Pucao Root is the root of the sedge plant Eleocharis dulcis, also known as Xicao Root or Mangcao. It is also referred to as Sanjiao Cao, Water Sanleng Cao, Simao Cao, or Sanleng Guan. Pucao Root is widely used for its mosquito repellent and hemostatic effects.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Pucao Root is believed to have the effects of clearing heat, removing dampness, and detoxifying. It is mainly used for conditions such as hot dysuria, difficult urination, abnormal vaginal discharge, and swollen and painful gums.
It is a perennial herb, reaching a height of 30 to 120 centimeters. The roots are fibrous, with a short rhizome. The stems are clustered, triangular in shape; the leaves degenerate into two leaf sheaths at the base of the stem, membranous, brown, and obliquely truncate at the apex. The spikelets are ovate-oblong, measuring 8 to 15 millimeters in length and 4 to 6 millimeters in width, with 3 to 20 florets fused to form a lateral, solitary, head-like inflorescence. The bracts are triangular, an extension of the stem, measuring 2 to 10 centimeters in length. The scales are ovate, pale brown, about 4 millimeters long, with a short pointed apex, ridges, and overlapping arrangement like tiles, with the lower 1 to 2 empty, and the rest having one bisexual flower each, with the uppermost one being atrophied, and 6 downward-pointing hairs with barbs; stamens 3; stigma 3-lobed. The small nutlets are inverted-ovate or flattened-triangular, turning black and glossy when ripe. The flowering period is from July to August.
Pucao Root grows in ditches, ponds, lake shores, and grasslands along creeks. It is distributed throughout China, except for Xinjiang and Tibet.
Wild Pucao Root cannot be consumed directly and needs to be processed before use.
On the Dragon Boat Festival, it is customary for everyone to drink a cup of wine early in the morning, which is believed to ward off evil spirits. Drinking and spraying realgar wine is a traditional folk custom of the Dragon Boat Festival. There is a saying, "On the fifth day of May, burning realgar wine on Dragon Boat Festival."
Because people in ancient times believed that the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, was an "evil month and evil day," it was considered the day with the heaviest poisonous gas.
Therefore, on this day, people would cut the harvested Pucao Root into small pieces, dry them in the sun, mix them with a little realgar, and soak them in white wine for drinking, believing that it would have the effect of expelling snakes and warding off evil spirits.
