The black calyx acacia is a perennial herbaceous plant with delicate and scattered stems. It has ovate stipules and ovate to lanceolate leaflets. The fruit is oblong. The flowering and fruiting period is from June to September.
[Source] The whole plant of the leguminous plant black calyx acacia.
[Plant morphology] The black calyx acacia is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows to a height of 10-15 cm. The stems are slender and scattered. It has pinnate compound leaves that are 5-15 cm long. The leaf axis is thin and sparsely covered with yellow long soft hairs.
The stipules are connate at the base, ovate in shape, and separate from the petiole. There are 9-25 leaflets that are ovate to lanceolate in shape, measuring 5-11 mm in length and 2-4 mm in width. The leaflets have a pointed apex and a rounded base, and both surfaces are sparsely covered with yellow long soft hairs.
The flowers are arranged in umbel-shaped inflorescences with 3-10 flowers. The peduncle of the inflorescence is 8-14 cm long and sparsely covered with long soft hairs. The calyx is bell-shaped, about 4-6 mm long and 2-3.5 mm wide, and densely covered with black short soft hairs. The calyx teeth are linear. The corolla is blue, about 12 mm long, with a broadly ovate triangular standard petal and a keel petal with a beak that is only 1/2 mm long. The fruit is oblong, pendulous, 1.5-1.7 cm long and 7-8 mm wide, membranous, and densely covered with black long soft hairs. The flowering and fruiting period is from June to September.
[Habitat and distribution] The black calyx acacia grows on slopes, pastures, and grasslands in mountainous areas. It is distributed in Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, Tibet, and the northwest of Yunnan.
[Collection] The black calyx acacia is harvested in August and September and dried in the sun.
[Properties and taste] According to "Manual of Tibetan Medicinal Herbs": sweet and mild, warm. According to "Illustrated Tibetan Medicine of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau": sweet, warm.
[Meridians] According to "Manual of Tibetan Medicinal Herbs": enters the kidney, spleen, and bladder meridians.
[Functions and indications] According to "Manual of Tibetan Medicinal Herbs": detoxifies and treats sores, diuretic and reduces swelling. Treats ascites, edema, wind rash, and erysipelas. According to "Illustrated Tibetan Medicine of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau": reduces fever, relieves pain, induces vomiting, and diuretic. Treats ulcer disease, gastric spasms, and edema. Extracts can be used topically to treat wounds.
[Usage and dosage] Internally: decocted in water, 12-18 grams.
