One Year Fleabane, also known as Wild Wormwood or Annual Fleabane, belongs to the Asteraceae family. It has a bitter taste and a cooling nature. On the other hand, Female Fleabane, also known as White Fleabane or Weaver Fleabane, is the whole plant or root of the female fleabane, a plant in the Asteraceae family. It has a pungent taste and a warm nature. Let's take a look at the specific differences between these two herbs.
Image of Female Fleabane
One Year Fleabane
【Alias】 Wild Wormwood, Annual Fleabane
Scientific name: Erigeron annuus (Linn.) Pers.
English name: Annual Fleabane
Family: Asteraceae
【Pharmacological Effects】
An extract of 4mg/ml of the water-soluble part of One Year Fleabane significantly inhibits the contraction of isolated pig coronary arteries induced by 15-methyl prostaglandin F2α. The time required for a 50% decrease in tension is (106±41) minutes [1]. The stem and leaves, after washing with ether and chloroform, have a hypoglycemic effect [2]. A decoction of 100% concentration showed inhibitory effects on Staphylococcus aureus and Shigella dysenteriae using the agar diffusion method [3].
【Source】 It is the whole plant of One Year Fleabane (Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers.), which grows on slopes and fields. It is a naturalized plant and is found in many provinces in Jiangsu, Jiangxi, and north and south of the Yangtze River. It is collected in the summer and autumn.
【Morphology】 It is a biennial herb, 20-100 cm tall, with spreading coarse hairs. The stem is erect with branches in the upper part. Basal leaves are rosette-shaped, with a leaf stalk of 2-3 cm long. Leaf blades are ovoid or inverted lanceolate, 4-15 cm long and 1.5-3 cm wide, with a pointed or blunt tip, and a narrow downward extension at the base. The edges have irregular coarse teeth. Stem leaves are lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, becoming shorter towards the top without a stalk. In autumn, it produces white flowers with purple veins in umbel-like cone-shaped inflorescences. The branches of the inflorescence have linear bracts with entire margins and marginal hairs. The inflorescence has a diameter of about 1.5 cm. The involucre is hemispherical, with several layers of tubular florets in the ray flowers, with only short outer corolla hairs. The tubular florets have two layers of corolla hairs, with the inner layer the same length as the tube and the outer layer short. The receptacle is slightly raised and has fine dots. The achene is hairy.
Image of One Year Fleabane
【Preparation】 Dry in the sun.
【Properties】 Bitter, cool.
【Functions and Indications】 Clears heat and detoxifies, and has antimalarial properties. Used for acute gastroenteritis, malaria; externally used for gingivitis and snakebites.
【Dosage】 1-2 liang; for external use, apply an appropriate amount of fresh herb juice to the affected area or apply a mashed herb externally.
Female Fleabane
(From "Ben Jing")
【Alias】 White Fleabane, Weaver Fleabane ("Wu Pu Ben Cao"), Female Wuan ("Ben Cao Jing Ji Zhu"), Female Intestine ("Guang Ya"), Sheep's Beard ("Lei Gong Pao Zhi Lun"), Mao ("Bie Lu").
【Source】 It is the whole plant or root of the female fleabane, a plant in the Asteraceae family.
【Morphology】 Female Fleabane is a perennial herb, 30-100 cm tall. The stem is upright, smooth in the lower half, and has fine soft hairs in the upper half. The leaves are alternate, with linear-lanceolate or lanceolate shape at the base, 5-12 cm long and 5-12 mm wide, with a gradually sharp tip, a narrow base, a short stalk, rough edges, and sparse fine serrations, which fall off after flowering. The stem leaves are sessile, linear-lanceolate to linear in shape, smooth on the upper surface, green, and have fine soft hairs on the lower surface, with rough edges. The inflorescence is densely packed in an umbel-like arrangement, small, with a diameter of 5-8 mm. The involucre is tubular, about 4 mm long, with lanceolate bracts and fine hairs, arranged in several rows. The ray florets are white, about 2.5 mm long, and the tube florets are yellow, about 3.5 mm long, with blunt and entire bases of the anthers. The stigma is 2-lobed, with elongated rounded lobes. The achene is elongated, about 1 mm long, slightly flattened, and hairy. The corolla hairs are gray-white or reddish. It flowers in autumn.
Image of Female Fleabane
It grows in moist places and is distributed in the northeast, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei, and other provinces.
【Collection】 It is harvested in summer.
【Chemical Composition】 The whole plant contains quercetin, and the root contains volatile oil.
【Properties】① "Ben Jing": "Pungent taste, warm nature."
② "Bie Lu": "Non-toxic."
【Functions and Indications】 Warms the lungs, transforms phlegm, promotes digestion, and diuresis. Used for cough, asthma, intestinal rumbling, diarrhea, dysentery, and short, painful urination.
① "Ben Jing": "Treats wind-cold diarrhea, cholera, intestinal rumbling that moves up and down, epilepsy, and various cold and hot disorders."
② "Bie Lu": "Treats lung damage causing cough, night sweats, long-term cold in the bladder, fullness, and diseases caused by drinking alcohol and eating at night."
③ "Hunan Pharmacopoeia": "Warms the lungs, relieves cough, transforms phlegm, and promotes diuresis."
【Dosage】 Internally: decoction, 3-5 qian.
【Precautions】 "Ben Cao Jing Ji Zhu": "Avoid consumption with salty food."
