Pulmonary Heart Herb, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, is the whole grass of the plant Fenugreek of the family Radix Isatidis. It is distributed in Yunnan, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Shaanxi, Henan and other places. Pulmonary Heart Herb is mainly used to clear heat, moisten the lungs, reduce swelling and relieve pain. It is used to treat pulmonary tuberculosis, parotitis, lymphadenitis, laryngitis, leukorrhea, hot toxic sores, bruises and injuries.
Pulmonary Heart Herb is the whole grass of the plant Fenugreek of the family Radix Isatidis. It is harvested in summer and autumn, and washed and dried.
Pulmonary Heart Herb is a perennial herbaceous plant, 10-45 cm tall. The basal leaves are thick and papery, kidney-shaped or heart-shaped, 2.5-6 cm long; leaf stalks up to 16 cm long; stem leaves 1, round, heart-shaped at the base, clasping the stem, with entire margins. The flowers are white, solitary at the top of the stem; sepals 5, ovate or broadly ovate, with blunt tips.
The petals are 5, spoon-shaped, inverted-ovate or inverted-lanceolate, up to 2.5 cm long, with entire margins, sometimes sparsely ciliate or finely lobed at the lower or basal part; stamens 5, opposite the petals, the connective dark brown, protruding diamond-shaped above the anthers, the middle and upper part of the degenerate stamens deeply divided into 3 parts.
The ovary is superior, with 3 carpels, fused, and the stigma slightly longer than the ovary, with a 3-lobed style. The capsule is elliptical. The flowering and fruiting period is from June to September.
Pulmonary Heart Herb grows on mountain slopes, edges of forests, under forests, or grassy slopes. It is distributed in Yunnan, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Shaanxi, Henan and other places.
