Wolfgrass, also known as Ghost Fork, Ghost Needle, Ghost Thorn, etc., is non-toxic with a sweet and mild flavor. It is mainly used for clearing heat and detoxifying, nourishing yin and stopping sweating. It is the whole plant of the chrysanthemum family plant Wolfgrass. In summer and autumn, the aboveground parts are harvested and dried. What are the main values of Wolfgrass? Let experts teach you how to identify Wolfgrass, pictures, and other main value applications!
Wolfgrass
Wolfgrass
Alias: Bean curd vegetable, Lang Ye vegetable, Wu Jie, Lang Ye grass, Ghost Fork, Bean curd grass, Needle package, Lead thread package, Big wolfgrass, Relay grass, Needle package, One package needle.
Source: The whole plant of the chrysanthemum family plant Wolfgrass Bidens tripartita L.
Picking: Harvest in summer and autumn, remove impurities, use fresh or dry.
Excerpt: "National Compendium of Chinese Herbal Medicine"
Nature and Taste: Bitter, sweet, neutral. This species is a toxic plant recorded in the Chinese Plant Database, and the toxicity lies in the whole plant.
Function and Indications: Clears heat and detoxifies, nourishes yin and stops sweating. Used for colds, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, enteritis, dysentery, hepatitis, urinary tract infections, pulmonary tuberculosis with night sweats, amenorrhea; externally used to treat abscesses, eczema, and tinea.
Wolfgrass picture
Usage and Dosage: 0.5-1 liang; appropriate amount for external use, apply crushed fresh grass, or apply fresh grass juice to the affected area.
Wolfgrass Morphology and Distribution
Annual herb. Stem erect, 30-80 cm tall, sometimes up to 90 cm; branched from the base, hairless. Leaves opposite, small at the top of the stem, sometimes not divided, deeply divided or pinnately divided in the middle and lower part of the stem; 3-5 lobes, ovate lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate; rarely nearly ovate, wedge-shaped at the base, rarely nearly round, pointed or gradually pointed at the apex, irregularly serrated at the edges, with larger lobes at the top; petiole winged. Capitulum terminal, spherical or flattened; involucral bracts 2 rows, inner row lanceolate, membranous, equal to or slightly shorter than the capitulum, outer row lanceolate or inverted lanceolate, longer than the capitulum, leaf-like; flowers all tubular, yellow; stigma 2-lobed. Achene flattened, long-elliptic or inversely elliptic, 4.5-9 mm long, about 1.5-2.2 mm in diameter, with inverted small spines on the edges, a central longitudinal rib on both sides, and an upward spine on each upper side with fine reverse spines. Flowering period is from August to September. Fruit period is in October.
Habitat Distribution: It grows in waterside wetlands, ditches, and shallow waters, and also in roadside wastelands. It is distributed in most parts of the country.
Wolfgrass
The Main Value Applications of Wolfgrass
1. Medicinal Value
Function and Indications: Used to treat bronchitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, dysentery, erysipelas, and ringworm.
Pharmacological Effects: The infusion of the whole plant has sedative, hypotensive, and mildly increased heart beat amplitude effects when injected into animals; internal use can diuretic and promote sweating.
2. Feed Value
Wolfgrass is tender and juicy before flowering, and hairless. However, due to its slight odor, livestock and poultry tend to avoid eating it. After chopping and steaming, pigs like to eat it, and geese, ducks, and chickens also consume it. Green dry grass or frost-damaged dry grass can be fed to cattle, sheep, horses, and camels. Processed into hay powder, it can be used as a raw material for compound feed.
