Yunshi Root, a Chinese medicinal herb, is produced in provinces such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Hebei, Shaanxi, and Gansu. It is also found in tropical and temperate regions of Asia. It has the effects of dispelling wind and dampness, detoxifying and reducing swelling. It is used for treating colds, fever, cough, sore throat, toothache, rheumatism, hepatitis, dysentery, gonorrhea, abscesses, skin itching, and snake bites.
Yunshi Root
【Toxicity of Yunshi Root】
Yunshi Root is non-toxic according to "Guiyang Folk Herbs".
【Origin of the Medicinal Herb】
It is the root or root bark of the leguminous plant Yunshi.
Latin name: Caesalpinia decapetala (Roth) Alston [Reichrdia decapetala Roth; Caesalpinia sepiaria Roxb.]
【Harvesting and Storage】
It can be harvested all year round. The root is dug up, washed, and sliced or the bark is peeled off.
【Morphology of Yunshi Root】
Yunshi is a climbing shrub. The bark is dark red and densely covered with hooked thorns. The stipules are broad and semi-arrow-shaped, and they fall off early. The leaves are bipinnately compound, 20-30cm long, with 3-10 pairs of leaflets, opposite, petiolate, with 1 pair of thorns at the base of each leaflet. Each leaflet is membranous, oblong, 10-25mm long, 6-10mm wide, with a rounded apex, slightly notched, and a blunt base. Both sides are covered with short soft hairs, sometimes the hairs fall off.
The terminal inflorescence is a panicle, 15-30cm long; the peduncle of the inflorescence has many thorns; the flowers are symmetrical, with a pedicel 2-4cm long, straight and strong, with a joint below the calyx, and the flowers easily fall off; the calyx has 5 petals, oblong, and covered with short soft hairs; the petals are yellow and curl up when in full bloom; there are 10 stamens, separate, with dense hairs below the filaments; the ovary is superior and hairless.
The pod is nearly woody, short and curved, 6-12cm long, 2-3cm wide, slightly swollen, with a pointed beak at the apex, and the ventral suture bulges into narrow wings. When mature, it splits along the ventral suture, hairless, chestnut brown, and glossy. There are 6-9 seeds, oblong, brown. The flowering and fruiting period is from April to October.
【Habitat Distribution】
Ecological environment: It grows in plains, hills, valleys, and riversides.
