Daidaiflower Pericarpium, a traditional Chinese medicine, is the fruit of the plant Daidaiflower in the Cruciferae family. It is cultivated in low mountainous areas or hills, mainly in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. It has the effects of promoting qi circulation, regulating the middle burner, resolving food stagnation, and eliminating phlegm. It is used for chest and abdominal distension and pain, indigestion, phlegm retention, and prolapse of the anus.
【Morphological Characteristics】
Daidaiflower Pericarpium is an evergreen small tree with sparse branches and short thorns. The young branches have edges and corners. The leaves are elliptic to ovate-elliptic, 5-10 cm long and 2.5-5 cm wide. The petioles are 2-2.5 cm long, and the leaf wings are inverted heart-shaped.
The flowers are in corymbose cymes; the calyx is 5-lobed, with ovate lobes; the flowers are white, with 5 petals, 2-2.5 cm long; the stamens are 21-24, often 3-5 fused. The fruit is flattened and round, with a diameter of 7-8 cm, and has no fragrance. The flowering period is from May to June, and the fruit matures in December.
【Habitat Distribution】
Daidaiflower Pericarpium is cultivated in low mountainous areas or hills, mainly in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.
【Harvesting and Processing】
Daidaiflower Pericarpium is harvested in July to August when the green fruits are not fully mature. They are cut in half from the middle and dried in the sun or with heat.
【Identification】
After processing, Daidaiflower Pericarpium is semi-spherical, with a diameter of 3-4 cm. The surface is greenish-yellow or grayish-yellow-brown, with a reticulate wrinkle pattern, and there is a remnant calyx at the base of the fruit stalk;
The outer fruit skin is 0.5-1 cm thick, slightly turned outward, and the pulp has 9-11 segments, with 1 to several immature seeds in each segment, and the central axis is 4-8 mm wide. It tastes bitter and sour.
