Fu Bai Chai is an evergreen or semi-evergreen shrub. The stem is purple-red in color and covered with fine hairs when young. It grows in mixed forests at altitudes of 1800-3000m.
Chinese Name: Fu Bai Chai
Botanical Classification:
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Phylum: Angiosperms
- Class: Magnoliopsida
- Order: Rosales
- Family: Rosaceae
- Genus: Rubus
- Species: Fu Bai Chai
(From "Sichuan Chinese Herbal Medicine")
Synonyms: Mu Zhou Zi ("Classification of Chinese Trees"), Liu Ye Zhi Zi ("Handbook of Economic Plants"), Ba Ba Chai ("Sichuan Chinese Herbal Medicine")
Source: The whole plant of Rubus parvifolius
Plant Morphology:
- Evergreen or semi-evergreen shrub. The stem is purple-red in color and covered with fine hairs when young.
- Leaves are elliptic to lanceolate, 3-6cm long, with a pointed tip and a wedge-shaped base. The upper surface is smooth with wrinkles, while the lower surface has prominent veins with 5-12 pairs. The leaf stalk is 3-5mm long and slightly reddish in color.
- Umbellate inflorescence, 3-5cm in diameter, covered with fine hairs. The calyx is green and hairy, with 5 short pointed teeth. The corolla is white. There are 20 stamens with white filaments and purple-red anthers. The ovary is semi-inferior with multiple styles.
- The fruit is nearly spherical, about 5mm in diameter, red, shiny, and has 2-3 seeds. Blooms in June and fruits in October.
Habitat: Grows on rocky mountain tops. Distributed in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces.
Properties: Cool in nature, bitter in taste, non-toxic.
Uses and Indications: Clears heat and treats dry cough with loss of voice, yellowing due to dampness of the spleen, intestinal bleeding, and decreased urine.
Dosage and Administration: Internally used as a decoction, 0.5-1 liang.
Prescription:
- For dry cough with loss of voice: Fu Bai Chai, Xuan Shen, Mai Dong, He Zi. Decoction and take orally.
- For intestinal bleeding: Fu Bai Chai, Wild Yam Root, White Wheat, Sour Vine Stem, Sophora Flower. Stew with pig large intestine for consumption.
