✵The article records the herb Starwort Root—its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, and botanical source: Stellaria dichotoma L. var. lanceolata Bunge—with a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environment of this species; the characteristics of the herb Starwort Root; its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Radix Stellariae (Starwort Root)
Pinyin Name: Yín Chái Hú
English Name: Starwort Root
Latin Name:Radix Stellariae Properties and Flavor: Cool, sweet, bitter
Brief Introduction:Radix Stellariae is the dried root of Stellaria dichotoma L. var. lanceolata Bunge., used for clearing deficiency-heat and treating malnutrition-related fever in children. It is commonly known as Radix Stellariae, Starwort Root, or Yín Chái Hú.
Botanical Source:Radix Stellariae (Starwort Root) is the dried root of Stellaria dichotoma L. var. lanceolata Bunge., a perennial herb of the genus Stellaria L. in the Caryophyllaceae family (carnation or pink family), order Caryophyllales (order Centrospermae in past).
Classical herbal works define Radix Stellariae exclusively as the dried root of Stellaria dichotoma L. var. lanceolata Bunge. This sole accepted species is described below:
(1) Stellaria dichotoma L. var. lanceolata Bunge.
Botanical Description:Stellaria dichotoma L. var. lanceolata Bunge.—also known as Stellaria gypsophiloides Fenzl.—is commonly called Xiá Yè Qǐ Fán Lóu. A perennial herb, it grows 20–40 cm tall. Taproots are cylindrical, 1–3 cm in diameter; the outer bark is yellowish (light yellow), bearing numerous verrucose stem residues at the root head. The stem is erect and slender; the upper portion is dichotomously branched and densely covered with short or glandular hairs; stem nodes are slightly swollen. Leaves are opposite, sessile; leaf blades are lanceolate, 4–30 mm long and 1.5–4 mm wide; apex is acute; base is rounded; margins are entire; upper surface is sparsely pubescent or subglabrous; lower surface is pubescent.
Flowers are solitary, axillary, ≈3 mm in diameter; pedicels are ≈2 cm long; calyx with 5 lanceolate sepals, ≈4 mm long, green with white membranous margins; corolla with 5 white petals, shorter than the sepals, entire, apex is bilobed; 10 stamens in two whorls, filaments are basally connate, yellow; ovary is superior, with 3 slender, free styles.
The capsule is subspherical, enclosed by a persistent calyx, and apex is 6-dentate at maturity. Usually contains a single seed—elliptic, dark brown—with a testa (seed coat) bearing numerous minute protuberances. Flowering occurs from June to July; fruiting from August to September.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows in arid grasslands, rock crevices on hillsides, and scree slopes.
Growth Characteristics:Stellaria dichotoma thrives in dry grasslands, rock crevices on hillsides, and scree. It prefers warm-to-cool climates, exhibits cold tolerance, and is intolerant of waterlogging. Sandy loam is the preferred soil for cultivation.
Characteristics of the Herb: Roots are subcylindrical, 15–40 cm long and 1–2.5 cm in diameter; most lateral roots are broken. Surface is yellowish-white or pale yellow, bearing conspicuous longitudinal wrinkles that spiral downward and leftward; scattered punctiform (fine root scars), colloquially termed "sand holes." The root apex is slightly enlarged, densely covered with grayish-brown, verrucose stem scars and sterile bud remnants—colloquially termed "pearl plates." Texture is hard and brittle, fracturing easily; fracture surface is uneven and loosely porous, with a thin cortex and a xylem exhibiting a distinct yellow-and-white radial pattern (due to alternating vascular rays and xylem bundles). Odor is faint; taste is mild and slightly sweet.
Cultivated specimens exhibit branching; the lower portion is twisted, with a diameter of 0.6–1.2 cm. Surface is light yellowish-brown; longitudinal wrinkles are fine and prominent; fine root scars are mostly punctiform. “Sand holes” are scarce. Numerous verrucose protrusions are present. Fracture surface is compact, with few cracks and a slightly mealy appearance; the xylem’s radial pattern is indistinct. Taste is slightly sweet.
Medicinal Efficacy: Clears heat and eliminates infantile malnutrition with fever. It is indicated for yin deficiency fever, bone-steaming fever, consumptive fever, and infantile malnutritional stagnation with fever.
Administration of Radix Stellariae (Yín Chái Hú):
Reference:
Administration Guide for Radix Stellariae (Yín Chái Hú)
TCM Books:
(1) Internally: 3–9 grams; (2) Internally: Water decoction, 1–3 qian (approximately 3–9 grams), or prepared into pills or powder; (3) Internally: Water decoction, 5–9 grams, or prepared into pills or powder.
✵The article records the herb Starwort Root—its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, and botanical source: Stellaria dichotoma L. var. lanceolata Bunge—with a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environment of this species; the characteristics of the herb Starwort Root; its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Pinyin Name: Yín Chái Hú
Botanical Description: Stellaria dichotoma L. var. lanceolata Bunge.—also known as Stellaria gypsophiloides Fenzl.—is commonly called Xiá Yè Qǐ Fán Lóu. A perennial herb, it grows 20–40 cm tall. Taproots are cylindrical, 1–3 cm in diameter; the outer bark is yellowish (light yellow), bearing numerous verrucose stem residues at the root head. The stem is erect and slender; the upper portion is dichotomously branched and densely covered with short or glandular hairs; stem nodes are slightly swollen. Leaves are opposite, sessile; leaf blades are lanceolate, 4–30 mm long and 1.5–4 mm wide; apex is acute; base is rounded; margins are entire; upper surface is sparsely pubescent or subglabrous; lower surface is pubescent.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows in arid grasslands, rock crevices on hillsides, and scree slopes.
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