The Chinese herb "Didingcao", also known as "Purple Gentian" and "Peng's Purple Gentian", grows in Gansu, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Shanxi and other provinces in China. It is the whole plant of the poppy family plant Diding Gentian. The whole plant is collected in summer, washed, dried, and cut into sections. What are its specific functions, indications, and how does it look like in pictures? Let's take a look together with the author!
Picture of Didingcao
Didingcao
[Alias] Didingcao, Kuding, Little Chicken Vegetable, Diding, Purple Flower Diding, Flat Bean Seedling.
[Source] The whole plant of the poppy family plant Diding Gentian.
[Meridian Tropism] Heart Meridian, Spleen Meridian.
[Toxicity] Slightly toxic.
[Nature and Flavor] Cold, bitter.
[Collection] The whole plant is collected in summer, washed, dried, and cut into sections.
Functions and Indications of Didingcao
Internal use: Decoction, 1-3 qian (fresh 1-2 liang); or pounded juice. External use: Pounded and applied.
1. Treatment of acute infectious hepatitis
Take 1 liang of Didingcao and decoct in water. (Hebei Traditional Chinese Medicine Handbook)
2. Treatment of dysentery
Picture of Didingcao
Take Didingcao with Huoxiancao and Diyu, decoct in water and drink. (Plateau Herbal Treatment Manual)
3. Treatment of various pains
For early stage of finger infection and lymphangitis (erysipelas) with redness, swelling, and pain: Take Didingcao and wild chrysanthemum each 1 liang, decoct in water and drink. (Hebei Traditional Chinese Medicine Handbook)
4. Treatment of boils and swellings
Pound fresh Didingcao, onion white, and raw honey and apply as a poultice. (Liaoning Commonly Used Chinese Herbal Medicine Handbook)
5. Treatment of damp-heat sores and ulcers
Take 1 liang of Didingcao, 1 liang of honeysuckle, 1 liang of dandelion, and 3 qian of big green leaves. Decoct in water and drink. (Liaoning Commonly Used Chinese Herbal Medicine Handbook)
Plant Morphology of Didingcao
Picture of Didingcao
Diding Gentian is a perennial herbaceous plant, 10-30cm tall, and basically glabrous. The roots are thin and straight, 3-10cm long, with few branches, and pale yellow-brown. There are 3-4 stems, clustered. The stem leaves are opposite; leaf stalks are 0.4-4cm long; leaf blades are 1.5-3.5cm long, grayish green, bipinnately lobed, with 2 shallow lobes at the top, often split into 3 teeth in the upper part.
The terminal inflorescence is racemose, 1-6.5cm long, and can reach 12cm during the fruiting period; bracts are leaf-like and deeply lobed; pedicels are 1-3mm long; sepals are small and fall off early; flowers are pale purple, 10-12mm long; petals are 4, with the outer two forming a pouch at the tip and the lower part forming a slender spur, 4.5-6.5mm long; stamens are 6, with 3 filaments fused together to form 2 bundles; ovaries are narrow elliptical, covered with soft hairs.
The capsule is narrowly elliptical, 1.2-2cm long, with persistent styles and contains 7-12 seeds. The seeds are flattened and spherical, 1.5-2mm in diameter, black, smooth on the surface, with a white membranous seed coat. Flowering period is from April to May, and fruiting period is from May to June.
Usage and Dosage of Didingcao
Decoction, 0.5-1 liang (fresh 2-3 liang); pounded juice or powdered. External use: Pounded and applied or made into paste and applied.
Dietary Taboos of Didingcao
Avoid taking it if you have a weak and cold constitution.
