The Chinese medicine, Er Zhu Teng, is the stem, white latex, and root of the Er Zhu Teng plant in the Luomu family. It has the effects of clearing heat, detoxifying, diuresis, and reducing swelling. Let's learn about the medicinal uses of Er Zhu Teng.
【Growth Environment of Er Zhu Teng】
Er Zhu Teng is a plant in the Luomu family, also known as Goat's Milk Horn and Qus Sister Leaf. It has strong vitality and is commonly found on many rural slopes. Its leaves are heart-shaped and beautiful.
Er Zhu Teng is a vine weed similar to the Trumpet Creeper. It climbs and wraps around other plants, causing harm to them. If it grows in farmland, it can be even more annoying.
The flowers of Er Zhu Teng are clustered and white; the fruits are long, and if you're not careful, you might mistake them for green beans.
After the fruits mature, they dry up and split open, and the hairy seeds fly out and land in the soil, germinating again the following year. It has strong reproductive ability.
【Medicinal Uses of Er Zhu Teng】
After the stem and leaves of Er Zhu Teng are broken, white latex will flow out. This white latex is toxic but contains many medicinal ingredients such as alkaloids and cardiac glycosides. It is a very good Chinese medicine and can be used to treat warts.
Method: Disinfect the area and lightly prick the wart with a syringe needle (or sterilized sewing needle) to make it bleed slightly. Cut the fresh stem of Er Zhu Teng, and its milky white latex will overflow. Apply the latex to the affected area 2-3 times a day, and the wart will generally fall off on its own within 7-10 days.
The root of Er Zhu Teng can also be used as medicine. It has the effects of dispelling wind, detoxifying, strengthening the stomach, and relieving pain. Drinking the decoction can treat children's food stagnation.
Er Zhu Teng is a very aggressive weed, commonly found in shrub thickets. When it spreads, it wraps around like the Trumpet Creeper and can spread widely. Many of them are cleared because they compete for nutrients. Weeds grow in the wrong places, but if we can make good use of them, it would be great.
【Difference between Er Zhu Teng and Luomu】
Do you feel familiar with Er Zhu Teng? Luomu and Er Zhu Teng are sisters and they look quite similar.
If you just look at the leaves, it can be a bit confusing and difficult to distinguish. But if you look at their fruits, the difference becomes clear. The fruits of Er Zhu Teng are slender and resemble the Mao Gen Cao we used to eat as children. On the other hand, the fruits of Luomu are obviously much larger. With this comparison, it becomes clear (left in the picture is Er Zhu Teng, right is Luomu).
Like Luomu, when the fruits of Er Zhu Teng mature in late autumn, they also turn yellow-brown, split open, and the seeds fly away with silver threads in the wind.
