Chishang Powder, as a traditional Chinese medicine, is the whole herb of Lysimachia christinae Hance or Lysimachia christinae var. hemsleyana Hance. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that Chishang Powder has the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, promoting blood circulation, and reducing swelling. Let's learn more about the efficacy, functions, and appearance of Chishang Powder below.
[What does Chishang Powder look like?]
1. Chishang Powder
It is an annual or perennial herb, 30-50cm tall. The rhizome is thin and yellow, and the fibrous roots are black-brown. The stem is slender, erect or oblique, slightly branched, purple, with nodes and fine white hairs, or nearly hairless.
The leaves are opposite; petioles are short, winged, with leaf ears at the base, and the upper leaves are nearly stalkless; the leaf sheaths are tubular, membranous, up to 1cm long, with marginal hairs or hairless; leaf blades are ovate, deeply lobed, 5-8cm long, 3-8cm wide;
The terminal lobes are larger, triangular-ovate, gradually pointed, and the lateral lobes are 1-3 pairs, nearly truncate at the base, hairless or hairy on both sides, with purple-black markings on the upper surface, and with fine marginal hairs.
The head-like inflorescences are clustered at the top of the branches, usually in pairs, with glandular hairs on the peduncles; the calyx is 5-lobed, pink, and green along the back;
There are 8 stamens, shorter than the calyx; the stigma is spheric and 3-lobed. The fruit is ovoid, with 3 ridges, black-brown with fine dots. It blooms from July to August.
2. Lysimachia christinae var. hemsleyana Hance
The difference between this variety and Chishang Powder is that the head-like inflorescences are smaller, with a diameter of 5-7mm, and several are clustered into a conical shape. The leaf base usually has 1 pair of lobes, with no hairs or sparsely soft hairs on both sides.
[Distribution of Chishang Powder]
1. Ecological environment
(1) It grows in damp places such as roadsides, ditches, and grassy areas or is cultivated.
(2) It grows in the understory of slopes below 3000m in altitude, and in valley grasslands.
2. Resource distribution
(1) It is distributed in Southwest China, as well as Shaanxi, Gansu, Taiwan, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, and Tibet.
(2) It is distributed in Southwest China, as well as Shaanxi, Gansu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, and Tibet.
[The efficacy and functions of Chishang Powder]
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that Chishang Powder has the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, promoting blood circulation, and reducing swelling. It is mainly used to treat dysentery, leucorrhea, heat-induced headaches, irregular menstruation, breast abscesses, and injuries from falls.
1. "Compilation of Folk Used Herbs": "Clears heat from the three burners. Treats dizziness."
2. "Hunan Materia Medica": "Analgesic."
3. "Practical Selection of Chinese Herbal Medicines in Guangxi": "Reduces swelling and detoxifies. Treats snake bites, abscesses, unknown swellings, and mastitis."
4. "Commonly Used Chinese Herbal Medicines in Sichuan": "Clears heat, promotes blood circulation. Treats internal injuries, heat-induced headaches, excessive menstrual bleeding, amenorrhea, cough due to deficiency fire, dysentery, abscesses, and ulcers."
