Bo Gai Cao, also known as Galega officinalis, can be used to treat lymph node tuberculosis, but many people are not familiar with it. There are similar plants in traditional Chinese medicine, and it is difficult for non-professionals to distinguish them. So today, I will teach you how to identify Bo Gai Cao!
Correctly Identifying Bo Gai Cao
Bo Gai Cao is an annual upright herb. The stem is weak, square-shaped, often with a purple color, and sparsely hairy. It can grow up to 10-60 centimeters tall. The leaves are kidney-shaped or round, with a heart-shaped or round base, and have rounded teeth and small lobes on the edges. Both sides of the leaves are hairy. The stem leaves have stalks, while the stem leaves are stalkless and clasp the stem.
The flowers are arranged in clusters and there are 2 to several flowers. The flowers are sessile, axillary, and without bracts. The calyx is tubular, about 5-6 millimeters long, with 5 teeth and long fine hairs on the outer surface and margins. The corolla is purple-red, about 9-17 millimeters long, covered with hairs on the outside, with a slender tube, no hairy ring at the base, an expanded throat, an erect upper lip, a long oval helmet-shaped lower lip, and 3 lobes. The stamens are 4, 2 of which are strong and have reddish anthers. The pistil is divided into 2 needle-like lobes.
The small nut is long oval-shaped, with 3 edges and a truncated top, brown-black in color, with white scale-like protrusions. It flowers from March to April and bears fruit in June.
Using Bo Gai Cao to Treat Lymph Node Tuberculosis
Bo Gai Cao, 2-3 liang, and 2-3 eggs. Boil them together, remove the shells after the eggs are cooked, and continue boiling for half an hour. Eat the eggs and drink the soup.
Bo Gai Cao is mainly used to dispel wind, promote blood circulation, reduce swelling, and relieve pain. It is used to treat bone and joint pain, numbness of limbs, bruises, and lymphadenitis.
① "Dian Nan Ben Cao": "Used for bone and joint pain, numbness of limbs. Dispels wind from the whole body, disperses lymphadenitis. Treats bruises and fractures, promotes bone healing. Stops nasal discharge and nosebleeds caused by phlegm fire. Treats red, swollen, and painful sores."
② "Plant Names and Their Realities": "Nourishes tendons, invigorates blood, relieves pain throughout the body."
Distribution of Bo Gai Cao
Bo Gai Cao grows by the roadside, on the edge of forests, in marshy grasslands, and near houses, or as a weed in fields. It can grow at altitudes of up to 4000 meters. It is widely distributed in Europe and Asia.
The whole plant of Bo Gai Cao is used in medicine. According to the "Dian Nan Ben Cao," it is used to treat fractures, bruises, ulcerations, paralysis, hemiplegia, hypertension, pediatric liver heat, and cerebrospinal fluid leakage.
Bo Gai Cao is considered a weed, so there have been studies on its breeding mechanism. It has been found that most weeds have a self-pollination breeding mechanism.
Most of the seeds of Bo Gai Cao are produced by self-pollination, but there is also a small portion that is the product of cross-pollination. Self-pollination may be important for plants to ensure reproduction when they colonize new environments.
On the other hand, cross-pollination can lead to genetic recombination, resulting in offspring with a more diverse genotype, which is crucial for the adaptation of plants to different environments.
Therefore, the combination of cross-pollination and self-pollination may be the main factor that makes Bo Gai Cao a successful weed.
