Baogai grass, also known as lighthouse grass or bone-setting grass, has different names in different places. Baogai grass is short in stature but abundant in quantity, making it relatively easy to remember. Let's now learn about the morphological characteristics and cultivation methods of Baogai grass.
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【Morphological Characteristics of Baogai Grass】
The root is cylindrical and thin, with a light brown surface.
The stem is erect or creeping, with multiple branches at the base. It is tetragonal with shallow grooves and purple or dark blue in color. It has short, adpressed hairs when young, which gradually fall off. The plant height is 10-30cm.
The leaves are round or kidney-shaped, measuring 0.5-2cm in length and 1.2-2.5cm in width. The apex is rounded, the base is truncate or heart-shaped, and the edges have deep rounded teeth or shallow lobes. The leaves are sparsely hairy on both sides. The lower leaves have long petioles, while the upper leaves are nearly sessile and semi-amplexicaul.
The inflorescence is an umbel with 6-10 nearly sessile flowers. The bracts are lanceolate or diamond-shaped with hairy margins. The corolla is 1.2-1.8cm long, ranging from purple-red to pink. The outer surface of the corolla, except for the upper lip which is densely covered with purple-red short hairs, is covered with fine hairs or is hairless. The ovary is hairless.
The fruit is a small nutlet, inverted ovoid or inverted ovoid-trigonous, with 3 ribs, measuring 2mm in length and 1mm in width. It is light gray-yellow in color with large white tuberculate protrusions on the surface.
The seeds are 0.5-1mm long.
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【Uses of Baogai Grass】
Baogai grass has good therapeutic effects on various diseases and has great development prospects. It is a commonly used folk medicine in Yunnan, with the functions of promoting blood circulation, relieving bone fractures, soothing the liver, reducing swelling, and dispersing nodules.
Baogai grass can be used as an ornamental plant, but it is rarely utilized in this aspect. It has always been considered as a weed and has not been introduced for greening and beautification purposes.
On the contrary, Baogai grass is very popular in rural areas because it can be used as animal feed. Additionally, if there is a wound or inflammation with yellow discharge, applying Baogai grass can help the wound heal quickly after a few changes.
If someone has a pus-forming wound or inflammation, grinding Baogai grass and applying it to the wound can help reduce inflammation and promote rapid healing.
On the other hand, in rural areas, some farmers pick Baogai grass and add it to pig feed, which can enhance the pigs' immune system and make them grow stronger.
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【Cultivation Methods of Baogai Grass】
Baogai grass grows on roadsides, forest edges, marshy grasslands, and near houses, or as a weed in fields, with elevations reaching up to 4000 meters. It is widely distributed in Europe and Asia.
Baogai grass is considered a weed, so its breeding mechanism has been studied in literature. It has been found that most weeds have a breeding mechanism of self-pollination.
Most of Baogai grass seeds are produced by self-pollination, but there is also a portion 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, giving the offspring a more diverse genotype, which is very important for the offspring to adapt to different environments.
Therefore, the combination of cross-pollination and self-pollination may be the main factor that makes Baogai grass a successful weed.
