Introduction of Bai Mao Gen:Lalang Grass Rhizome or Rhizoma Imperatae.
✵The article gives records of the herb Lalang Grass Rhizome, its English name, Latin name, property and flavor, its botanical source one plant species, ①.Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv.var.major (Nees) C.E.Hubb., with a detailed introduction to the botanical features of this plant species, the growth characteristics, and ecological environment of this plant species, the features of the herb Lalang Grass Rhizome, its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guide.
Rhizoma Imperatae(Lalang Grass Rhizome).
Pin Yin Name: Bái Máo Gēn.
English Name: Lalang Grass Rhizome.
Latin Name: Rhizoma Imperatae.
Property and flavor: cold, sweet.
Brief introduction: The herb Rhizoma Imperatae is the dried rhizome of Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv.var.major (Nees) C.E.Hubb., used to cool blood, stanch bleeding, clear heat and induce diuresis for the treatment of epistaxis and hematuria due to blood heat, edema, jaundice, and stranguria associated with heat. The herb is commonly known as Rhizoma Imperatae, Lalang Grass Rhizome, Bái Máo Gēn.
Botanical source: The herb Rhizoma Imperatae is the dried rhizome of Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv.var.major (Nees) C.E.Hubb., it is a plant of the Imperata Cyr. Genus, the Poaceae family (Gramineae, grass family) of the Poales order. This commonly used species is introduced:
Botanical description: The plant, Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv.var.major (Nees) C.E.Hubb is a plant of the Graminaceae (Poaceae) family and Imperata Cyr genus, it is commonly known as Imperata cylindrica, or Bai Mao. A perennial herb, the plant grows up to 20~100 cm high. The rhizome is white, creeping transversely, and densely covered with lodicules. Rod grows in a cluster, upright, cylindrical, smooth, and glabrous, bases are covered with many old leaves and remaining leaf sheath. Leaves are linear or linear-lanceolate; root leaf is nearly as long as the plant; cauline leaves are shorted, 3~8 mm wide, leaf sheath is brown, glabrous, or with cilia on the upper part, margin and shealth mouth part, with short paraphyll (ligule).
Panicle tightly shrivel to spiciform, terminal, cylindraceous, 5~20 cm long, 1~2.5 cm wide; spikelet is lanceolate or oblong, grows in pairs and arranged on inflorescence axis, one spikelet among them has longer pedicel, another spikelet has shorter flower stalk; flowers are hermaphrodite, each spikelet has 1 flower, the base is covered with white threadlike soft hairs; two glumes are equal length or the 1st glume is slightly shorter and narrow, with 3~4 veins, the 2nd glume is relatively wide, with 4~6 veins; palea is membranous, glabrous, the 1st lower palea is ovate-oblong, palea is short, the 2nd lower palea is lanceolate, equal length to palea; stamens 2, anther is yellow, about 3 mm long; pistil 1, with relatively long style, stigma is plumelike.
The caryopsis is elliptic, darkish brown, mature infructescence is covered with white pilose. Its flowering period is from May to June, the fruiting period is from June to July.
Ecological environment: Imperata cylindrica grows in sunny grassland or hillsides and mountain slopes. It is mainly distributed to the north, middle south, southwest, and northwest areas of China.
Growth characteristics: Imperata cylindrica prefers a warm and humid climate, it prefers sun and drought resistance, better to choose a general slope or flat field for cultivation.
Characters of herbs: The rhizome is long cylindrical, sometimes branched, and differ in length, 30~60 cm in length, and 2~4 mm in diameter. The surface is yellowish white or faint yellow, slightly shiny, with longitudinal wrinkles, obvious nodes, with gray-brown scale leaves and fine roots remaining on the nodes, with different internodes, usually 1~3 cm long. The herb is light, the texture of the herb is tough, the fracture surface is fibrous, yellowish-white, mostly with radial cracks, and sometimes there is a visible small hole in the center. The herb has a slight smell, it tastes slightly sweet. The herb of better grade has thick strips, white, and tastes sweet.
Pharmacological actions: ①.significantly shorten the coagulation time, root powder can shorten the rabbit plasma calcium recovery time; ②.the decoction of the herb has analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects by gavage; ③.inhibit the writhing reaction of acetic acid in mice and the increase of capillary permeability caused by acetic acid; ④.inhibitory effect on tuberculosis bacilli, pneumococcus, catacoccus, dysentery bacilli and B pneumonia virus.
Medicinal efficacy: Cool blood to stanch bleeding, clear heat and generate body fluid, clear heat and diuretic, diuretic and treating stranguria. The herb is indicated for blood heat and vomiting blood, blood heat and bleeding, epistaxis, hematuria, febrile disease and dysphoria, stomach heat vomiting, jaundice, edema, lung heat and asthma cough, pyretic stranguria and pain of obstruction, dripping discharge of urine and pain, acute nephritis and edema, jaundice, etc.
Administration of Rhizoma Imperatae (Bái Máo Gēn):
Reference:
Administration Guide of Rhizoma Imperatae (Bái Máo Gēn)
TCM Books:
①.Internally:9~30 grams,fresh herb 30~60 grams; ②.Internally:water decoction, 3~5 qian (about 9~15 grams),fresh herb 1~2 liang (about 30~60 grams), extract juice or prepare to ground herb powder; ③.Internally:water decoction, 10~30 grams, fresh herb 30~60 grams; or extract juice.Externally:proper amount, extract juice with fresh herb and smear.
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References:
1.Introduction of Bai Mao Gen:Lalang Grass Rhizome or Rhizoma Imperatae.