The Chinese herb Didingcao has powerful effects, not only for reducing swelling and pain, but also for its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Didingcao can be considered a traditional Chinese medicine for clearing heat and detoxifying the body, especially when combined with other detoxifying herbs. Let's take a closer look at Didingcao!
【Understanding Didingcao】
Didingcao, also known as purple-flowered Diding, is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows 7 to 15 centimeters tall and is covered with white short hairs. It has a thick, yellowish-white main root. The leaves grow in clusters from the base, with leaf stalks that are 3 to 10 centimeters long and slightly winged on both sides. The leaf sheaths are membranous and linear-lanceolate, attached to the leaf stalk. The leaf blades are elongated elliptical, ovate, or broadly lanceolate, measuring 2 to 9 centimeters in length and 0.5 to 3.5 centimeters in width. The tips are blunt, and the base is shallowly heart-shaped or truncate, with shallow blunt teeth along the edges.
The flowers are axillary and light purple, with a diameter of about 1.5 centimeters. The flower stalks are 4 to 10 millimeters long, with two linear bracts in the middle. There are five lanceolate sepals, each with a rounded appendage at the base. There are five petals, with one larger petal that elongates into a tubular spur about 7 millimeters long. There are five stamens with fused anthers, broad connective tissue, and short and wide filaments. The two lower stamens have appendages with nectar glands that extend into the spur. The ovary is superior with three carpels, one chamber, and numerous ovules. The style is single with a three-lobed stigma.
The fruit is long and oval, about 1 centimeter long, and splits into three carpels, each with ridges and furrows, with persistent sepals at the base. The seeds are oval and brownish-yellow, smooth. The flowering period is from March to April, and the fruiting period is from May to August.
【The Effects of Didingcao】
The whole plant of Didingcao is used as a medicinal herb. It has a bitter taste and a cold nature. It enters the spleen and heart meridians. The herb is mainly produced in Liaoning, Guizhou, and Hunan provinces. According to experts, Didingcao has four major effects.
1. Didingcao has the effect of reducing swelling and detoxifying the body.
Didingcao can clear heat, detoxify, and reduce abscesses and swelling. It has a good effect in relieving high fever and restlessness, and it is beneficial for treating influenza, upper respiratory tract infections, tonsillitis, and mumps.
2. Didingcao has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects.
Modern pharmacological studies have shown that Didingcao can treat bacterial infections such as enteritis, nephritis, hepatitis, acute appendicitis, conjunctivitis, dysentery, and other suppurative infections.
3. Didingcao has the effect of reducing swelling and relieving pain.
Didingcao has a therapeutic effect on various infections that cause swelling and pain. It can treat edema, breast abscess, carbuncle, and furuncle.
4. Didingcao has the effect of treating snake bites.
Fresh Didingcao juice can be taken orally, or it can be mixed with a little realgar and applied topically.
【Cultivation Techniques for Didingcao】
(1) Field management
Since Didingcao is a shade-loving plant, it needs to be watered frequently after germination. Pay attention not to bury the seedlings when harvesting mature crops in late autumn. Water should be poured before freezing to form an ice layer, and organic fertilizer should be applied.
After the thaw in the following spring, crush the manure blocks and level the field. From the Qingming Festival to the Grain Rain Festival, when the new leaves have not covered the ground yet, apply 10 to 15 kilograms of urea per mu, and water it after application. Stop watering after the beginning of summer to prevent stem and leaf rot and reduce yield.
(2) Main pests and diseases
Around the time of the Jingzhe Festival, when the seedlings turn green again, there is often a black caterpillar of a lepidopteran insect that feeds on the tender shoots of Didingcao, causing significant damage. It can be sprayed and killed with a 500 to 1000 times dilution of Bacillus thuringiensis (strain 3) or by applying 2500 grams of bacterial powder mixed with 15 to 25 kilograms of fine soil per mu to poison the field.
