Red Leg Powder is the whole herb of the Polygonum hydropiper or Polygonum chinense, both of which belong to the family Polygonaceae. It is a traditional Chinese medicine known for its heat-clearing, detoxifying, blood-activating, and swelling-reducing effects. Red Leg Powder is cultivated through sowing or division. Let's take a look at its efficacy, function, and cultivation methods.
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Effects and Functions of Red Leg Powder
In traditional Chinese medicine, Red Leg Powder is believed to have heat-clearing, detoxifying, blood-activating, and swelling-reducing effects. It is used to treat dysentery, leukorrhea, headache caused by blood heat, excessive menstruation, amenorrhea, breast abscess, and injuries.
1. "Practical Selection of Chinese Medicinal Herbs in Guangxi": "Reduces swelling and detoxifies. Used for snake bites, abscesses, unknown swellings, and mastitis."
2. "Commonly Used Chinese Medicinal Herbs in Sichuan": "Clears heat and activates blood circulation. Used for internal injuries, headaches caused by blood heat, excessive menstruation, amenorrhea, cough due to deficient fire, dysentery (with bloody or watery stools), and abscesses."
3. Treatment of mastitis: Mash the whole herb of Red Leg Powder or the tubers of yam and buckwheat, and apply externally with fermented rice.
Modern pharmacological studies have also shown that the alcoholic extract of Red Leg Powder has a significant effect on a certain type of dysentery bacteria and exhibits strong antioxidant activity.
Precautions: It should be avoided by those with weak qi and deficiency in the surface. It is not advisable to consume too much during a period of rest. Pregnant women should be cautious as it can cause fetal malformation if used during pregnancy.
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Morphological Characteristics of Red Leg Powder
Red Leg Powder is a perennial herb of the Polygonum genus in the Polygonaceae family. It forms dense clusters and has a head-like inflorescence. Red Leg Powder thrives in both sunlight and shade and is resistant to cold and poor soil conditions.
Red Leg Powder is not only used as ground cover but also widely used in modern Chinese-style gardens to enhance the traditional charm.
The flowers and leaves of Red Leg Powder have unique markings. In spring, the young branches, leaf stalks, and leaf veins are purplish-red. In summer, the mature leaves are green with rusty red spots in the center and pale purplish-red edges.
In addition to its color, Red Leg Powder has a distinctive feature: a pair of round ears at the base of its leaves, with purple-black markings on top.
Red Leg Powder is often found in the wild, similar to another Polygonaceae plant called Polygonum capitatum. However, in recent years, Red Leg Powder has been increasingly used in gardens.
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Cultivation of Red Leg Powder
Key points for cultivating Red Leg Powder: sowing or division propagation. Division can be done in spring or autumn, and sowing is best done in spring. It is a robust plant that requires minimal management. It is advisable to provide some shade, and in autumn and winter, remove the withered parts to facilitate the growth of new branches in the following spring.
Stem cutting, also known as branch cutting, is a common method of plant propagation. It involves taking stems, leaves, roots, buds, etc. (referred to as cuttings in horticulture) from plants and inserting them into soil, sand, or water until they develop roots. Then, they can be planted as independent new plants.
1. Leaf cutting: It mainly refers to using leaves as cuttings to grow roots and leaves, thus forming a complete plant. Generally, these leaves have thick leaf stalks, veins, or thick leaves. The selected leaves must be robust and well-developed.
2. Stem cutting: Stem sections are used as cuttings for propagation. Depending on the season, it can be divided into softwood cuttings and hardwood cuttings. Softwood cuttings are done during the growing season and involve cuttings from branches that have not yet fully lignified.
3. Root cutting: Some flowers can produce adventitious buds on their roots, thus forming new plants. Therefore, these roots can be used as cuttings for propagation. The roots used for cuttings are generally thick and some may even be slightly fleshy, such as peony and Chinese peony.
