Diding grass, a herbaceous plant, is common in Gansu, Jiangsu, Shanxi, Shandong, and other provinces in China. It has good efficacy in treating hepatitis and bronchitis. However, when using Diding grass, special attention should be paid, as it may not be suitable for some individuals. Let's take a closer look with the author!
Diding grass
Diding grass is a biennial gray-green herbaceous plant, 10-50 cm tall, with a taproot. The stems spread and branch from the base, gray-green, and have edges.
Most of the basal leaves are 4-8 cm long, with leaf stalks roughly the same length as the leaf blades. The base of the leaf is somewhat sheathed and the margin is membranous. The upper surface of the leaf is green, while the lower surface is pale. The leaf is bipinnately or tripinnately lobed, with 3-5 pairs of leaflets on the first pinnate and 2-3 pairs of leaflets on the second pinnate, with small split segments at the apex of the lobes.
Image of Diding grass
The stem leaves are the same as the basal leaves. The inflorescence is racemose, 1-6 cm long, with many flowers, initially dense and later sparse, elongating during fruiting.
The bracts are leaf-like, with or without stalks, noticeably longer than the pedicels.
The flower stalk is short, 2-5 mm long. The sepals are broadly ovate to triangular, about 0.7-1.5 mm long, with teeth and often fall off early.
The petals are pink to pale purple, flat. The top of the outer petals is somewhat concave, with shallow cockscomb-like protrusions and shallow rounded teeth along the edge.
Image of Diding grass
The upper petal is 1.1-1.4 cm long; the spur is about 4-5 mm long, slightly upwardly inclined, and the tip is slightly enlarged and bag-like; the nectar gland accounts for about 2/3 of the spur's length, and the tip is slightly thickened.
The lower petal extends slightly forward; the claw gradually narrows backward and is slightly longer than the petal. The top of the inner petal is deep purple.
The stigma is small, rounded-kidney-shaped, slightly concave at the top, slightly extended at the base on both sides, without milk protuberances and with membranous edges.
Image of Diding grass
The capsule is ellipsoid, drooping, about 1.5-2 cm long and 4-5 mm wide, with 2 rows of seeds.
The seeds have a diameter of 2-2.5 mm, with 4-5 rows of small depressions along the edge; the seed scales are scale-like, 1.5-1.8 cm long.
Taboos for using Diding grass
It is not suitable for individuals with a weak and cold constitution.
