1. White Plum Blossom
Also known as Green Plum Blossom or Green Sepal Plum, the flower bud of the plum plant, which belongs to the Rosaceae family. It contains volatile oils such as benzaldehyde, isobutyl phenol, and benzoic acid. It has a neutral nature and a sour and astringent taste. It has the effects of soothing the liver, harmonizing the stomach, and resolving phlegm. It is used to treat symptoms such as plum pit qi, liver and stomach pain, loss of appetite, dizziness, and scrofula. "Bencao Yuanshi" states: White Plum Blossom "clears the head, benefits lung qi, and removes phlegm and stagnation of heat." "Yin Pian Xin Can" also states that it "balances the liver and stomach, stops epigastric pain, dizziness, and improves appetite."
2. Winter Plum Blossom
Also known as Iron Chopstick Flower, it is recorded in "Compendium of Materia Medica" and belongs to the family of winter plum plants. It also contains volatile oils, but they are borneol, aromatic alcohol, and jinhehuanol. It has a warm nature and a pungent taste. It has the effects of relieving heat and generating body fluids. It is used to treat symptoms such as fever with restlessness and thirst, chest tightness, and cough. "Zhejiang Traditional Chinese Medicine Handbook" states that it "treats heatstroke, chest tightness, restlessness, and thirst, measles in children, and whooping cough." "Jiangsu Flora" also states that it "treats restlessness, thirst, and stagnant qi in the stomach."
In terms of the main treatment, these two types of plum blossoms have their own focuses. White Plum Blossom focuses more on regulating qi and relieving depression. It is often used for symptoms such as depression, liver and stomach pain. It can also be used as a good ingredient for food therapy, steamed with eggs to treat scrofula; mashed with sugar to make small cakes, it can prevent rashes; decocted with tangerine cakes for oral administration can treat the feeling of obstruction in the throat. Winter Plum Blossom focuses more on relieving heat and restlessness. It has good effects on fever with restlessness and thirst, and chest tightness. Drinking water soaked with winter plum blossom instead of tea can also treat persistent coughs. Soaking winter plum blossom in tea oil and applying it can treat burns. When using them, it is important to diagnose and use them correctly and not to confuse them.
There is also a type of red plum blossom, with a red corolla, similar in shape to white plum blossoms, but slightly larger. It is mostly not used in medicine, and white plum blossoms are mainly used for medicinal purposes. "Bai Cao Jing" records: "Plum blossoms are divided into red, white, green sepals, thousand leaves, and single leaves. Only the single leaf green sepal is particularly good for medicinal use, and those with buds are more effective."
