✵This article documents the herb Oldenlandia—including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, and botanical source—namely one plant species: (1) Hedyotis diffusa Willd., with a detailed description of its botanical features, growth characteristics, ecological environment, macroscopic herb characteristics, pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Herba Oldenlandiae (Oldenlandia).
Pinyin Name: Bái Huā Shé Shé Cǎo
English Name: Oldenlandia
Latin Name:Herba Oldenlandiae Properties and Flavor: Cool, bitter, sweet
Brief Introduction:Herba Oldenlandiae is the dried whole plant of Hedyotis diffusa Willd. (syn. Oldenlandia diffusa (Willd.) Roxb.), used to clear heat, resolve toxins, drain dampness, and promote urination. It treats boils, carbuncles, abscesses, venomous snake bites, and heat-induced strangury. Common names include Herba Oldenlandiae, Oldenlandia, and Bái Huā Shé Shé Cǎo.
Botanical Source: Classical herbal works and official pharmacopoeias define Herba Oldenlandiae (Oldenlandia) as the dried whole plant of (1) Hedyotis diffusa Willd., a species of the genus Hedyotis L., family Rubiaceae (madder family), order Gentianales (formerly in order Rubiales). This commonly used species is described below:
(1) Hedyotis diffusa Willd.
Botanical Description:Hedyotis diffusa Willd. is also known as Oldenlandia diffusa (Willd.) Roxb. or Bái Huā Shé Shé Cǎo ("White Snake-Tongue Grass"). It is an annual, prostrate or decumbent herb, growing 15–50 cm tall. Roots are slender, branched, and white. The stem is subquadrangular or flattened-cylindrical, glabrous, and profusely branched from the base. Leaves are opposite and sessile; leaf blades linear to linear-lanceolate, 1–3.5 cm long and 1–3 mm wide; apex acute; upper surface glabrous; lower surface sometimes slightly scabrid; lateral veins inconspicuous; stipules membranous, fused at the base into a sheath 1–2 mm long, apex aristate.
Flowers are solitary or paired in leaf axils, usually grow on short, thick pedicels; rarely sessile. Hypanthium is globose, 4-lobed; calyx lobes are oblong-lanceolate, ~1.5 mm long, ciliate at the margin. Corolla is white, funnelform, 3.5–4 mm long; limb is 4-lobed; lobes are ovate-oblong, ~2 mm long, sparsely puberulent. Stamens 4, inserted in the corolla throat, alternate with corolla lobes; filaments are oblate; anthers are oval, dorsifixed, bilocular, longitudinally dehiscent. Ovary is inferior, 2-locular. Stigma is 2-lobed, semiglobose.
Capsule fruit is oblate-spherical or spheroidal, 2–2.5 mm in diameter, loculicidal; calyx is persistent. Seeds are yellowish-brown, minute, trigonous. Flowering period: July–September; fruiting period: August–October.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows on moist field margins, ditch banks, roadsides, and grasslands.
Growth Characteristics:Hedyotis diffusa Willd. prefers warm, humid conditions and is intolerant of drought and waterlogging. Soil requirements are not strict, but it thrives best in fertile sandy loam or humus-rich loam.
Characteristics of the Herb: The dried whole plant is twisted into tangled masses, color ranging from celadon (sage green or gray-green) to taupe-brown. Taproot is slender, ~2 mm in diameter; fibrous roots are fine and pale taupe-brown (pale grayish-brown). Stem is thin, curly, brittle, and easily fractured; pith is white. Leaves are wrinkled, fragmented, and readily abscise; stipules are 1–2 mm long. Flowers and fruits are solitary or paired in leaf axils; flowers typically grow on short, slightly thickened pedicels. Fruit is spheroidal, 2–2.5 mm in diameter, loculicidal; persistent calyx is 4-lobed at the apex, with short, bristle-like cilia along the margin. The herb has a faint odor and a mild taste.
Pharmacological Actions: (1) Antitumor activity; antibacterial effects are weak. (2) Mild inhibitory activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Shigella spp.; high-concentration decoctions inhibit Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, and Proteus spp. (3) Enhances phagocytosis by white blood cells. (4) Anti-inflammatory effect.
Medicinal Efficacy: Clears heat and detoxifies, removes dampness via diuresis, promotes diuresis and reduces swelling, activates blood circulation and alleviates pain. It is indicated for periappendiceal abscess (appendicitis), lung-heat-induced asthma and cough, tonsillitis, pharyngitis, sore throat with swelling and pain, damp-heat jaundice, hepatitis, dysuria (difficulty in urination), urinary tract infection, febrile strangury with pain, edema, dysentery, pelvic inflammatory disease, appendicitis, carbuncles and ulcers, malignant boils, venomous snake bite, and tumors; it may also be used for digestive tract cancers.
Administration of Herba Oldenlandiae (Bái Huā Shé Shé Cǎo):
Reference:
Administration Guide for Herba Oldenlandiae (Bái Huā Shé Shé Cǎo)
TCM Books:
(1) Internally: 0.5–2 liǎng (approximately 15–60 grams), as a water decoction. External use: apply an appropriate amount, mashed and poulticed to the affected area. (2) Internally: water decoction, 1–2 liǎng (approximately 30–60 grams), or fresh juice extraction. External use: mash and apply as a poultice. (3) Internally: water decoction, 15–30 grams; higher doses up to 60 g may be used, or fresh juice may be extracted. External use: mash and apply as a poultice.
Contraindications, Precautions, and Adverse Reactions: Herba Oldenlandiae should be used with caution during pregnancy.
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References:
1.Introduction of Bai Hua She She Cao: Oldenlandia
✵This article documents the herb Oldenlandia—including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, and botanical source—namely one plant species: (1) Hedyotis diffusa Willd., with a detailed description of its botanical features, growth characteristics, ecological environment, macroscopic herb characteristics, pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Pinyin Name: Bái Huā Shé Shé Cǎo
Botanical Description: Hedyotis diffusa Willd. is also known as Oldenlandia diffusa (Willd.) Roxb. or Bái Huā Shé Shé Cǎo ("White Snake-Tongue Grass"). It is an annual, prostrate or decumbent herb, growing 15–50 cm tall. Roots are slender, branched, and white. The stem is subquadrangular or flattened-cylindrical, glabrous, and profusely branched from the base. Leaves are opposite and sessile; leaf blades linear to linear-lanceolate, 1–3.5 cm long and 1–3 mm wide; apex acute; upper surface glabrous; lower surface sometimes slightly scabrid; lateral veins inconspicuous; stipules membranous, fused at the base into a sheath 1–2 mm long, apex aristate.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows on moist field margins, ditch banks, roadsides, and grasslands.
Characteristics of the Herb: The dried whole plant is twisted into tangled masses, color ranging from celadon (sage green or gray-green) to taupe-brown. Taproot is slender, ~2 mm in diameter; fibrous roots are fine and pale taupe-brown (pale grayish-brown). Stem is thin, curly, brittle, and easily fractured; pith is white. Leaves are wrinkled, fragmented, and readily abscise; stipules are 1–2 mm long. Flowers and fruits are solitary or paired in leaf axils; flowers typically grow on short, slightly thickened pedicels. Fruit is spheroidal, 2–2.5 mm in diameter, loculicidal; persistent calyx is 4-lobed at the apex, with short, bristle-like cilia along the margin. The herb has a faint odor and a mild taste.
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