Lady Lou Cai is a commonly used medicinal herb in traditional Chinese medicine, but because few people have heard of it, most people do not know its morphological characteristics. Let's explore the characteristics of Lady Lou Cai together!
【Morphological Characteristics】
Lady Lou Cai is a biennial or perennial herb, 20-70cm tall. The whole plant is densely covered with short and soft hairs. The stem is erect and branched from the base. The leaves are opposite, with no stalks in the upper leaves and short stalks in the lower leaves;
The leaf blades are linear-lanceolate to lanceolate, 4-7cm long, 4-8mm wide, acute at the apex, and gradually narrowed at the base. The margins are entire. The umbel inflorescence is 2-4 branched, with 2-3 flowers in each umbel; the calyx tube is long-ovate, with 10 veins and 5 toothed lobes at the apex;
There are 5 white petals, lanceolate in shape with 2 lobes at the apex, a claw at the base, and 2 scales at the throat; there are 10 stamens, slightly shorter than the petals; the ovary is superior with 3 styles.
The capsule is elliptical, 6-lobed at the apex, and the outer perianth is nearly equal in length to the fruit. The seeds are numerous, small, dark-brown, and have tuberculate protrusions. The flowering period is from May to June, and the fruiting period is from July to August.
【Identification Characteristics】
Lady Lou Cai grows on slopes below 3800m altitude, in grasslands or bushes along wilderness roads. It is distributed throughout the country and is harvested in summer and autumn. It is used fresh or dried after removing mud and sand.
The entire plant of Lady Lou Cai is 20-50cm long, densely covered with short and soft hairs. The root is slender and fusiform, woody. The stem is erect and branched. The leaves are opposite; the complete leaf blades are linear-lanceolate or lanceolate, 4-6cm long, and about 5mm wide;
The apex is sharp, the base gradually narrows, the margins are entire, and the surface is gray-green or yellow-green, densely covered with short and soft hairs. The umbel inflorescence has pink or light brown flowers, often 2-3 flowers on each branch.
The capsule is elliptical, nearly equal in length to the calyx tube. The seeds are kidney-shaped, small, dark-brown, and have tuberculate small protrusions. It has a slight odor and a mild taste.
