✵The article records the herb Amur Cork-tree bark—its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavors, and botanical sources: two plant species, (1) Phellodendron chinense Schneid. and (2) Phellodendron amurense Rupr.—with a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environments of these two species; the characteristics of the herb Amur Cork-tree bark; its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Cortex Phellodendri (Amur Cork-tree)
Pinyin Name: Huánɡ Bò
English Name: Amur Cork-tree.
Latin Name:Cortex Phellodendri Properties and Flavors: Cold, bitter
Brief Introduction:Cortex Phellodendri is the dried bark of the Chinese corktree, Phellodendron chinense Schneid., or the Amur corktree, Phellodendron amurense Rupr. It is used (1) to clear heat and dry dampness in cases of acute dysentery, jaundice, morbid leukorrhea, and heat stranguria; (2) to purge fire and counteract toxins for treating boils, sores, and ulcers; and (3) to relieve fever in cases of Yin deficiency with night sweats. The herb is commonly known as Cortex Phellodendri, Amur Cork-tree, or Huánɡ Bò.
Botanical Source: Common herbal classics define Cortex Phellodendri (Huang Bo) as the dried cortex (bark) of (1) Phellodendron chinense Schneid. or (2) Phellodendron amurense Rupr., both belonging to the genus Phellodendron, family Rutaceae (rue or spurge olive family), order Rutales. These two commonly used species are described below:
(1).Phellodendron chinense Schneid.
Botanical Description:Phellodendron chinense Schneid. is a deciduous tree of the Rutaceae family (rue or spurge olive family) and the genus Phellodendron. It is commonly known as Phellodendron chinense or Huáng Pí Shù ("yellow bark tree"). The tree grows up to 10–12 meters tall. The bark is brown, with visible lenticels; the outer cork layer is thin. Leaves are imparipinnate and opposite, with 7–15 leaflets that are oblong-lanceolate to oblong-ovate, 9–15 cm long and 3–5 cm wide; the apex is long-acuminate, the base is broadly cuneate or rounded and asymmetrical, and the margins are subentire. Rust-colored pubescence occurs along the midribs of the upper leaf surface; the lower surface is densely covered with rust-colored, long, pilose hairs; the leaflets are thick and chartaceous (papery).
Flowers are unisexual and dioecious, arranged in terminal panicles; the inflorescence axis (rhachis) is densely puberulent. Flowers are purple: male flowers have 5–6 stamens longer than the petals, with a subulate pistillode; female flowers have 5–6 staminodes; the ovary is superior, short-stipitate, 5-loculed, with a short style and a 5-lobed stigma.
The carpopodium (fruit stalk) and pericarp are thick and large, often densely puberulent; the fruit is a drupe, subsphaeroidal, 1–1.5 cm in diameter, densely clustered, turning black at maturity, and containing 5–6 seeds. Flowering occurs from May to June; fruiting occurs from October to November.
Ecological Environment:Phellodendron chinense Schneid. grows in mixed woodlands (shaws or holts).
Growth Characteristics: The tree prefers a cool climate and exhibits strong wind resistance but is sensitive to drought and waterlogging. Seedlings are slightly shade-tolerant; mature trees prefer full sun and are cold-tolerant. Young trees are vulnerable to frost damage; fresh branch tips are easily injured by late frosts, leading to bifurcation and poor branching form. For cultivation, it is advisable to select fields with slightly acidic or neutral loam soil—deep, loose, fertile, and rich in humus in the topsoil layer.
Characteristics of the Herb: The dried bark (cortex) of Phellodendron chinense is commonly known as “Chuan Huang Bo.” The bark is shallowly grooved or disc-shaped, slightly curved, and irregular in length and width; it is 1–6 mm thick. The outer surface is tawny (sienna or cinnamon-colored) or yellowish brown, flat, with longitudinal grooves; the remaining cork layer is about 0.2 mm thick, taupe (dust-colored), inelastic, and bears prominent transverse lenticels. The inner surface is dark yellow or pale brown, marked with fine longitudinal ridges. The herb is light in weight and hard in texture. On the fracture surface, the cortex layer is slightly granular; the phloem is fibrous, splintery, layered, and canary-yellow (bright yellow). It has a slight odor and an intensely bitter taste, with a sticky sensation upon chewing.
Pharmacological Actions: (1) Antimicrobial activity: Aqueous decoctions and alcoholic extracts of Cortex Phellodendri exhibit varying degrees of in vitro inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus albus, Staphylococcus citreus, hemolytic streptococci, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Bacillus anthracis, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Salmonella paratyphi, Neisseria meningitidis, and Vibrio cholerae. (2) Antipyretic and anti-inflammatory effects.
Medicinal Efficacy: Clears heat and dries dampness; drains fire and detoxifies. It is indicated for damp-heat dysentery and diarrhea, jaundice, nocturnal emission, turbid stranguria, morbid leukorrhea, bone-steaming fever and consumptive fever, oral and lingual ulcers, red, swollen, and painful eyes, carbuncles, furuncles, ulcerative sores, and eczematous skin conditions.
Administration of Cortex Phellodendri (Huánɡ Bò):
Reference:
Administration Guide for Cortex Phellodendri (Huánɡ Bò)
TCM Books:
(1) Internally: 3–12 grams; external use: appropriate amount. (2) Internally:water decoction, 1.5–3 qián (≈4.5–9 grams), or prepared as pills or powder. External use: ground herb powder applied topically, or soaked and infused in aqueous decoction. (3) Internally:water decoction, 3–9 grams, or prepared as pills or powder. External use: appropriate amount—ground herb powder applied topically, or used as a wash (aqueous decoction).
(2) Phellodendron amurense Rupr.
Botanical Description:Phellodendron amurense Rupr. is a deciduous tree of the Rutaceae family (rue or spurge olive family) and the genus Phellodendron. It is commonly known as Phellodendron amurense or Huánɡ Bò. The tree grows up to 10–25 meters tall. The bark is thick: the outer bark is taupe (dust-colored), with well-developed cork and irregular reticulate longitudinal fissures; the inner bark is canary-yellow (bright yellow). Young branchlets are typically taupe (dust-colored) or pale brown, rarely reddish brown, and bear small lenticels. Leaves are opposite, imparipinnate compound, with short petiolules; leaflets number 5–15, lanceolate to ovate-oblong, 3–11 cm long and 1.5–4 cm wide; the apex is long-acuminate; the base is unequally broadly cuneate or orbicular; the margins bear fine, blunt teeth bearing glandular dots. The upper surface is dark green and glabrous; the lower surface is pale grayish-white ("pale asphyxia" corrected), with dense pubescence at the base of the midrib on both sides; the leaflets are chartaceous (papery).
Flowers are dioecious, arranged in conical cymes; the rachis and flowering branches are pilose when young. Flowers are small and greenish-yellow. Staminate flowers have five stamens extending beyond the petals; filaments are pilose at the base. Pistillate flowers possess squamuliform staminodes; one pistil is present, with a short-stipitate, 5-loculed ovary, a short style, and a 5-lobed stigma.
The fruit is a drupe, spheroidal, 8–10 mm in diameter, densely clustered, turning atropurpureus (purplish-black) at maturity, containing 2–5 seeds. Flowering occurs from May to June; fruiting occurs from September to October.
Ecological Environment:Phellodendron amurense Rupr. grows in mountainous mixed woodlands (shaws or holts), along valley streams, in montane forests, or on mountain slopes and valleys.
Growth Characteristics:Phellodendron amurense Rupr. is highly adaptable, sun-tolerant, and cold-resistant. It is suitable for cultivation on flat land or low hill slopes, along roadsides, near residential areas, or beside rivers.
Characteristics of the Herb: The dried bark of Phellodendron amurense is commonly known as Guan Huang Bo. The bark is plate-shaped, slightly curved, with uneven length and width, and 1–7 mm thick. The outer surface is flavovirens (yellowish-green) or pale yellowish-brown, smooth; the residual cork bark is taupe brown or ash gray (grayish-white) and slightly elastic. The inner surface is dark yellow or light yellowish-brown, with fine vertical veins. The herb is light in weight, hard and brittle (crisp) in texture. The fracture surface is greenish-yellow or primrose yellow (pale yellow): granular in the cortex layer, and fibrous and splintery in the phloem. The herb has a slight odor and tastes extremely bitter; it is sticky when chewed.
✵The article records the herb Amur Cork-tree bark—its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavors, and botanical sources: two plant species, (1) Phellodendron chinense Schneid. and (2) Phellodendron amurense Rupr.—with a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environments of these two species; the characteristics of the herb Amur Cork-tree bark; its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Pinyin Name: Huánɡ Bò
Botanical Description: Phellodendron chinense Schneid. is a deciduous tree of the Rutaceae family (rue or spurge olive family) and the genus Phellodendron. It is commonly known as Phellodendron chinense or Huáng Pí Shù ("yellow bark tree"). The tree grows up to 10–12 meters tall. The bark is brown, with visible lenticels; the outer cork layer is thin. Leaves are imparipinnate and opposite, with 7–15 leaflets that are oblong-lanceolate to oblong-ovate, 9–15 cm long and 3–5 cm wide; the apex is long-acuminate, the base is broadly cuneate or rounded and asymmetrical, and the margins are subentire. Rust-colored pubescence occurs along the midribs of the upper leaf surface; the lower surface is densely covered with rust-colored, long, pilose hairs; the leaflets are thick and chartaceous (papery).
Ecological Environment: Phellodendron chinense Schneid. grows in mixed woodlands (shaws or holts).
Botanical Description: Phellodendron amurense Rupr. is a deciduous tree of the Rutaceae family (rue or spurge olive family) and the genus Phellodendron. It is commonly known as Phellodendron amurense or Huánɡ Bò. The tree grows up to 10–25 meters tall. The bark is thick: the outer bark is taupe (dust-colored), with well-developed cork and irregular reticulate longitudinal fissures; the inner bark is canary-yellow (bright yellow). Young branchlets are typically taupe (dust-colored) or pale brown, rarely reddish brown, and bear small lenticels. Leaves are opposite, imparipinnate compound, with short petiolules; leaflets number 5–15, lanceolate to ovate-oblong, 3–11 cm long and 1.5–4 cm wide; the apex is long-acuminate; the base is unequally broadly cuneate or orbicular; the margins bear fine, blunt teeth bearing glandular dots. The upper surface is dark green and glabrous; the lower surface is pale grayish-white ("pale asphyxia" corrected), with dense pubescence at the base of the midrib on both sides; the leaflets are chartaceous (papery).
Flowers are dioecious, arranged in conical cymes; the rachis and flowering branches are pilose when young. Flowers are small and greenish-yellow. Staminate flowers have five stamens extending beyond the petals; filaments are pilose at the base. Pistillate flowers possess squamuliform staminodes; one pistil is present, with a short-stipitate, 5-loculed ovary, a short style, and a 5-lobed stigma.
Ecological Environment: Phellodendron amurense Rupr. grows in mountainous mixed woodlands (shaws or holts), along valley streams, in montane forests, or on mountain slopes and valleys.
Characteristics of the Herb: The dried bark of Phellodendron amurense is commonly known as Guan Huang Bo. The bark is plate-shaped, slightly curved, with uneven length and width, and 1–7 mm thick. The outer surface is flavovirens (yellowish-green) or pale yellowish-brown, smooth; the residual cork bark is taupe brown or ash gray (grayish-white) and slightly elastic. The inner surface is dark yellow or light yellowish-brown, with fine vertical veins. The herb is light in weight, hard and brittle (crisp) in texture. The fracture surface is greenish-yellow or primrose yellow (pale yellow): granular in the cortex layer, and fibrous and splintery in the phloem. The herb has a slight odor and tastes extremely bitter; it is sticky when chewed.
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