Chinese medicine "Wuzhishan Shen" is the root of the plant arrowleaf hibiscus, a member of the Malvaceae family. The roots are dug in winter, washed, sliced, and dried. It is also known as arrowleaf hibiscus and copper skin. The root is used in medicine to treat stomach pain, nervousness, and externally for promoting blood circulation and reducing swelling, as well as for bone healing.
Image of Wuzhishan Shen
Wuzhishan Shen is used as a medicine for treating stomach pain, nervousness, and externally for promoting blood circulation, reducing swelling, and healing bone injuries. In northern Vietnam, the root is used to treat diarrhea and as a tonic.
Wuzhishan Shen is a perennial subshrub with a height of 0.3 to 1 meter. The root is fleshy and radish-shaped. The small branches are sparsely covered with long hairs, and the leaves are opposite.
The leaves have various shapes, broadly ovate or nearly circular, with a heart-shaped or lanceolate base. The upper leaves are sometimes arrow-shaped, with 3 to 5 shallow or deep lobes. Both sides of the leaves are sparsely covered with coarse hairs, and the edges have blunt teeth. The stipules are narrowly lanceolate or linear, and they are hairy.
The flowers are solitary in the leaf axils, with a pedicel 3 to 5 centimeters long that elongates after flowering. There are 5 to 8 linear bracts with long hairy margins.
Image of Wuzhishan Shen
The sepals are bell-shaped, covered with soft hairs on both sides. The corolla is red, with 5 petals, about 4 centimeters long. The stamen tube is shorter than the corolla. The stigma has 5 branches at the top, and the style is flattened. The capsule is ovoid or elongated, 2.5 to 4 centimeters long, with a short or long beak. The fruit skin is thin and leathery, sparsely covered with yellow coarse hairs.
The seeds of Wuzhishan Shen are kidney-shaped, with longitudinal serrated glandular spots. It blooms from April to September.
It grows in scrub vegetation and grasslands on slopes. It is distributed in Guangdong, Guizhou, and other regions.
