Wuxiangcao, also known as Xiangfucao, grows in the grass under sparse forests in high mountains. It is also known as Xiangfucao and is mentioned in "Yunnan Traditional Chinese Medicine". It can be harvested throughout the year, washed, chopped, and dried.
Original Sticky Hair Xiangqing is a perennial or biennial herb, 30-80cm tall. The whole plant is covered with white silky hairs and rusty brown sticky glands with stalks and multiple nodes. The root is vertical and stout. The stem is erect, with grooves and usually branching. The basal leaves are lotus-shaped, inverted ovate, up to 9cm long and 4.5cm wide, tapering into winged short petioles at the lower part, and the upper leaves are inverted lanceolate or inverted ovate spatulate, 3.5-10cm long and 1-2.5cm wide, widening into wedge-shaped wings along the lower stem, with pointed tips, flat margins, glandular hairs on both sides, and long hairs on the veins; the uppermost leaves are small and linear-lanceolate. The head-like inflorescence is numerous, densely arranged in compound umbel-like clusters at the stem and branch tips; the inflorescence stalks are up to 6mm long; the involucre is inverted ovate, 5-6mm long and 4-7mm wide; the involucral bracts are 4-5 layers, erect, light brown, transparent, the outer layer is ovate-lanceolate with blunt tips and covered with silky hairs, the middle layer is long spatulate, 5-6mm long, and the innermost layer is wide linear with a claw that is two-thirds of the total length; the receptacle is honeycomb-like; the peripheral part of the head-like inflorescence has several or up to 30- stamens. The achene is 0.6-0.7mm long, oblong, with tiny glands. It flowers from August to September and fruits from September to October.
Habitat and ecological environment: It grows in high mountain shady and moist grassy slopes and low mountain grasslands.
Distribution: It is distributed in Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and other places.
Morphological identification: The whole plant is brownish-yellow, up to 100cm long, covered with white hairs, and branches more at the upper end. The stem is cylindrical, with obvious longitudinal wrinkles and a diameter of 2-8mm. It is brittle and has a yellow-green color on the cross section with a white core in the center. The leaves are alternate, entire, inverted ovate or inverted lanceolate, with a wedge-shaped base and wings extending downwards. The flowers are white, in head-like inflorescences. It has a clear fragrance and a bitter and cooling taste.
Microscopic identification: Powder characteristics: Thin-walled cells are circular or polygonal. Oil cells are circular. There are reticulate and pitted vessels with a diameter of 7-30μm. Fibers are fusiform. Stomata are paracytic. There are numerous glandular hairs.
