✵The article documents the herb Canton Love-pea Vine, including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, botanical source—namely (1) Abrus cantoniensis Hance—and provides a detailed description of this plant’s botanical features, growth characteristics, ecological environment, herbal characteristics, pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Herba Abri (Canton Love-pea Vine)
Pinyin Name: Jī Gǔ Cǎo
English Name: Canton Love-pea Vine
Latin Name:Herba Abri Properties and Flavor: Slightly bitter, sweet, and cool
Brief Introduction:Herba Abri is the dried whole plant of Abrus cantoniensis Hance, used to clear heat, resolve dampness, soothe the liver, and alleviate pain—particularly for hepatitis and epigastric pain. It is commonly known as Canton Love-pea Vine, Jī Gǔ Cǎo, or Herba Abri.
Botanical Source: Traditional herbal classics define Herba Abri (Canton Love-pea Vine) as the dried whole plant of (1) Abrus cantoniensis Hance, a species in the genus Abrus (family Fabaceae, formerly Leguminosae; order Rosales). This widely used species is described below:
(1) Abrus cantoniensis Hance
Botanical Description:Abrus cantoniensis Hance is also known as Abrus fruticulosus Wall. ex Wight et Arn. (syn. A. fruticulosus Wall. ex Wight et Arn.). Common names include Guangdong Xiangsi Zi and Canton Love-pea Vine. It is a climbing shrub reaching up to 1 m in length; branchlets and petioles are densely covered with coarse hairs. The taproot is stout, up to 60 cm long. Stems are slender and deep reddish purple; young parts are densely covered with tawny hairs. Leaves are paripinnate; leaflets (lobules) occur in 7–12 pairs, obovate or oblong, 5–12 mm long and 3–5 mm wide; apex is truncate with a small awn-like tip; base is shallowly cordate; upper surface is sparsely hirsute; lower surface is densely hirsute with clinging hairs; veinlets are prominent on both surfaces; stipules (peraphylla) are opposite and basally inserted.
Racemes are short and axillary; flowers are ca. 6 mm long; calyx is campanulate (bell-shaped); corolla is protruding, faintly red (pale red); 9 stamens fused into a tubular structure adhering to the vexillum, free at the apex; ovary is subsessile; style is short.
Legumes (pods) are oblong and slightly flattened (oblate), sparsely pilose, containing 4–5 seeds. Seeds are oblong and oblate, brown-black; strophiole is conspicuous; testa is cerinous (waxy-yellow); central region is porous; margin bears a single oblong ring; hilum is acicular (brown, needle-like), situated near the pod margin. Flowering occurs in August; fruiting extends from September to October.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows on mountain margins and in wild thickets.
Growth Characteristics: It thrives in mountainous areas, wild thickets, and forest edges. Prefers warm, humid climates; is cold-sensitive and drought-tolerant but intolerant of waterlogging. Optimal soil: loose, fertile loam, sandy loam, or light clay, with pH 5.0–6.5.
Characteristics of the Herb: The herb consists of the entire plant—including roots—and is often twisted into bundles. Roots are mostly cylindrical or conical, branched, variable in length and thickness, thicker proximally and tapering distally, 3–15 mm in diameter; surface is gray-brown (taupe brown), bearing fine longitudinal striations; lateral roots are extremely fine—some are broken or bearing residual soil; texture is hard. Rhizomes are short and nodular. Stems are clustered, vine-like, 50–100 cm long and 1.5–2.5 mm in diameter; surface is grayish (dust-colored) to purplish brown; branchlets are slender and fine, reddish brown, sparsely covered with short pubescence; leaves paripinnate with 8–11 pairs of leaflets—most often abscised; leaflets are oblong, 8–12 mm long; apex is truncate with a minute protruding cusp; lower surface is hirsute. The herb has a faint aromatic odor and a slightly bitter taste.
Pharmacological Actions: (1) Modulation of intestinal smooth muscle activity; (2) Enhancement of swimming endurance in mice; (3) Other effects: Crude saponins from Herba Abri exhibit significant hepatoprotective activity against CCl₄-induced liver injury.
Medicinal Efficacy: Clears heat and resolves dampness; invigorates blood circulation to dispel stasis and relieve pain. Indicated for jaundice-type hepatitis, gastric pain, rheumatic bone pain, contusion-related pain, and mastalgia.
Administration of Herba Abri (Jī Gǔ Cǎo):
Reference:
Administration Guide for Herba Abri (Jī Gǔ Cǎo)
TCM Books:
(1) Internally: 15–30 grams; (2) Internally: water decoction, 3–5 qián (≈ 9–15 grams), or prepared as pills or powders.
External use: fresh herb mashed and applied topically. (3) Internally: water decoction, 15–30 grams, or prepared as pills or powders.External use: appropriate amount of fresh herb, mashed and applied topically.
Contraindications, Precautions and Adverse Reactions: the seeds are poisonous, could not be used, the pods should be removed completely before using as a herb. The herb Herba Abri should be used cautiously in conditions deficiency cold and physical weakness.
Article Link:
URL QR code:
References:
1.Introduction of Ji Gu Cao: Canton Love-pea Vine.
✵The article documents the herb Canton Love-pea Vine, including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, botanical source—namely (1) Abrus cantoniensis Hance—and provides a detailed description of this plant’s botanical features, growth characteristics, ecological environment, herbal characteristics, pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Pinyin Name: Jī Gǔ Cǎo
Botanical Description: Abrus cantoniensis Hance is also known as Abrus fruticulosus Wall. ex Wight et Arn. (syn. A. fruticulosus Wall. ex Wight et Arn.). Common names include Guangdong Xiangsi Zi and Canton Love-pea Vine. It is a climbing shrub reaching up to 1 m in length; branchlets and petioles are densely covered with coarse hairs. The taproot is stout, up to 60 cm long. Stems are slender and deep reddish purple; young parts are densely covered with tawny hairs. Leaves are paripinnate; leaflets (lobules) occur in 7–12 pairs, obovate or oblong, 5–12 mm long and 3–5 mm wide; apex is truncate with a small awn-like tip; base is shallowly cordate; upper surface is sparsely hirsute; lower surface is densely hirsute with clinging hairs; veinlets are prominent on both surfaces; stipules (peraphylla) are opposite and basally inserted.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows on mountain margins and in wild thickets.
Characteristics of the Herb: The herb consists of the entire plant—including roots—and is often twisted into bundles. Roots are mostly cylindrical or conical, branched, variable in length and thickness, thicker proximally and tapering distally, 3–15 mm in diameter; surface is gray-brown (taupe brown), bearing fine longitudinal striations; lateral roots are extremely fine—some are broken or bearing residual soil; texture is hard. Rhizomes are short and nodular. Stems are clustered, vine-like, 50–100 cm long and 1.5–2.5 mm in diameter; surface is grayish (dust-colored) to purplish brown; branchlets are slender and fine, reddish brown, sparsely covered with short pubescence; leaves paripinnate with 8–11 pairs of leaflets—most often abscised; leaflets are oblong, 8–12 mm long; apex is truncate with a minute protruding cusp; lower surface is hirsute. The herb has a faint aromatic odor and a slightly bitter taste.
URL QR code:
