✵The article records the herb Perilla Fruit, including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, botanical sources—two plant species: (1) Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. and (2) Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. var. acuta (Thunb.) Kudo—along with a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environments of these two plant species; the macroscopic and microscopic features of the herb Perilla Fruit; its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Fructus Perillae (Perilla Fruit)
Pinyin Name: Zǐ Sū Zǐ
English Name: Perilla Fruit
Latin Name:Fructus Perillae Properties and Flavor: Warm, pungent
Brief Introduction:Fructus Perillae is the dried mature fruit of Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt., used as an antitussive, antiasthmatic, and expectorant for treating chronic bronchitis accompanied by thin, white phlegm and chest oppression; it is also used as a mild laxative to relieve constipation. It is commonly abbreviated as "Su Zi."
Botanical Source:Fructus Perillae is the dried ripe fruit of Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt., a plant belonging to the genus Perilla L., family Lamiaceae (formerly Labiatae), order Lamiales. It is also known as Perilla Seed or Purple Perilla Seed.
Classical herbal works define Fructus Perillae as the dried ripe fruit of (1) Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. Other authoritative herbal classics extend this definition to include dried ripe fruits of related species within the same family: (1) Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. and (2) Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. var. acuta (Thunb.) Kudo. These two commonly used species are described below:
(1) Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt.
Botanical Description: This plant is also known as Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. var. crispa (Thunb.) Hand.-Mazz. It is an annual herb reaching 30–200 cm in height and possessing a distinctive aromatic fragrance. Stems are erect, much-branched, purple, greenish-purple, or green, obtusely quadrangular, and densely pilose. Leaves are opposite; petioles measure 3–5 cm long, purplish-red or green, and covered with long hairs; leaf blades are broadly ovate, ovoid, or ovate-triangular, 4–13 cm long and 2.5–10 cm wide; the apex is tapering or acuminate—sometimes short-caudate—while the base is rounded or broadly cuneate; margins are coarsely serrate, occasionally deeply serrate or shallowly lobed; both surfaces are purple, or only the abaxial surface is purple; both surfaces bear sparse pubescence, denser along the veins; the abaxial leaf surface exhibits fine glandular oil droplets; lateral veins number 7–8 pairs, those in the lower portion is slightly convergent and obliquely ascending.
Inflorescences are verticillasters, each bearing two flowers clustered unilaterally to form false racemes, terminal or axillary, and densely pilose. Bracts are oval (egg-shaped), ovate-triangular, or lanceolate, entire, ciliate, with glandular points on the outer surface and a membranous margin. Pedicels are 1–1.5 mm long and densely pilose. The calyx is campanulate, approximately 3 mm long, with 10 prominent veins; the lower portion of the outer surface is densely pilose and bears yellow glandular points; the apex bears five teeth and is bilabiate—the upper lip is broad and large with three teeth, the lower lip with two teeth—enlarging during fruiting, with a saccate base. The corolla is labiate, 3–4 mm long, white or purplish-red; the corolla tube bears internal hair rings and is pubescent externally; the upper lip is slightly concave; the lower lip is three-lobed, with orbicular (subrotund) lobes—the middle lobe is larger. There are four stamens, didynamous, inserted at the mid-corolla tube, scarcely exserted; anthers are bilocular. The floral disc is enlarged anteriorly. There is one pistil; the ovary is four-lobed; the style is subbasal; the stigma is bilobed.
Nutlets are subsphaeroidal (subglobular), grayish-brown or brown, 1–1.3 mm in diameter, reticulated; the persistent fruiting calyx measures approximately 10 mm in length. Flowering occurs from June to August; fruiting from July to September.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows wild in mountainous areas, along roadsides, at village edges, or on wastelands—and is also cultivated.
Growth Characteristics: The plant prefers a warm, humid climate and thrives in sunny conditions, yielding abundantly. Cultivation requires loose, fertile, well-irrigated, and well-drained soil.
Characters of herbs: The herb is known as Fructus Perillae Argutae or Zǐ Sū Zǐ. The small nutlets are ovoid or nearly subsphaeroidal, with a diameter of 0.6–2 mm. The surface is taupe brown or grayish-brown, bearing a slightly raised, dark purple, reticulated pattern; the base is slightly pointed and bears an ash-gray (grayish-white), dotted fruit-stalk scar. The pericarp is thin and brittle, easily crushed. The seed is yellowish white; the spermoderm (seed coat) is membranous, and contains two cotyledons that are off-white and oily. The seed emits an aromatic fragrance when crushed and tastes slightly pungent.
Pharmacological Actions: (1) Anticancer effect; prolongs survival time and improves survival capacity in spontaneously hypertensive rats.
Medicinal Efficacy: Descends rebellious Qi, resolves phlegm, moistens the Lung, and lubricates the intestines. Indicated for cough and wheezing due to excessive phlegm, Qi stagnation, and constipation.
Administration of Fructus Perillae (Zǐ Sū Zǐ):
Reference:
Administration Guide for Fructus Perillae (Zǐ Sū Zǐ)
TCM Books:
(1) Internally: 3–9 grams; (2) Internally: decoction in water, 1.5–3 qián (≈4.5–9 grams); juice extracted and taken orally, or prepared into pills or powder; (3) Internally: decoction in water, 5–10 grams; finely powdered herb prepared into pills or powder.
(2) Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. var. acuta (Thunb.) Kudo
Botanical Description: This variety is also known as wild perilla. It differs from P. frutescens in the following respects: the fruiting calyx is smaller (4–5.5 mm long) and sparsely pilose on the abaxial surface, bearing glandular points; the stem is pubescent; the leaves are smaller, ovate, 4.5–7.5 cm long and 2.8–5 cm wide, with sparse pubescence on both surfaces. Nutlets are small and khaki-colored, 1–1.5 mm in diameter. Flowering occurs from June to August; fruiting from July to September.
Characteristics of the Herb: The seeds are slightly smaller, 0.6–1.5 mm in diameter—occasionally up to 2 mm—with a brown or taupe-brown surface; the outer layer often exfoliates, exposing the light-yellow stone-cell layer.
✵The article records the herb Perilla Fruit, including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, botanical sources—two plant species: (1) Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. and (2) Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. var. acuta (Thunb.) Kudo—along with a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environments of these two plant species; the macroscopic and microscopic features of the herb Perilla Fruit; its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Pinyin Name: Zǐ Sū Zǐ
Botanical Description: This plant is also known as Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. var. crispa (Thunb.) Hand.-Mazz. It is an annual herb reaching 30–200 cm in height and possessing a distinctive aromatic fragrance. Stems are erect, much-branched, purple, greenish-purple, or green, obtusely quadrangular, and densely pilose. Leaves are opposite; petioles measure 3–5 cm long, purplish-red or green, and covered with long hairs; leaf blades are broadly ovate, ovoid, or ovate-triangular, 4–13 cm long and 2.5–10 cm wide; the apex is tapering or acuminate—sometimes short-caudate—while the base is rounded or broadly cuneate; margins are coarsely serrate, occasionally deeply serrate or shallowly lobed; both surfaces are purple, or only the abaxial surface is purple; both surfaces bear sparse pubescence, denser along the veins; the abaxial leaf surface exhibits fine glandular oil droplets; lateral veins number 7–8 pairs, those in the lower portion is slightly convergent and obliquely ascending.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows wild in mountainous areas, along roadsides, at village edges, or on wastelands—and is also cultivated.
Botanical Description: This variety is also known as wild perilla. It differs from P. frutescens in the following respects: the fruiting calyx is smaller (4–5.5 mm long) and sparsely pilose on the abaxial surface, bearing glandular points; the stem is pubescent; the leaves are smaller, ovate, 4.5–7.5 cm long and 2.8–5 cm wide, with sparse pubescence on both surfaces. Nutlets are small and khaki-colored, 1–1.5 mm in diameter. Flowering occurs from June to August; fruiting from July to September.
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