Introduction of Lian Qiao: Weeping Forsythia Fruit

 ✵The article records the herb Weeping Forsythia Fruit—its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, botanical source—a single plant species, Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl., and provides a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environment of this species, as well as the macroscopic characteristics of the herb, its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.

Fructus Forsythiae (Weeping Forsythia Fruit)

 Pinyin Name: Lián Qiáo
 English Name: Weeping Forsythia Fruit
 Latin Name: Fructus Forsythiae
 Properties and Flavor: Slightly cold, bitter

 Brief Introduction: Fructus Forsythiae is the dried fruit of weeping forsythia (Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl.), commonly used together with honeysuckle flower (1) to clear heat, resolve toxins, and dissipate nodules in cases of boils, sores, and abscesses; and (2) to dispel wind-heat in wind-heat syndromes and early-stage warm diseases. The herb is commonly known as Fructus Forsythiae, Weeping Forsythia Fruit, or Lián Qiáo.

 Botanical Source: Fructus Forsythiae (Weeping Forsythia Fruit) is the dried fruit of Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl., a plant of the genus Forsythia, family Oleaceae (olive family), order Lamiales. This commonly used species is described below:

(1) Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl.

 Botanical Description: Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl. is also known as Syringa suspensa Thunb. It belongs to the family Oleaceae (olive family) and genus Forsythia Vahl. It is commonly called Forsythia suspensa or Lián Qiáo. A deciduous shrub. Branchlets are khaki or taupe (dust-colored), slightly prismatic, with sparse lenticels; nodes are hollow internally, and joints contain farctate pith. Leaves are usually simple, or 3-lobed to trifoliolate; petioles are 0.8–1.5 cm long and glabrous; leaf blades are oval (egg-shaped), broadly ovate, elliptic-ovate, or elliptic, 2–10 cm long and 1.5–5 cm wide; apex is acute; base is rounded to cuneate; margins are sharply serrated or coarsely serrated except at the base; upper surface is dark green, lower surface is pale yellowish green; both surfaces are glabrous.

 Flowers are usually solitary or occur in clusters of 2–several in leaf axils, blooming before leaf emergence; pedicels are 5–6 mm long; calyx is green, 4-lobed, oblong or oblong-elliptic, with ciliate margins, nearly as long as the corolla tube; corolla is yellow, 4-lobed, lobes are obovate-oblong, 1.2–2 cm long and 6–10 mm wide; pistil is 5–7 mm long; 2 stamens, 3–5 mm long, inserted at the base of the corolla tube; style is slender and elongated; stigma is 2-lobed.

 The capsule fruit is ovoid, ovate-elliptic, or oblong, bilocular, 1.2–2.5 cm long and 0.6–1.2 cm wide; apex is beak-shaped and acuminate (coronoid-acuminate); surface is sparsely covered with lenticels or nodules; fruit stalks (carpopodia) are 0.7–1.5 cm long. Flowering period: March–April; fruiting period: July–September.

 Ecological Environment: The shrub grows in thickets, open forests, and grasslands on hillsides or mountain slopes.

 Growth Characteristics: Forsythia suspensa prefers warm and humid climates. It exhibits strong adaptability and tolerates cold and infertile soils. It thrives under ample sunlight. Soil requirements are not strict; it grows well in humus-rich or sandy-gravelly soils.

 Characteristics of the Herb: The fruit is ovate-oblong to oval (egg-shaped), slightly flattened, 1–2.5 cm long and 0.5–1.3 cm in diameter.

 Lǎo Qiáo (Old Forsythia Fruit): Typically splits from the apex, slightly retroflexed outward or separated into two carpels; bears a fruit stalk (carpopodium) or it is remnant at the base; outer surface is yellow-brown, bearing irregular longitudinal wrinkles and numerous convex pale-yellow nodular spots (fewer at the base), and a central vertical groove; inner surface is pale yellowish-brown, smooth and lightly glossy, with a central vertical septum; many seeds are missing; pericarp is hard and brittle; fracture surface is flat.

 Qīng Qiáo (Green Forsythia Fruit): Usually unsplit; surface is greenish-brown with fewer nodular spots; often retains a fruit stalk (carpopodium) at the base; contains numerous seeds—lanceolate, slightly curved, ~0.7 cm long and ~0.2 cm wide; seed surface is brown, with a narrow wing on one side.

 The herb is slightly fragrant and tastes bitter.

 Pharmacological Actions: (1) Antibacterial effect: A concentrated decoction of Fructus Forsythiae exhibits in vitro antibacterial activity against Salmonella typhi, Salmonella paratyphi, Escherichia coli, Shigella spp., Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Vibrio cholerae, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus spp., and others. (2) Other effects: Antiemetic (inhibits emesis).

 Medicinal Efficacy: Clears heat, resolves toxins, disperses nodules, and reduces swelling. It is indicated for carbuncles, furuncles, scrofula, acute mastitis, erysipelas, macular rashes, wind-heat cold (common cold), early-stage warm diseases, fever associated with warm diseases, invasion of warm-heat pathogens into the Ying level, high fever with excessive thirst, delirium with maculae, pharyngitis, leukorrhea, dysuria with burning sensation, and painful or difficult urination.

 Administration of Fructus Forsythiae (Lián Qiáo): 
 

Reference:	Administration Guide of Fructus Forsythiae (Lián Qiáo)
TCM Books:	(1) Internally (Oral administration): 6–15 grams; (2) Internally: water decoction, 3–5 qián (≈9–15 grams); or prepared as pills or powder. External use: Wash affected area with decoction; (3) Internally: water decoction, 6–15 grams; or prepared as pills or powder.

 

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References:

• 1.Introduction of Lian Qiao: Weeping Forsythia Fruit.

 Edited and last revised: January 5, 2023