Baogai grass, also known as pearl lotus, bone-setting grass, etc., is the whole plant of the lip-shaped plant Baogai grass. Because its plant morphology is similar to the umbrella of Buddhism and Taoism, it is called "Baogai grass". Now let's learn about the medicinal value of Baogai grass.
【Morphological characteristics of Baogai grass】
The root: cylindrical, thin, light brown surface.
Stem: upright or creeping, base branched, 4-angular, with shallow grooves, purple or dark blue. It has inverted short hairs when young, gradually falling off later. Plant height 10~30cm.
Leaves: round or kidney-shaped, 0.5~2cm long, 1.2~2.5cm wide, rounded at the tip, truncate or heart-shaped at the base, with deep rounded teeth or shallowly lobed on the edge, sparsely rough and depressed hairs on both sides. The lower leaves have long petioles, the upper leaves are nearly stalkless, and half-clasping the stem.
Flowers: Umbel inflorescence with 6~10 flowers, nearly stalkless. Bracts are lanceolate and diamond-shaped, with marginal hairs. Corolla 1.2~1.8cm long, purplish-red to pink, except for the upper lip covered with dense reddish-purple short soft hairs, the rest are covered with fine hairs or hairless. Ovary hairless.
Fruit: small achene, inverted ovate or inverted ovate-triangular, with 3 ridges, 2mm long, 1mm wide, light grayish-yellow, with white wart-like projections on the surface.
Seeds: 0.5~1mm long.
【Nutritional value of Baogai grass】
Baogai grass, also known as lighthouse grass, bone-setting grass, and pearl lotus. In our hometown, this kind of grass is often called lighthouse grass. Its name is related to its leaves.
The leaves of Baogai grass resemble the shape of a lighthouse, and they are layered and appear quite agile and textured. Especially when Baogai grass blooms, although the flowers are not large, it does not affect its blooming beauty at all.
Baogai grass also has high ornamental value, so it is often planted and enjoyed indoors by people in cities.
Baogai grass is also commonly used by breeders as green forage to feed pigs, cows, sheep, and other poultry and livestock. It is often mixed in feed to promote the growth of poultry and livestock and reduce feed production costs.
In addition, Baogai grass also has high medicinal value. When Baogai grass is crushed and ground, and applied to suppurating wounds, it can have a good anti-inflammatory effect.
At the same time, Baogai grass has certain effects on promoting blood circulation and reducing swelling, clearing heat and diuresis, treating bruises and injuries, bone pain, and fractures.
【Cultivation of Baogai grass】
Baogai grass grows on roadsides, forest edges, marsh grasslands, and near houses, or as field weeds, with an altitude of up to 4,000 meters. It is widely distributed in Europe and Asia.
Because Baogai grass is considered a weed, its breeding mechanism has been studied in the literature. It was found that most weeds have a mechanism of self-pollination.
Most of the seeds of Baogai grass are produced by self-pollination, but there is also a part that is the result of cross-pollination. Self-pollination may be important for plants to ensure reproduction when colonizing new habitats.
On the other hand, cross-pollination will result in genetic recombination, making the offspring have a richer genotype, which plays a very important role in the offspring's adaptation to different environments.
Therefore, the combination of cross-pollination and self-pollination may be the main factor that makes Baogai grass a successful weed.
