Pinyin: Fanbaicao
Aliases
Jituier, Tianouer, Jijiaocao, Jijiaozhua, Jinqiandiaohulu.
Source
Rosaceous plant Potentilla discolor Bge.Potentilla discolorDried whole herb of *Wikstroemia indica* (L.) C.A. Mey.
Botanical Description
A perennial herb. The root is robust, with the lower part often thickened and spindle-shaped. The flower stem is erect, ascending, or spreading, 10-45 cm tall, densely covered with white villi. Basal leaves have 2-4 pairs of leaflets, opposite or alternate; the petiole is densely covered with white woolly hairs, sometimes also with long soft hairs, and the leaflets are sessile; stipules are membranous, brown, densely covered with white long soft hairs on the outside; leaflets are oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 1-5 cm long, 5-8 mm wide, with an obtuse or rarely acute apex, dark green on the lower surface, sparsely covered with white woolly hairs or becoming nearly glabrous, and densely covered with white or gray-white woolly hairs on the upper surface; stem leaves are 1-2, with palmately 3-5 leaflets, stipules are herbaceous, ovate or broadly ovate, the margin often with incised teeth, and densely covered with white woolly hairs on the lower surface. Flowers are bisexual; in cymes, the pedicel is 1-2.5 cm long, covered with woolly hairs on the outside; the flower diameter is 1-2 cm; sepals are triangular-ovate, epicalyx segments are lanceolate, shorter than the sepals, and covered with white woolly hairs on the outside; petals are yellow, obovate, with a slightly emarginate or obtuse apex, longer than the sepals; the style is nearly terminal. Achenes are nearly kidney-shaped, about 1 mm wide, smooth. Flowering and fruiting period is from May to September.
Habitat and Distribution
It grows in wastelands, valleys, ditches, hillside grasslands, meadows, and under sparse forests at altitudes of 100-1850 m. It is distributed in Northeast, North, East, Central-South China, as well as Shaanxi and Sichuan.
Harvesting and Processing
Harvested before flowering in summer and autumn, removed from sediment and impurities, and dried.
Chemical Constituents
This product contains components such as fumaric acid, gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, quercetin, naringenin, kaempferol, and m-phthalic acid.
Pharmacology
Antibacterial effect.
Internal use: decoct 3-10 g
"Properties and Channel Entry"
Sweet, slightly bitter, and neutral. Enters the Liver, Stomach, and Large Intestine channels.
Functions and Indications
Clears Heat and resolves toxicity; stops dysentery and arrests bleeding
Dosage and Administration
Oral: decoct in water, 10-15 g; or steep in wine for oral use. External: appropriate amount, decoct in water for fumigation and washing, or mash fresh product for topical application.
Prescriptions
① For pulmonary abscess: Fresh *Potentilla discolor* root 30 g, *Ilex* root 15 g, *Trichosanthes* root 15 g. Decoct with water to half a bowl. Take before meals, twice daily. (Fujian Folk Herbal Medicine) ② For acute laryngitis, tonsillitis, stomatitis: Fresh whole plant of *Potentilla discolor* in appropriate amount. Mash and extract juice for oral gargle and swallow. (Zhejiang Medicinal Flora) ③ For chronic rhinitis, pharyngitis, oral ulcers: *Potentilla discolor* 15 g, *Viola philippica* 12 g. Decoct in water and take orally. (Shanxi Chinese Herbal Medicine) ④ For malaria with alternating fever and chills, and unnamed swellings: *Potentilla discolor* root 5-7 pieces. Decoct in wine and take orally. (Compendium of Materia Medica) ⑤ For hematochezia: *Potentilla discolor* root 45 g, pork large intestine in appropriate amount. Braise together in water, remove residue, and consume both the soup and the intestine. (Jiangxi Folk Herbal Medicine) ⑥ For red and white dysentery (including amebic dysentery): a. *Potentilla discolor* 15 g, *Pulsatilla chinensis* 30 g. Decoct in water and take orally. (Shandong Chinese Materia Medica) b. *Potentilla discolor* 18-24 g, red peony root 6 g, licorice 6 g. Decoct in water, remove residue. Take in 2 divided doses daily. (Food Chinese Medicine and Prescriptions) ⑦ For dysmenorrhea: *Potentilla discolor* (with root) 45 g, *Leonurus japonicus* 10 g. Decoct in water, add brown sugar and rice wine as appropriate. (Henan Chinese Herbal Medicine Handbook) ⑧ For toothache: *Potentilla discolor* root. Stew with pork and take orally. (Hunan Materia Medica)
