The Chinese herbal medicine "Wolfgrass" can treat bronchitis, tuberculosis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, dysentery, erysipelas, and tinea, among others. However, there is another herb called "Devil's Needles" that looks similar to Wolfgrass but has different effects. If the two are confused, the consequences could be unimaginable. So how can we distinguish between Wolfgrass and Devil's Needles?
Image of Wolfgrass
[Similarities between Wolfgrass and Devil's Needles]
Both herbs grow by the roadside, in wastelands, and by ditches, and their fruits stick to people's clothes. Due to their special smell, pigs, cows, sheep, and other animals do not eat these two herbs raw. However, after cooking, they can be fed to pigs as feed. Both herbs have yellow flowers.
The whole herb is harvested from June to November. They both have the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, and antibacterial properties. They can be brewed in a thermos and consumed as tea. Both can treat colds, sore throats, dysentery, and other diseases.
[Differences between Wolfgrass and Devil's Needles]
1. Stems: Wolfgrass stems are generally round, while Devil's Needles stems are usually four-sided.
2. Leaves: Wolfgrass has pinnately compound leaves that are opposite, with 3-5 leaflets that are lanceolate in shape. Devil's Needles have branches with opposite or alternate leaves that are trilobed or unlobed.
3. Flowers: Wolfgrass does not have ligulate flowers, but there are well-developed leaf-like bracts below the inflorescence. Devil's Needles have white or yellow ligulate flowers.
4. Fruits: Wolfgrass has flat fruits with 2 short spines at the top, while Devil's Needles have slender cylindrical fruits with 3-4 short spines at the top.
5. Functions and indications: Wolfgrass has the effects of tonifying and nourishing yin, so it is often used alone or in combination to treat diseases such as physical weakness, indigestion, tuberculosis night sweats, urinary tract infections, hepatitis, etc. Devil's Needles have the effects of promoting blood circulation and dispelling stasis, so they are often used alone or in combination to treat snake bites, bruises, appendicitis, hemorrhoids, chronic ulcers, chilblains, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and other conditions.
Through the analysis above, we can understand why some people feel more energetic after drinking "Devil's Needles tea" but still have high blood pressure and high blood lipids. The main reason is that they mistakenly used "Wolfgrass" instead of "Devil's Needles". In practice, Devil's Needles can lower blood pressure without side effects.
6. Identification of dried herbs:
You can start with the characteristics of their fruits. If the fruit is flat with 2 spines at the top, it is Wolfgrass. If the fruit is slender and cylindrical with 3-4 spines at the top, it is Devil's Needles or Granny's Needles, which has the same effects and indications as Devil's Needles. Of course, there are also very few Devil's Needles with only 2 spines at the top.
Comparison of Images of Wolfgrass and Devil's Needles
Wolfgrass Image
Devil's Needles Image
