The herb used to make Chishang San is the whole plant of Polygonum hydropiper var. purpurascens or Polygonum hydropiper var. hydropiper. It is mainly sown in spring and harvested in summer. Chishang San has the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, promoting blood circulation, and reducing swelling. Let's learn more about Chishang San together.
Identification:
The rhizome of Chishang San is slender, reddish-brown, and swollen at the nodes, with numerous fibrous roots. The stem is cylindrical, weak, slightly flattened, with slight branching in the upper part. It is light green or slightly reddish-brown, hairy or nearly hairless. The stem is hollow when cut.
The stem is thin, less than 1 millimeter in diameter, arising from the base in clusters, gray-brown or slightly purple, brittle and easily broken. The leaves are green-brown on the upper surface, light-colored or slightly reddish-brown on the lower surface, and slightly hairy.
Chishang San has a mild aroma and a slightly spicy and bitter taste. It is best to use the whole plant, intact, with roots, dried, and free from weeds and dirt.
Medicinal Uses:
Chishang San has the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, promoting blood circulation, and reducing swelling. It is used to treat dysentery, abnormal vaginal discharge, heat-induced headache, excessive menstruation, amenorrhea, breast abscess, and injuries.
According to "Practical Selection of Medicinal Herbs in Guangxi": "It can reduce swelling and detoxify. It is used to treat snake bites, abscesses, unidentified swellings, and mastitis."
According to "Common Medicinal Herbs in Sichuan": "It can clear heat and promote blood circulation. It is used to treat internal injuries, heat-induced dizziness and headache, excessive menstruation, amenorrhea, cough due to deficiency fire, dysentery with both red and white discharge, abscesses, and ulcers."
Cultivation:
Growing habits: It prefers sunlight but can tolerate shade. It is cold-resistant and can tolerate poor soil conditions.
Landscaping use: Suitable for flower beds, roadside planting, or planting under sparse forests.
Cultivation tips: It can be propagated by sowing or division. Division can be done in spring or autumn, and sowing is best done in spring. It is vigorous and requires minimal management. It is advisable to provide some shade. In autumn and winter, remove the withered parts above the ground to facilitate the growth of new branches in the following spring.
