Wuzhao Feng is the whole herb of the Rosaceae plant Potentilla parvifolia, which is distributed in Sichuan, Guizhou and other provinces in China. It has the effect of soothing the tendons and activating the collaterals.
Image of Wuzhao Feng
Botanical characteristics of Wuzhao Feng
It is a climbing shrub, about 1.5 meters high;
Branches are cylindrical, gray-brown to purple-brown, with soft hairs when young, and shedding when old, with sparse thorns.
The leaves are usually palmately compound with 5 leaflets, elliptic or diamond-shaped lanceolate, 3-7 cm long, 1-2.4 cm wide, gradually pointed at the apex to the tail, wedge-shaped at the base, with soft hairs along the veins on both sides, and coarse serrations and heavy serrations on the edges;
The petiole is 2-4 cm long, with soft hairs, and the leaflets are stalkless or almost stalkless; the stipules are linear-lanceolate, attached to the base of the petiole, only connected or nearly separated from the petiole at the base, with soft hairs, and often undivided;
The flowers are usually solitary on lateral branches; the pedicels are 2-3.5 cm long, without hairs; the bracts are similar to the stipules; the flowers are 1.5-2 cm in diameter;
The calyx is hairless on the outside, only with hairs on the edge of the inner sepals, without thorns or with sparse needle-like thorns;
The sepals are ovate-lanceolate or triangular-lanceolate, pointed at the apex, entire, with 2-3 shallow lacerations on the inner sepals, and upright during fruiting;
Image of Wuzhao Feng
The petals are ovate or elliptic, white, with soft hairs, and much shorter than the sepals; the stamens are single, with flat filaments;
There are 10-15 pistils, and the base of the style and the ovary are covered with light yellow long hairs.
The fruit is semi-spherical, hidden in the calyx, with a diameter of 1-1.5 cm, red, and both the persistent base of the flower column and the calyx have long hairs; the pit is up to 4 mm long and wrinkled. The flowering period is from April to May, and the fruiting period is from May to June.
Habitat and distribution of Wuzhao Feng
It grows on slopes, along streams, and in mixed forests on watersheds at an altitude of 1550-2450 meters.
Medicinal uses of Wuzhao Feng
Taste: bitter, cold.
Meridians entered: Kidney and Liver meridians.
Efficacy: promoting blood circulation and dispersing blood stasis.
Main functions: soothing tendons and activating collaterals, promoting blood circulation and relieving pain. It is mainly used for bruises and injuries, rheumatic pain, and gastrocnemius muscle spasms.
