Pen Luo Zi has a bitter taste and a neutral nature. It enters the lung meridian and is a medicine for relieving surface conditions. Its main function is to treat symptoms such as colds and coughs. So how exactly is it used? Let me take you through it.
【Other Names for Pen Luo Zi】
Wild loquat (Chinese Tree Classification)
Coarse bran firewood, flower wood fragrance (Chinese Economic Plant Records)
Mountain loquat, hairy nose (Hunan Folk Medicine Information)
【The Original Form of Pen Luo Zi】
Ecological environment: It grows in broad-leaved forests below 1500m in altitude.
Distribution: It is distributed in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, and other places.
Pen Luo Zi is a tall tree, reaching up to 7m. The buds, young branches, leaf backs, and inflorescences are all covered with long colored hairs. It has simple leaves; leaf stalks are 1.5-4cm long; leaf blades are inversely lanceolate or narrowly ovate, 8-25cm long, 2.5-4.5cm wide, gradually pointed or tail-like at the apex, gradually narrowed and wedge-shaped at the base, with entire margins or several sharp serrations above the middle, and rusty soft hairs on the leaf backs.
There are 9-18 lateral veins on each side; the leaves are leathery. The flowers are bisexual, and the panicles are terminal, with the main axis having 3 edges; the sepals are 5 or 4, ovate or nearly circular, with adpressed hairs; the petals are 5, white, with the outer 3 nearly circular, 2-2.5mm in diameter, and the inner 2 about half the length of the stamens, 2-lobed; the filaments have several adpressed hairs; the developing stamens are 1.2-1.5mm long; the ovary is hairless.
The fruit is spherical, with a diameter of 5-8mm; the seed is spherical, slightly oblique, with raised fine reticulations. It flowers in summer and fruits from September to October.
【Application of Pen Luo Zi in Treating Colds】
1. Properties and Functions
Relieves surface conditions, stops coughing. Mainly used for colds and coughs.
2. Chemical Composition
The bark contains 16.0% tannins, and the leaves contain 5.7% tannins.
3. Dosage and Administration
Oral administration: Decoction, 6-9g.
4. Discussions by Various Scholars
According to "Hunan Folk Medicine Information": It is used to treat coughs, colds, and pain.
