✵The article records the herb Evodia Fruit, including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavors, and its botanical sources—three plant species: (1) Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth., (2) Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. officinalis (Dode) Huang, and (3) Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. bodinieri (Dode) Huang—along with a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environments of these three species; the morphological features of the herb Evodia Fruit; its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Fructus Evodiae (Evodia Fruit)
Pinyin Name: Wú Zhū Yú
English Name: Evodia Fruit
Latin Name:Fructus Evodiae Properties and Flavors: Hot, pungent, bitter, and mildly toxic.
Brief Introduction:Fructus Evodiae is the dried nearly mature fruit of Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth., Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. officinalis (Dode) Huang, or Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. bodinieri (Dode) Huang. It is used to warm the stomach and relieve pain in cases of gastralgia, abdominal pain, acid regurgitation, and vomiting. The herb is commonly known as Fructus Evodiae, Evodia Fruit, or Wú Zhū Yú.
Botanical Source: Herbal classical works define Fructus Evodiae (Evodia Fruit) as the dried nearly mature fruit of (1) Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth., (2) Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. officinalis (Dode) Huang, or (3) Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. bodinieri (Dode) Huang. These are plants of the genus Tetradium (formerly Euodia), family Rutaceae (the rue or citrus family), order Sapindales. The three commonly used species are described below:
(1) Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth.
Botanical Description: Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. is a plant of the family Rutaceae and genus Tetradium. It is commonly known as Evodia rutaecarpa, Tetradium ruticarpum, or Wú Zhū Yú. It is an evergreen shrub or small tree, growing up to 3–10 meters tall. The bark is bluish gray-brown; young shoots are purplish-brown and bear fine, rounded lenticels; young branches and rachises (rachides) are densely covered with rust-colored pubescence. The leaves are opposite, imparipinnate compound, 20–40 cm long including the petiole; petioles are 4–8 cm long, and petiolules are 2–5 mm long; leaflets number 5–9, elliptic to ovate, 5.5–15 cm long and 3–7 cm wide; the apex abruptly narrows into a short acuminate tip; the base is cuneate to broadly cuneate or rounded; margins are entire or bear inconspicuous crenations; lateral veins are inconspicuous; both surfaces are covered with fawn-colored (flavotestaceous) pubescence—especially dense along the veins—and bear conspicuous oil glands; the texture is thick chartaceous to chartaceous.
The plant is dioecious. Inflorescences are definite racemes (racemose cymes), terminal; rachises (floral axes) are thick and robust, densely covered with tawny (cinnamon-colored or yellowish-brown) pubescence; at the base of each rachis are two narrow, foliaceous, opposite bracts. There are five sepals (calyx lobes), broad-ovate, ca. 1–2 mm long, pubescent; five white petals, oblong, 4–6 mm long. Male flowers possess five stamens inserted on a minute floral disc; anthers are basifixed and elliptic; filaments are thick, short, and pilose; the degenerate ovary apex is 4–5-lobed. In female flowers, petals are larger than those of male flowers; staminodes are scale-like; the ovary is superior, oblong, composed of five carpels, broadening into an oblate shape after flowering; it bears thick, prominent glandular dots; the style is thick and short; the stigma apex is 4–5-lobed.
The fruit is oblate, dehiscing into five follicle-like valves at maturity; color is violet-red (prunus); the surface bears thick, prominent oily glandular dots; each mericarp contains one seed, which is black and glossy. Flowering occurs from June to August; fruiting occurs from September to October.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows in open forests or at forest edges in sunny, low-elevation habitats.
Growth Characteristics: Evodia rutaecarpa prefers a warm, moist climate and is intolerant of cold and drought. Cultivation is best carried out in fields with ample sunlight, deep, fertile, loose, well-drained soils—such as sandy loam or humus-rich loam. Low-lying or waterlogged land is unsuitable for cultivation.
Characteristics of the Herb: The fruit is subglobular or slightly pentagonal and oblate, 2–5 mm in diameter. The surface is dark greenish-yellow to brown, coarse and rough, with numerous punctate protrusions or concave oil glands. The apex bears a stellate (pentagram-shaped) fissure; the base retains the persistent calyx and fruit stalk, both covered with yellow pubescence. The herb is hard and brittle; in cross-section, it displays five loculi, each containing a pale yellow seed. It possesses a strong aromatic odor and tastes pungent and bitter.
Pharmacological Actions: (1) anthelmintic activity against Ascaris suum (porcine ascaris); (2) inhibitory effects on dermatophytes and other microorganisms, including Vibrio cholerae, Epidermophyton floccosum, and Bacillus odouinii; (3) analgesic effect; (4) thermogenic effect (increases body temperature); (5) modulatory effects on respiration and blood pressure.
Medicinal Efficacy: Expels cold and alleviates pain; warms the middle energizer (spleen and stomach); regulates Qi; soothing the liver and descending Qi; calm the adverse-rising energy and stop vomiting; resolvesg dampness; supports Yang and stops diarrhea. It is indicated for Jueyin headache, cold hernia and abdominal pain, cold-damp beriberi, deficiency-cold patterns of the spleen and stomach, vomiting and diarrhea, acid regurgitation, dysmenorrhea (menstrual abdominal pain), epigastric distension pain, cold-damp diarrhea, early-morning diarrhea, and hypertension. Externally, it is used for oral ulcers, beriberi, swollen and painful beriberi, colic, hernia, stomatitis, dental caries, eczema, impetigo (yellow-crusted ulcers), and other skin lesions.
Administration of Fructus Evodiae (Wú Zhū Yú):
Reference:
Administration Guide for Fructus Evodiae (Wú Zhū Yú)
TCM Books:
(1) Internally: 1.5–4.5 grams; external use: appropriate amount. (2) Internally: water decoction, 0.5–2 qián (≈1.5–6 grams), or prepared as pills or powder; external use: fomentation, finely powdered herb applied topically, or wash with decoction. (3) Internally: water decoction, 1.5–5 grams, or prepared as pills or powder; external use: appropriate amount—finely powdered herb applied topically or wash with decoction.
Precautions and Adverse Reactions: Fructus Evodiae is contraindicated with Salvia miltiorrhiza root (Danshen), chalk (calcined gypsum, Shí Gāo), fluorite (Yù Shí), and other cold- or moistening-natured herbs.
(2) Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. officinalis (Dode) Huang
Botanical Description:Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. officinalis (Dode) Huang is a plant of the family Rutaceae and genus Tetradium. It is commonly known as Evodia rutaecarpa var. officinalis or Shí Hǔ ("Stone Tiger"). This variety closely resembles E. rutaecarpa, differing primarily in its pungent, irritating odor; leaflets number 3–11, are relatively narrow—oblong to narrowly lanceolate—with an acuminate to long-acuminate apex; leaflet spacing is comparatively small; lateral veins are conspicuous; margins are entire; both leaf surfaces are densely pubescent—especially along the veins—and bear thick, prominent oil glands; rachises are often covered with colorless or pale yellow pubescence; mature fruiting racemes are less dense than those of E. rutaecarpa; seeds are bluish-black. Flowering occurs from July to August; fruiting, from September to October.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows on grassy hillsides and mountain slopes.
(3) Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. bodinieri (Dode) Huang
Botanical Description:Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. bodinieri (Dode) Huang is a plant of the family Rutaceae and genus Tetradium. It is commonly known as pilose Evodia, Máo Mài Wú Zhū Yú, or Shū Máo Wú Zhū Yú. This variety closely resembles E. rutaecarpa, differing in the following features: young branchlets are covered with yellowish-rust-colored or silky, sparse pubescence; rachises are villous; leaflets number 5–11, with highly variable shape—oblong, lanceolate, or ovate-lanceolate; the midvein on the upper surface bears sparse pubescence; the lower surface veins are pubescent; lateral veins are distinct; oil glands are small. Flowering occurs from July to August; fruiting from September to October.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows along village roadside verges and in grassy areas on hillsides or mountain slopes.
✵The article records the herb Evodia Fruit, including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavors, and its botanical sources—three plant species: (1) Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth., (2) Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. officinalis (Dode) Huang, and (3) Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. bodinieri (Dode) Huang—along with a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environments of these three species; the morphological features of the herb Evodia Fruit; its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Pinyin Name: Wú Zhū Yú
Botanical Description: Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. is a plant of the family Rutaceae and genus Tetradium. It is commonly known as Evodia rutaecarpa, Tetradium ruticarpum, or Wú Zhū Yú. It is an evergreen shrub or small tree, growing up to 3–10 meters tall. The bark is bluish gray-brown; young shoots are purplish-brown and bear fine, rounded lenticels; young branches and rachises (rachides) are densely covered with rust-colored pubescence. The leaves are opposite, imparipinnate compound, 20–40 cm long including the petiole; petioles are 4–8 cm long, and petiolules are 2–5 mm long; leaflets number 5–9, elliptic to ovate, 5.5–15 cm long and 3–7 cm wide; the apex abruptly narrows into a short acuminate tip; the base is cuneate to broadly cuneate or rounded; margins are entire or bear inconspicuous crenations; lateral veins are inconspicuous; both surfaces are covered with fawn-colored (flavotestaceous) pubescence—especially dense along the veins—and bear conspicuous oil glands; the texture is thick chartaceous to chartaceous.
Characteristics of the Herb: The fruit is subglobular or slightly pentagonal and oblate, 2–5 mm in diameter. The surface is dark greenish-yellow to brown, coarse and rough, with numerous punctate protrusions or concave oil glands. The apex bears a stellate (pentagram-shaped) fissure; the base retains the persistent calyx and fruit stalk, both covered with yellow pubescence. The herb is hard and brittle; in cross-section, it displays five loculi, each containing a pale yellow seed. It possesses a strong aromatic odor and tastes pungent and bitter.
Botanical Description: Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. officinalis (Dode) Huang is a plant of the family Rutaceae and genus Tetradium. It is commonly known as Evodia rutaecarpa var. officinalis or Shí Hǔ ("Stone Tiger"). This variety closely resembles E. rutaecarpa, differing primarily in its pungent, irritating odor; leaflets number 3–11, are relatively narrow—oblong to narrowly lanceolate—with an acuminate to long-acuminate apex; leaflet spacing is comparatively small; lateral veins are conspicuous; margins are entire; both leaf surfaces are densely pubescent—especially along the veins—and bear thick, prominent oil glands; rachises are often covered with colorless or pale yellow pubescence; mature fruiting racemes are less dense than those of E. rutaecarpa; seeds are bluish-black. Flowering occurs from July to August; fruiting, from September to October.
Botanical Description: Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth. var. bodinieri (Dode) Huang is a plant of the family Rutaceae and genus Tetradium. It is commonly known as pilose Evodia, Máo Mài Wú Zhū Yú, or Shū Máo Wú Zhū Yú. This variety closely resembles E. rutaecarpa, differing in the following features: young branchlets are covered with yellowish-rust-colored or silky, sparse pubescence; rachises are villous; leaflets number 5–11, with highly variable shape—oblong, lanceolate, or ovate-lanceolate; the midvein on the upper surface bears sparse pubescence; the lower surface veins are pubescent; lateral veins are distinct; oil glands are small. Flowering occurs from July to August; fruiting from September to October.
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