Hook Thorn, a Chinese herbal medicine, is the whole plant of the Rosaceae plant Rubus chingii, which is distributed in Yunnan. It has the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, eliminating dampness, stopping diarrhea, and expelling roundworms. It is commonly used for tonsillitis, acute conjunctivitis, mumps, mastitis, unknown swelling and toxicity, rheumatoid arthritis, dysentery, and roundworm infection.
【Effects and Functions of Hook Thorn】
Chinese medicine believes that Hook Thorn has the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, eliminating dampness, stopping diarrhea, and expelling roundworms. It is commonly used for tonsillitis, acute conjunctivitis, mumps, mastitis, unknown swelling and toxicity, rheumatoid arthritis, dysentery, and roundworm infection.
"Yunnan Chinese Medicinal Herbs": "Clears heat, detoxifies, eliminates dampness, stops diarrhea, and expels roundworms. It is used to treat tonsillitis, conjunctivitis, dysentery, scabies, rheumatoid arthritis."
【Morphological Characteristics】
Rubus chingii is an erect shrub, 1-2m tall. The stems and branches are hairless, with hooked spines. It has trifoliate leaves, alternate; petioles are 3-4cm long, with small thorns, and terminal leaflets have petioles 5-8mm long; stipules are bristly;
The leaflets are lanceolate, 4-6cm long, 8-15mm wide, gradually pointed at the tip, gradually narrowed at the base, with serrated edges, smooth on both sides, and pale green. The flowers are axillary or terminal, 1-2 in number, with peduncles 1-2cm long, and both the peduncles and calyx are covered with fine soft hairs and spines;
The sepals are lanceolate, appendages are leaf-like, linear, and spiny; the flowers are white, about 1cm in diameter, with obovate petals, short soft hairs on the outside, shorter than the sepals;
The stamens are densely covered with soft hairs; the pistil is shorter than the stamens and hairless. The aggregate fruit is spherical, about 1cm in diameter, fleshy, and juicy, turning orange-yellow when ripe. It flowers from May to June and fruits from June to July.
