Chinese herbal medicine Wuzhuafeng is a highly valued medicinal herb with the function of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. It is mainly used to treat chronic hepatitis and ascites in liver cirrhosis. Let's learn about the efficacy and usage of Wuzhuafeng!
【Morphological Characteristics of Wuzhuafeng】
Wuzhuafeng is a climbing shrub, about 1.5 meters high. The branches are cylindrical, gray-brown to purple-brown, with soft hairs when young and shedding when old, sparsely covered with thorns.
The leaves are usually palmately compound with 5 leaflets, elliptic-lanceolate or rhombic-lanceolate, 3-7 cm long, 1-2.4 cm wide, gradually pointed at the apex, wedge-shaped at the base, with soft hairs only along the veins on both sides, and coarsely serrate and doubly serrate at the edges.
The leaf stalk is 2-4 cm long, with soft hairs, and the leaflets are sessile or nearly sessile; the stipules are linear-lanceolate, located at the base of the leaf stalk, only connected or slightly separated from the leaf stalk at the base, slightly hairy, and usually not divided.
The flowers are usually solitary at the end of lateral branches; flower stalks are 2-3.5 cm long, without hairs; bracts are similar to stipules; flowers are 1.5-2 cm in diameter.
The fruit of Wuzhuafeng is semi-spherical, hidden in the calyx, 1-1.5 cm in diameter, red, and covered with long soft hairs at the base of the persistent style; the seed is up to 4 mm long and wrinkled. The flowering period is from April to May, and the fruiting period is from May to June.
【Methods of Using Wuzhuafeng】
1. Wuzhuafeng and Lean Pork Soup with Buddha's Hand
Ingredients: 250g lean pork, 60g Wuzhuafeng, 10g Buddha's Hand, salt, and appropriate amount of water.
Instructions: Cut Wuzhuafeng into small pieces; wash Buddha's Hand; wash and cut the lean pork into chunks. Put all the ingredients into the pot together; add enough water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 1-2 hours, season with salt.
2. Wuzhuafeng and Pig's Trotter Soup
Ingredients: 1 pig's trotter, 100g Wuzhuafeng, 5 red dates.
Instructions: Wash Wuzhuafeng and red dates (remove the pits); remove the hair and nails from the pig's trotter, wash and cut into pieces, boil in boiling water for ten minutes, then remove and rinse with clean water. Put all the ingredients into the pot, add an appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 2-3 hours, season with salt.
【Methods of Planting Wuzhuafeng】
Wuzhuafeng can be cultivated in spring and autumn. It is best to plant in early April in spring and before the arrival of frost in autumn when the branch growth stops.
Cultivation mainly involves loosening the soil and weeding. In spring, loosen the soil between rows and weed within rows. In summer, depending on the degree of soil compaction and weed growth, tillage should be done. Under normal circumstances, loosen the soil between rows and within rows 2-3 times before harvesting the fruits.
After harvesting the fruits, loosen the soil once and perform two intertillage operations because the soil between rows is heavily compacted and weeds grow vigorously during the fruit harvesting process.
The fruits should be harvested at the right time, neither too early nor too late. Generally, they should be harvested one to two days after ripening. Berries should be picked with fruit stalks and part of the peduncle.
The harvested berries are best stored in a refrigerator at a temperature close to 0°C and a relative humidity of about 90%. Under such temperature and humidity conditions, they can be stored for about a week. Cold storage facilities can be used for long-term preservation of the berries.
