The Chinese herb Baogai Cao, also known as Pearl Lotus and Bone-setting Grass, is the whole plant of the Lip-shaped family plant Baogai Cao. Because its plant form resembles the umbrella of Buddhism and Taoism, it is called "Baogai Cao". Let's find out what the flower of Baogai Cao looks like.
What does the flower of Baogai Cao look like?
Baogai Cao has umbel inflorescence, lanceolate-diamond-shaped bracts with ciliate hairs.
The calyx is tubular, covered with white straight long hairs on the outside.
The corolla is purple-red, with dense red-purple short hairs on the upper lip and fine hairs on the rest, the corolla tube is slender, the upper lip is straight and elongated, the lower lip is 3-lobed, the middle lobe is inverted heart-shaped with a deep notch. The stigma at the top of the pistil is shallowly divided into 2 lobes.
The floral disk is cup-shaped with rounded teeth. The small nut is ovoid, 3-angled, and pale gray-yellow.
Cultivation method of Baogai Cao
Baogai Cao grows on roadsides, forest edges, marsh grasslands, and near houses, or as field weeds, with an altitude of up to 4000 meters. It is widely distributed in Europe and Asia.
Baogai Cao has been studied for its breeding mechanism as a weed. It is found that most weeds have a breeding mechanism of self-pollination.
Most of the seeds of Baogai Cao are produced by self-pollination, but there is also a small portion that is the product of cross-pollination. Self-pollination may play an important role in ensuring the reproduction of plants in the process of exploring new settlement environments.
On the other hand, cross-pollination will lead to genetic recombination, resulting in offspring with a richer genotype, which plays a very important role in the adaptation of offspring to different environments.
Therefore, the combination of cross-pollination and self-pollination may be the main factor that makes Baogai Cao a successful weed.
Uses of Baogai Cao
It has good therapeutic effects on various diseases and has good development prospects. It is commonly used in Yunnan folk medicine and has the functions of promoting blood circulation, relieving bone fractures, calming the liver, reducing swelling, and dispersing masses.
Baogai Cao can be used as an ornamental plant, but few people take advantage of it. It has always been regarded as a weed and has not been introduced for the purpose of greening and beautification.
On the contrary, Baogai Cao is very popular in rural areas because it can be used as animal feed. In addition, if there is a wound that is inflamed and producing yellow discharge, Baogai Cao can be applied to the wound, and it will heal completely after a few changes.
If someone has a wound that is suppurating or inflamed, grinding Baogai Cao and applying it to the wound can help the wound heal quickly and reduce inflammation.
On the other hand, in rural areas, some farmers will pick Baogai Cao and add it to pig feed, which can enhance the immunity of pigs and make them grow stronger.
