Introduction of Hu Huang Lian: Figwortflower Picrorhiza Rhizome
✵The article records the herb Figwortflower Picrorhiza Rhizome, including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, and botanical sources—two plant species: (1) Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora Pennell and (2) Picrorhiza kurroa Royle. It provides a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environments of these two species; the characteristics of the herb Figwortflower Picrorhiza Rhizome; its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Pinyin Name: Hú Huánɡ Lián
English Name: Figwortflower Picrorhiza Rhizome
Latin Name:Rhizoma Picrorhizae Properties and Flavor: Cold, bitter
Brief Introduction:Rhizoma Picrorhizae is the dried rhizome of Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora Pennell. It is used (1) to clear damp-heat for the treatment of acute dysentery and jaundice, and (2) to relieve consumptive fever in cases of phthisis (pulmonary tuberculosis) and infantile malnutrition. The herb is commonly known as Rhizoma Picrorhizae, Figwortflower Picrorhiza Rhizome, or Hu Huang Lian.
Botanical Source: Herbal classical works define Rhizoma Picrorhizae (Figwortflower Picrorhiza Rhizome) as the dried rhizome of (1) Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora Pennell or (2) Picrorhiza kurroa Royle. These species belong to the genus Neopicrorhiza (syn. Picrorhiza Royle ex Benth.), family Scrophulariaceae (figwort family), order Lamiales (formerly Tubiflorae). The two commonly used species are described below:
(1) Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora Pennell.
Botanical Description: Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora Pennell is commonly known as Xī Zàng Hú Huánɡ Lián. A perennial herb, the plant grows up to 5–10 cm tall. The rhizome is stout, long conical, creeping, and 15–50 cm long, internodes are dense, often has dark brown scaly old leaves and terete rootlets. Leaves grow almost to the base and often accumulate into a rosette; leaf blades are spatulate (spoons-shaped) to oval (egg-shaped), 2–7 cm long, 1.5–3.5 cm wide, the apex is circular or obtuse, the base gradually narrowing into a short stalk, the margin except the base is crenature, glabrous, blackened when dry.
Scapes exsert from leaf clusters, 5–15 cm tall, covered with glandular hairs; flowers grow densely in an apical, spikelike, coniform cyme; bracts and calyx are both piliferous; bracts are oval; sepals 4, 5–6 mm long, one lobe nearly linear, the other four lobes are almost lanceolate to narrowly oblong or narrowly elliptic; corolla is dark violet (dull purple) or watery blue (light blue), bilabiate, sparsely pilose both inside and outside; stamens 4, didynamous, inserted at the middle of the corolla tube; ovary is 2-locular; ovules are numerous per locule; style is slender; stigma is capitate.
Capsule is ovoid, 9–12 mm long, apex is 4-lobed. Seeds are numerous, oblong, glossy, and reticulate. Flowering extends from June to August; fruiting from August to September.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows on rocks and stone piles in alpine regions at altitudes of 3,600–4,400 m above sea level, or in sunny sites with shallow soil layers.
Growth characteristics: The plant prefers cool, moist conditions and fertile soil, and is suitable for cultivation in high-altitude areas.
Characteristics of the Herb: The rhizome of Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora Pennell is cylindrical, slightly curved, and occasionally branched, 3–12 cm long and 2–14 mm in diameter. The surface is taupe brown (grayish brown) to dark brown, with protruding bud scars, round root scars, or residual radicels; the thicker specimens exhibit tight, dense transverse wrinkles, and the upper ends are densely covered with dark brown, scaly petiole remnants. The herb is light in weight, hard and brittle in texture, breaks easily, and has a pale brown to dark brown fracture surface with 4–10 white vascular bundles arranged in a ring. It has a faint odor and an intensely bitter taste.
Pharmacological Actions: The herb exhibits (1) hepatoprotective and cholagogue effects; (2) antifungal activity—its aqueous infusion (1:4) inhibits, to varying degrees, Trichophyton violaceum, Trichophyton concentricum, Trichophyton gypseum, Arthroderma schoenleinii (formerly Achorion schoenleinii), Microsporum audouinii, Microsporum ferrugineum, Microsporum lanosum, Epidermophyton floccosum (formerly E. inguinale), Epidermophyton rubrum, and other dermatophytes, as well as Nocardia asteroides (formerly N. stella).
Medicinal Efficacy: Clears damp-heat, eliminates deficient heat, dispels bone-steaming fever, clears heat and dries dampness, drains fire and detoxifies. Indicated for damp-heat dysentery, jaundice, hemorrhoids, yin deficiency with bone-steaming fever, tidal fever and night sweats, infantile malnutrition with fever, hematemesis, epistaxis, red, swollen, and painful eyes, carbuncles and ulcers, and hemorrhoidal swelling and toxicity.
Administration of Rhizoma Picrorhizae (Hú Huánɡ Lián):
Reference:
Administration Guide for Rhizoma Picrorhizae (Hú Huánɡ Lián)
TCM Books:
(1) Internally: 1.5–9 grams; (2) Internally: Water decoction, 0.5–1.5 qian (≈1.5–4.5 grams), or prepared as pills or powder; external use: apply finely powdered herb topically, or instill the aqueous extract into the eyes; (3) Internally:water decoction, 6–12 grams, or prepared as pills or powder; external use: apply an appropriate amount of powdered herb topically, or instill the aqueous extract into the eyes.
(2) Picrorhiza kurroa Royle.
Botanical Description:Picrorhiza kurroa Royle is commonly known as Hu Huang Lian. It is a perennial herb, pilose. The rhizome is cylindrical, slightly lignified (woody), and 15–20 cm long. Leaves are basal (nearly radicicolous), slightly coriaceous; leaf blades are spatulate (spoon-shaped), 5–10 cm long, with an acute apex, the base tapering into a winged, sheathing petiole, and the margin is serrulate.
Scapes are longer than the leaves; spikes are 5–10 cm long, bearing a few bracts on the underside; bracts are oblong or lanceolate and equal in length to the calyx; sepals are 5, lanceolate, about 5 mm long, with marginal setae; the corolla is shorter than the calyx and has 5 equal lobes at the apex; the lobes are ovate, with marginal setae, the inner surface is sparsely pilose, and the outer surface glabrous or subglabrous; stamens are 4, with slender, glabrous filaments that exsert beyond the corolla; the ovary is bilocular, the style is slender, and the stigma is solitary.
The capsule is ovate-oblong, 6 mm long, with slightly sulcate sides and dehiscent main locules. Seeds are oblong, ca. 1 mm long. Flowering occurs in June; fruiting occurs in July.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows in alpine meadows.
Characteristics of the Herb: The rhizome of Picrorhiza kurroa Royle is cylindrical, straight or curved, and mostly unbranched; most specimens available commercially are in small segments, 2–9 cm long and 3–8 mm in diameter. The surface is yellowish gray to yellowish brown, glossy, rough, with vertical wrinkles and transverse annular lines; the areas where the cork bark has exfoliated are brown. At the upper end, there are residual leaf scars—dense, scaly, reddish dark brown—or semicircular knot-like scars after abscission. Root scars are punctiform, and numerous dots occur near the nodes. The texture is hard and brittle, breaking with a starchy, dusty fracture; 4–7 vascular bundle dots are visible on the fracture surface, arranged in a ring. The herb has a faint odor and an intensely bitter, persistent taste.
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References:
1.Introduction of Hu Huang Lian: Figwortflower Picrorhiza Rhizome
✵The article records the herb Figwortflower Picrorhiza Rhizome, including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, and botanical sources—two plant species: (1) Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora Pennell and (2) Picrorhiza kurroa Royle. It provides a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environments of these two species; the characteristics of the herb Figwortflower Picrorhiza Rhizome; its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Pinyin Name: Hú Huánɡ Lián
Botanical Description: Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora Pennell is commonly known as Xī Zàng Hú Huánɡ Lián. A perennial herb, the plant grows up to 5–10 cm tall. The rhizome is stout, long conical, creeping, and 15–50 cm long, internodes are dense, often has dark brown scaly old leaves and terete rootlets. Leaves grow almost to the base and often accumulate into a rosette; leaf blades are spatulate (spoons-shaped) to oval (egg-shaped), 2–7 cm long, 1.5–3.5 cm wide, the apex is circular or obtuse, the base gradually narrowing into a short stalk, the margin except the base is crenature, glabrous, blackened when dry.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows on rocks and stone piles in alpine regions at altitudes of 3,600–4,400 m above sea level, or in sunny sites with shallow soil layers.
Botanical Description: Picrorhiza kurroa Royle is commonly known as Hu Huang Lian. It is a perennial herb, pilose. The rhizome is cylindrical, slightly lignified (woody), and 15–20 cm long. Leaves are basal (nearly radicicolous), slightly coriaceous; leaf blades are spatulate (spoon-shaped), 5–10 cm long, with an acute apex, the base tapering into a winged, sheathing petiole, and the margin is serrulate.
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