Chinese herbal medicine "Wuzhishan Shen", also known as arrowleaf hibiscus, has a red or yellow color. Wuzhishan Shen is used as an antidiarrheal and tonic in northern and southern Vietnam!
Picture of Wuzhishan Shen
【The Original Form of Wuzhishan Shen】
Wuzhishan Shen is a perennial subshrub, growing 0.3 to 1 meter tall. The root is fleshy and radish-shaped. The branches are sparsely covered with long hairs, and the leaves are alternate.
The leaves are diverse in shape, broadly ovate or nearly circular, with a heart-shaped or spear-shaped base. The upper leaves are sometimes arrow-shaped and 3 to 5 shallow or deep lobed. Both surfaces of the leaves are sparsely covered with coarse hairs, and the edges have blunt teeth. The stipules are narrowly lanceolate or linear, and hairy.
The flowers are solitary in the leaf axils, with pedicels 3 to 5 centimeters long that elongate after flowering. There are 5 to 8 linear bracts with long hairy margins.
The calyx is like a lotus flame, covered with soft hairs on both sides. The corolla is red with 5 petals, about 4 centimeters long. The stamen tube is shorter than the corolla, and the stigma has 5 branches that are flattened. The capsule is ovoid or elongated, 2.5 to 4 centimeters long, with short or long beaks. The pericarp is thin and leathery, sparsely covered with yellow coarse hairs.
The seeds of Wuzhishan Shen are kidney-shaped, with longitudinal serrated glandular dots. The flowering period is from April to September.
【The Medicinal Use of Wuzhishan Shen】
Wuzhishan Shen is used medicinally for treating stomach pain, neurasthenia, and externally as a medicine for promoting blood circulation and reducing swelling, as well as for treating bruises, sprains, and bone fractures. In northern and southern Vietnam, it is used as an antidiarrheal and tonic.
The rhizome is used medicinally. It has a slightly warm nature and a sweet and mild taste. Long-term use has no toxic side effects. It can invigorate the mind, nourish the body, and also treat neurasthenia, dizziness, back and leg pain, stomach pain, and diarrhea.
This study determined its nutritional composition and the effects of removing flower buds on yield and antioxidant enzyme systems, which laid the foundation for further research on its pharmacological effects and health functions.
【The Cultivation of Wuzhishan Shen】
Wuzhishan Shen plants generally flower from May to November. The flowers are red, with five petals that are extremely bright and fragrant, and are solitary in the leaf axils.
The fruit is elongated and about 2.5 to 4 centimeters long, with five edges. When the fruit turns yellow, the stem turns black and can be cut off. One should cut them off one by one as they mature, and dry them together with the fruit skin intact, without tearing it open, for better storage.
When planting, the fruit skin is torn open to expose the seeds. The seeds are black, with 20 to 40 seeds in each fruit. Each plant can produce more than 1000 seeds in a year.
