Women's withered is a kind of anti-inflammatory Chinese medicine, mainly harvested in autumn, and the aerial stem is used. It is mainly used to treat diarrhea, prolapse of the anus, epilepsy, fever, edema in pregnant women, and joint and bone pain. Let's take a look at the morphological characteristics and medicinal value of women's withered.
Image of Women's Withered
Morphological Characteristics of Women's Withered
Women's withered is a vine with small branches densely covered with short and soft hairs. The leaves are opposite; leaf stalks are 1.5-7cm long; trifoliate, with ovate or wide-ovate leaflets, 2.5-8cm long and 1.5-7cm wide.
They usually have indistinct 3 shallow lobes, with serrations along the edges or coarse serrations or teeth with notches. The upper surface is sparsely covered with short and soft hairs or hairless, and the lower surface usually has sparse short and soft hairs or only dense short and soft hairs along the veins.
The inflorescence is a conical umbel, with many flowers. The inflorescence stalk and flower stalk are densely covered with short and soft hairs. The small bracts on the flower stalk are small, spindle-shaped, or absent. The flowers are hermaphroditic, with a diameter of 1-1.5cm.
There are 4 sepals, narrowly inverted ovate, 7-8mm long, white, spreading, with short hairs on both sides, denser on the outside; no petals; numerous stamens, hairless, 4-6mm long, with filaments about 5 times longer than anthers; a few carpels, covered with short hairs.
The fruit is narrowly ovate, 3-5mm long, not flattened, with short hairs, and the persistent styles are feather-like, 1.2-1.5cm long. The flowering period is from July to September, and the fruiting period is from September to October.
Image of Women's Withered
Distinguishing Characteristics of Women's Withered
The stems are quadrangular, reaching several meters in length, winding or cut into segments, with a diameter of 1-5mm. The surface is gray-green or brown-green, usually with 6 distinct longitudinal ridges, covered with white hairs. The texture is brittle and easily broken, with an uneven cross-section. The wood is yellowish-white, with numerous small vascular pores visible, and the pith is loose.
The leaves of women's withered are opposite, trifoliate, and the leaflets are wrinkled and broken. The intact leaflets are ovate or wide-ovate, with the terminal leaflets larger than the lateral leaflets. They often have indistinct 3 shallow lobes and notches or teeth along the edges. They are dark green, covered with short hairs on both sides, and the petioles are 2-9cm long, often twisted. Some have flowers and fruits. It has a weak aroma and a slightly bitter and astringent taste.
Image of Women's Withered
Medicinal Value of Women's Withered
1. Li Dang's "Pharmacopoeia": Stops diarrhea, aids digestion.
2. "Tang Materia Medica": Mainly used for wind-cold, sudden diarrhea, intestinal rumbling, epilepsy, various cold and hot diseases, excessive sweating.
3. "Hunan Materia Medica": Used to treat edema in pregnant women, cervical lymphadenoma.
4. Used to treat chronic diarrhea and prolapse of the anus: Take 1 sheng (unit of volume) of women's withered, burn and smoke it. ("Collection of Tested Formulas for Childbirth and Lactation")
5. Used to treat joint and bone pain: Take 5 qian (unit of weight) of women's withered vine, 5 qian of mile-a-minute vine, 3 qian of roadside bramble, and 2 qian of old hook vine. Decoct and take. ("Hunan Materia Medica")
