The name of Baogai Cao is shy, and its literal meaning can be associated with its plant morphology. The reason why Baogai Cao can be quickly remembered by people is because of its leaves, which grow around the stem like a lotus flower, making its shape easy to remember. But do you know its efficacy?
Baogai Cao
The Four Major Effects of Baogai Cao
1. Treating fractures and muscle injuries
Baogai Cao, also known as Jiegugao, got its name for a reason.
"Dian Nan Ben Cao" and "Zhi Wu Ming Shi Tu Kao" recorded its efficacy as bone mending, nourishing tendons, promoting blood circulation, and relieving pain.
After a fracture, take 2 liang of Jiegugao, purple kudzu root, dendrobium, morinda officinalis, cloves, eupatorium fortunei, and radix asari.
Dry and grind them, take 2 qian each time, and take it with warm wine.
2. Treating bruises and injuries
Baogai Cao has the effects of relieving pain, promoting blood circulation, and nourishing tendons.
It has a good therapeutic effect on redness, swelling, pain, and blood stasis caused by falls.
Take an equal amount of Jiegugao, hemp root, and thistle, grind them together with egg white and honey, and apply them to the affected area. Change it once a day.
3. Treating lymph node tuberculosis
Take 1 liang of fresh Baogai Cao tender stems and leaves, and stir-fry them with 2 eggs to eat.
You can also use 2-3 liang of Baogai Cao, 2-3 eggs, boil them together, peel the eggs after they are cooked, continue boiling for half an hour, and eat the eggs and drink the soup.
4. Treating hemiplegia
Boil Jiegugao, hook vine, windproof, and dianthus with water, add equal amounts of burning wine and water wine, and drink it.
Baogai Cao
The Botanical Characteristics of Baogai Cao
1. Seedlings
The cotyledons are nearly round, with a slightly concave apex and a small pointed protrusion in the center, with long petioles.
The lower hypocotyl is well developed and purple-red in color. The first true leaves are opposite, slightly kidney-shaped, with a blunt round apex and a heart-shaped leaf base.
2. Adult plants
The plant is 10-30 cm tall, with basal branching stems, which are often purple or dark blue and hollow.
The lower leaves have long petioles, and the upper leaves are sessile. The leaf blades are all round or kidney-shaped, with a round apex and a truncate or truncate-obovate base, semi-amplexicaul, with deep rounded teeth on the edges, and both sides are sparsely covered with small rough hairs.
3. Flowers and fruits
Umbellate inflorescence, bracts lanceolate or diamond-shaped, with margin hairs.
The calyx is tubular, outside densely covered with white straight long hairs.
The corolla is purple-red, except for the upper lip, which is densely covered with short purple-red hairs, the rest are covered with fine hairs. The corolla tube is slender and long, the upper lip is straight, elongated and elliptical, and the lower lip is 3-lobed, with the middle lobe inverted heart-shaped and deeply concave. The stigma is shallowly bifid.
The floral disc is cup-shaped with rounded teeth. The achene is inverted ovate, with 3 edges and a pale gray-yellow color.
