with fibrous scales which leave irregular rings. Leaves cartilaginous, glabrous, lanceolate, 29-40 cm. long by 24 mm. wide; sheath scariose. Inflorescence paniculate, enclosed in the superior sheaths before anthesis. Bracts very small, caducous. Calyx tubular, with 3 short teeth; corolla longer than the calyx, lobes 15-20 mm. long by 4-5 mm. wide; stamens awl-shaped, short; labium white streaked with red, entire, 20 mm. long, 15-18 mm. wide; ovary 3-celled. Fruit a 3-valved capsule. Southern China, Hainan, northern Vietnam. The rhizome occurs pharmaceutically as long transverse pieces 11.5 cm. long by 2 cm. in diameter, ramificate, dark reddish or cinnamon brown, texture fibrous, surface annulate with yellowish, wavy leaf bases. The odor is aromatic, the taste aromatic and pungent. The drug contains the oily, acrid resin galangol (C15H10O5 • H2O; yellow needles; m.p. 217°; very soluble in alcohol; slightly soluble in ether, chloroform; insoluble in water), 0.5-5.0% essential oil (comprising cineol, eugenol, pinene, cadinene, methyl cinnamate), a sesquiterpene, and dioxyflavonol.151 The action of galangol and the essential oil is that of an aromatic stimulant, with effects similar to those of ginger.144 Prescribed as stomachic in dyspepsia, gastralgia, chronic enteritis. Dose, 1-3 gm. (In Japan, A. kumatake Mak. is employed.) |
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AMOMUM CARDAMOMUM L. (Zingiberaceae) |
| Round or cluster cardamom. An herbaceous perennial, the stem leafy, fleshy, about 1.8 m. tall. Leaves narrowly lanceolate, 20-30 cm. long, margin entire. Floral stalk growing directly from the creeping rootstock, much shorter than the stem. Flowers in dense spicate clusters, brownish yellow, tubular, 2.5 cm. long, with a distinct lip. Fruit a capsule, growing in clusters, green when immature, white when ripe, with 3 blunt angles, 3-celled, containing 9-12 seeds. East Indies. The fruits occur as golden capsules, globular, villous, glabrous, 16 mm. in diameter, 3-celled. The seeds contain an essential oil comprising cineol, camphor, d-borneol, terpineol.140 The taste is pungent and slightly bitter, the odor aromatic. The seeds are used as an aromatic stomachic with antiemetic action. Dose, 2-4 gm. |
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