The whole herb of traditional Chinese medicine "Fudi Cai" can be used medicinally. It has high medicinal value. When taken internally, it can strengthen the stomach, aid digestion, and treat stomach pain and vomiting of blood. When used externally, it can promote blood circulation, relieve pain, and alleviate bruises and injuries.
Image of Fudi Cai
Fudi Cai is an annual herbaceous plant, growing 5-30 centimeters tall. The stem is usually white at the base, slender, upright, or clustered, with spreading fine hairs. The leaves are alternate, spoon-shaped, elliptical, or lanceolate, measuring 1-3 centimeters long and 5-20 millimeters wide. The apex is rounded or sharp, and the base is narrow. Both sides of the leaves have spreading coarse hairs.
The lower leaves have short stalks, while the upper leaves are stalkless. The inflorescence is terminal, slender, and without bracts. The flowers usually grow on one side of the inflorescence, with a stalk measuring 3-6 millimeters long. The calyx is 1-2.5 millimeters long, 5-lobed, with pointed lobes.
The corolla is blue, about 1.5 millimeters long, 5-lobed, with ovate lobes and a rounded apex. There are 5 stamens. The ovary is deeply 4-lobed, with a linear style and a head-like stigma. The fruit is a triangular quadrilateral achene, covered with fine hairs, sometimes smooth, and with a small stalk. It flowers from May to June.
Fudi Cai is mainly used to treat enuresis, dysentery, back pain, hot swellings, and numbness of hands and feet.
① "Bie Lu" (Records of Miscellaneous Matters): "It treats toxic swellings and stops frequent urination."
② Tao Hongjing: "It treats urinary dribbling."
③ "Yao Xing Lun" (Discussion on the Nature of Medicines): "Soaking hands and feet in water can treat enuresis."
④ Meng Shen: "When made into ash with salt, it can treat all kinds of sores, as well as wind rashes that cause itching and pain all over the body. Apply the mixture on the affected areas five to six times a day. It can also be eaten raw as a vegetable, cooked to nourish the body and eliminate fat and toxic qi. It can also be used for burns and hidden ulcers. It can also treat dysentery in children. Take one portion of the juice, mix it with honey, and consume it. It is very effective."
⑤ "Guizhou Herbal Medicine": "It dispels wind and relieves pain."
