Introduction of Zhi Mu: Common Anemarrhena Rhizome
✵The article documents the herb Common Anemarrhena Rhizome, including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, and its botanical source—a single plant species: (1) Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge. It provides a detailed introduction to the botanical features of this species, its growth characteristics and ecological environment, the characteristics of the crude herb, its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Rhizoma Anemarrhenae (Common Anemarrhena Rhizome)
Pinyin Name: Zhī Mǔ
English Name: Common Anemarrhena Rhizome
Latin Name:Rhizoma Anemarrhenae Property and Flavor: Cold, bitter
Brief Introduction:Rhizoma Anemarrhenae is the dried rhizome of *Anemarrhena asphodeloides* Bunge. It is used: (1) to clear heat and drain fire—relieving high fever with intense thirst in warm diseases and cough due to lung-heat; and (2) to nourish yin and moisten the intestines—treating low-grade fever in yin deficiency, diabetes mellitus, and constipation. The herb is commonly known as Rhizoma Anemarrhenae, Common Anemarrhena Rhizome, or Zhī Mǔ.
Botanical Source:Rhizoma Anemarrhenae is the dried rhizome of Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge, a perennial herb of the genus Anemarrhena, family Asparagaceae (asparagus family), order Asparagales. This widely used species is described below:
(1) Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge
Botanical Description:Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge is a perennial herb of the Asparagaceae family and genus Anemarrhena. The whole plant is glabrous. The horizontal rhizome is stout and thick, densely covered with yellow-brown fibrous leaf base remnants; numerous succulent fibrous roots arise from its lower portion. Leaves are basal, tufted, and linear, 20–70 cm long and 3–7 mm wide; the upper surface is green, the lower surface dark green, glabrous, and slightly thicker; the leaf base is enlarged and sheathes the rhizome.
Scapes are erect, unbranched, 50–120 cm tall; the lower part bears lanceolate bract-like degenerate leaves, while scaly bracteoles are sparsely distributed on the upper part. Two to six flowers occur in clusters, scattered along the upper portion of the scape to form a long raceme, 20–40 cm in length. Flowers are yellowish-white, often acquiring a purple tinge upon drying; they bloom nocturnally and bear short pedicels. There are six tepals—oblong, 5–8 mm long and 1–1.5 mm wide—with slightly connate bases arranged in two whorls; apices are slightly incurved, margins are thin, each bearing three pale green longitudinal veins. Three fertile stamens are inserted near the middle of the inner tepals; anthers are yellow. Three staminodes are inserted near the base of the outer tepals and lack anthers. A single pistil is present: the ovary is long-ovoid and trilocular; the style is short, with a single stigma.
Capsules are ovoid, 10–15 mm long and 5–7 mm in diameter. At maturity, they dehisce along the ventral suture into three lobes, each typically containing one seed. Seeds are ovate-oblong, triquetrous (3 edges), with one pointed end, 8–12 mm long, and black. Flowering occurs from May to August; fruiting from July to September.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows on sunny, dry hillsides, grassy slopes, or open grasslands, often forming clonal patches.
Growth Characteristics:Anemarrhena asphodeloides prefers a warm, humid climate but is tolerant of cold and drought. It exhibits strong environmental adaptability and has no strict soil requirements. Optimal cultivation sites feature loose, fertile, humus-rich sandy loam with good drainage. Growth is poor in shaded hillside soils, heavy clay, or waterlogged low-lying areas, where rhizomes are prone to rot.
Characteristics of the Herb: Mao Zhi Mu: The herb is also known as piliferous Anemarrhena rhizome. The rhizome is long, strip-shaped, slightly curved, and slightly flattened; it is occasionally branched, 3–15 cm in length and 0.8–1.5 cm in diameter. A pale yellow remnant of stem and leaf bases remains at one end—commonly referred to as the "Golden Wrapped Head." The surface is yellowish-brown to brown, bearing a longitudinal concave groove with closely arranged annular nodes; the nodes are densely covered with persistent yellowish-brown leaf bases that grow bilaterally upward toward the rhizome apex. The lower portion is slightly convex, exhibiting vertical wrinkles and scattered, concave, spotted root scars—or fibrous root marks—and residual stem fragments. The herb is hard and firm in texture, brittle and easily broken. The fracture surface is yellowish-white and granular. It has a faint odor and a mildly sweet and slightly bitter taste; it becomes sticky upon chewing.
Zhi Mu Rou: The herb is also known as Anemarrhena rhizome flesh. Most of the cortex has been removed; its surface is yellowish-white, and some specimens retain a few fibrous leaf stalks and convex, spotted root scars.
Pharmacological Actions: (1) antipyretic effect; (2) inhibition of platelet aggregation; (3) hypoglycemic effect; (4) diuretic effect; (5) expectorant effect, etc.
Medicinal Efficacy: Clears heat and drains fire; promotes secretion of saliva and body fluids; moistens dryness. Indicated for exogenous febrile diseases with high fever and excessive thirst; lung-heat-induced dry cough; bone-steaming tidal fever and night sweats; internal heat with consumptive thirst; and intestinal dryness with constipation.
Administration of Rhizoma Anemarrhenae (Zhī Mǔ):
Reference:
Administration Guide for Rhizoma Anemarrhenae (Zhī Mǔ)
TCM Books:
(1) Internally: 6–12 grams; (2) Internally: water decoction, 2–5 qián (≈6–155 grams), or prepared as pills or powder; (3) Internally: water decoction, 6–12 grams; alternatively, finely ground into powder and formulated into pills or powder. For clearing heat or moistening dryness and nourishing Yin, use the raw herb; for downbearing fire and nourishing Yin, use the salt-baked herb.
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1.Introduction of Zhi Mu: Common Anemarrhena Rhizome.
✵The article documents the herb Common Anemarrhena Rhizome, including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, and its botanical source—a single plant species: (1) Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge. It provides a detailed introduction to the botanical features of this species, its growth characteristics and ecological environment, the characteristics of the crude herb, its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Pinyin Name: Zhī Mǔ
Botanical Description: Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge is a perennial herb of the Asparagaceae family and genus Anemarrhena. The whole plant is glabrous. The horizontal rhizome is stout and thick, densely covered with yellow-brown fibrous leaf base remnants; numerous succulent fibrous roots arise from its lower portion. Leaves are basal, tufted, and linear, 20–70 cm long and 3–7 mm wide; the upper surface is green, the lower surface dark green, glabrous, and slightly thicker; the leaf base is enlarged and sheathes the rhizome.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows on sunny, dry hillsides, grassy slopes, or open grasslands, often forming clonal patches.
Characteristics of the Herb: Mao Zhi Mu: The herb is also known as piliferous Anemarrhena rhizome. The rhizome is long, strip-shaped, slightly curved, and slightly flattened; it is occasionally branched, 3–15 cm in length and 0.8–1.5 cm in diameter. A pale yellow remnant of stem and leaf bases remains at one end—commonly referred to as the "Golden Wrapped Head." The surface is yellowish-brown to brown, bearing a longitudinal concave groove with closely arranged annular nodes; the nodes are densely covered with persistent yellowish-brown leaf bases that grow bilaterally upward toward the rhizome apex. The lower portion is slightly convex, exhibiting vertical wrinkles and scattered, concave, spotted root scars—or fibrous root marks—and residual stem fragments. The herb is hard and firm in texture, brittle and easily broken. The fracture surface is yellowish-white and granular. It has a faint odor and a mildly sweet and slightly bitter taste; it becomes sticky upon chewing.
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