White chrysanthemum, also known as Bai Wan or Yangxucao, is the whole herb or root of the chrysanthemum plant. It is named "female chrysanthemum" because it is white in color and its roots are delicate like a woman's body. Female chrysanthemum is warm in nature and is used to treat cold and wind invading the body, causing chills, cholera, diarrhea, intestinal rumbling, epilepsy, and various cold and hot diseases.
【Morphological Characteristics】
Female chrysanthemum is a perennial herb, 30-100cm tall. The stem is erect, smooth in the lower half, and has fine soft hairs in the upper half. The leaves are alternate; the basal leaves are linear-lanceolate, 5-12cm long, 5-12mm wide, gradually narrowing into short petioles at the base, with a pointed apex, rough margins, sparse fine serrations, and they fall off after flowering; the upper stem leaves are sessile, linear-lanceolate to linear, smooth on the upper surface, green, with fine soft hairs on the lower surface, rough margins, and slightly curled. There are multiple head-like inflorescences, densely arranged in compound umbellate cymes; the involucre has 3-4 layers, herbaceous, membranous at the edges, with blunt apexes; the outer layer has female flowers, ligulate, with white petals and elliptical shape; the central flowers are mostly hermaphroditic, with tubular corollas, yellow, about 3.5mm long, with blunt and entire bases of the anthers; the style is bifid, with elongated and blunt lobes. The fruit is elongated, about 1mm long, slightly flattened, hairy all over, with fine ribs on the edges; there is a single layer of pappus, grayish-white or slightly reddish, with numerous rough hairs. It flowers in autumn.
【Efficacy and Indications】
In the "Shennong Bencao Jing" (Classic of Herbal Medicine), it is stated that female chrysanthemum has a pungent taste and warm nature. It is used to treat the cold feeling caused by cold and wind invasion, to relieve cholera, diarrhea, intestinal rumbling, and various diseases caused by cold and fever. Female chrysanthemum grows on rocks and flowing water in the mountains, some of them grow on the south side of the mountains.
In traditional Chinese medicine, female chrysanthemum is believed to have the ability to disperse and warm, and its white color enters the lungs. Therefore, it has the effects of dispersing wind and cold, warming the middle, promoting diuresis, and transforming phlegm in the lungs. It can be used to treat various cold and hot symptoms caused by external pathogenic factors, such as aversion to cold and fever, and the cold feeling caused by wind invasion. It can also transform dampness and regulate the stomach, and is used to treat cholera, diarrhea, intestinal rumbling, and other diseases caused by dampness stagnation and spleen-stomach dysfunction. In clinical practice, female chrysanthemum is commonly used for intestinal rumbling, diarrhea, and dysentery, and has achieved good results. The "Ben Cao" also mentions its ability to treat "jingxian" (a type of epilepsy), which is attributed to its ability to warm the lungs and transform phlegm.
【Historical Records】
Female chrysanthemum also has a little-known magical effect, which is to invigorate the blood and nourish the skin, making it suitable for beauty. Ge Hong once invented a formula called Nv Zhen San, which is made by grinding equal amounts of yellow dan and female chrysanthemum, and taking 0.1 grams with vinegar twice a day. Sun Simiao changed this formula to be taken with alcohol, and believed that men should take it for ten days, while women should take it for twenty days, and the black color will come out in their stools.
"The Mingyi Lu" (Record of Famous Physicians) also records a story: It is said that during the Song Dynasty, there was a stunningly beautiful woman who became ill and her complexion turned black due to her unhappiness after getting married. Her family sought the help of countless doctors, but to no avail. Later, they happened to meet a Taoist priest who prescribed her the Nv Zhen San. After taking it for a few days, her condition improved, and after a month, her complexion returned to its previous fair and smooth state. However, it is said that this medicine causes excessive leakage of lung qi, so it is not suitable for people over the age of thirty.
【Traditional Chinese Medicine Formulas】
Formula 1: For cough and asthma
Female chrysanthemum 25g, roadside thistle 25g, Jinqian Diao rice 15g. Decoct the herbs and drink the decoction.
Formula 2: For darkened complexion
Grind female chrysanthemum and yellow dan in equal amounts, and take with alcohol. After ten days for men and twenty days for women, the melanin will be excreted in the stool.
