Introduction of Yi Yi Ren:Coix Seed, Job's-tear Seed or Semen Coicis.
✵The article gives records of the herb Coix Seed, its English name, Latin name, property and flavor, its botanical source one plant species, ①.Coix lacryma-jobi L.var.ma-yuen (Romanet) Stapf., with a detailed introduction to the botanical features of this plant species, the growth characteristics, and ecological environment of this plant species, the features of the herb Coix Seed, its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guide.
Semen Coicis(Coix Seed,Job's-tear Seed).
Pin Yin Name: Yì Yǐ Rén.
English Name: Coix Seed,Job's-tear Seed.
Latin Name: Semen Coicis.
Property and flavor: slightly cold, tasteless, sweet.
Brief introduction: The herb Semen Coicis is the dried ripe kernel obtained by removing the hard husk and seed coat of Coix lacryma-jobi L.var.ma-yuen (Romanet) Stapf, used (1).to invigorate the spleen and dispel dampness for treating diarrhea and edema, (2).to clear heat and discharge pus for treating lung abscess and acute appendicitis, and (3).for treating verruca plana. The herb is commonly known as Semen Coicis, Coix Seed, Job's-tear Seed, Yì Yǐ Rén.
Botanical source: Herbal classic book defined the herb Semen Coicis (Coix Seed,Job's-tear Seed) as the dried ripe kernel obtained by removing the hard husk and seed coat of the (1). Coix lacryma-jobi L.var.ma-yuen (Romanet) Stapf., it is a plant of the Coix Genus, the Poaceae family (Gramineae, grass family) of the Poales order. This commonly used species is introduced:
Botanical description: Coix lacryma-jobi L.var.ma-yuen (Romanet) Stapf also known as C. ma-yuen Romanet., or C. lacryma-jobi L.var.frumentacea Makino., is a plant of the Poaceae family (Gramineae, grass family) and Coix genus, it is commonly known as tear grass, or Yì Yǐ. Annual or perennial herb, 1~1.5 meters tall. The fibrous roots are relatively thick, up to 3 mm in diameter. Stalk is upright, about 10 knots (nodes). The leaf blade is linear-lanceolate, length is up to 30 cm, width is 1.5~3 cm, edges are coarse, midrib is thick, protruding on the back surface; leaf sheaths are smooth, upper ones are shorter than internodes; paraphyll (ligule) is hard, about 1 mm long.
Racemes are axillary and in bundles; female spikelets are located in the lower part of the inflorescence, outside is wrapped in a bony bead-like shape general involucre, involucre is approximately equal length as spikelet; the 1st glume of fertile spikelets is membranous at the lower part, upperpart is thick chartaceous (papery), apex is obtuse, the 2nd glume is scaphiform (navicularis), wrapped in the 1st glume; 2nd inferior palea (lower palea) is shorter than 1st inferior palea, palea is similar to inferior palea but smaller; 3 stamen, staminode, pistil has long style; infertile spikelets, degenerate into tubular glumes, 2 or 3 male spikelets usually grow in the 1st node, the 1st glume of sessile spikelets is flat, both sides are infolding to the ridge and has wings of unequal width, the 2nd gluma scaphiform (navicularis), inferior palea (lower palea) and palea are both membraneous; 3 stamens, sessile spikelets are similar to subsessile spikelets, but smaller or degenerated.
Cariopsis is wrapped by a hard general involucre, oval (egg-shaped), or ovoid. Its flowering period is from July to September, fruiting from September to October.
Ecological environment: The plant Coix lacryma-jobi grows near the house, in the wilderness, by the river, stream, or in the wet valley. It is distributed in the major areas of China and is cultivated. This species was native to Southeast Asia, but elsewhere it is cultivated in gardens as an annual. It has been naturalized in the southern area of the USA (the United States of America) and the tropical areas.
Growth characteristics: The plant Coix lacryma-jobi prefers a warm and moist climate, is afraid of drought, resistant to fertilizer. It can be planted in various kinds of soil. It has a strong tolerance to salt damage and moisture in saline-alkali land and marshland, but it is suitable to be planted in sunny fields, fertile soil, or clay soil. Better avoid continuous cropping, it is not suitable for crop rotation with the graminaceous crops.
Characters of herbs: The kernel of the herb is broad-ovate or oblong oval, 4~8 mm long, and 3~6 mm wide. The surface is cream white (milky white), smooth, and occasionally has remaining tawny (yellow-brown) seed coat. One end is blunt and round, the other end is wider and emarginate (slightly concave), and has a pale brown punctate hilum. The back surface is round and convex, and there is a wide and deep longitudinal groove on the ventral surface. The texture of the herb is solid and firm, the fracture surface is white, powdery. The herb has a slight odor, it tastes slightly sweet. The herb of a better grade has big and full grains, white color, and is not broken.
Pharmacological actions: ①.anti-cancer and antimicrobial effects; ②.analgesic effect; ③.hypoglycemic, antipyretic effect, etc.
Medicinal efficacy: Invigorating the spleen and excreting dampness, removal of arthralgia and relieve diarrhea, relieving tendons and removing numbness, clearing heat and discharging pus, invigorate the lung, clearing heat, remove dampness through diuresis. It is indicated for dysuria (difficulty in micturition), dripping discharge of urine, arthritis with fixed pain caused by dampness, rheumatic arthralgia pain, damp-warm syndrome, diarrhea, diarrhea and morbid leukorrhea, spleen deficiency and diarrhea, stranguria with turbid discharge, leukorrhea, muscular constricture, flexion and extension problems, periappendicular abscess (acute appendicitis), atrophic lung disease, abscess of lung, edema, beriberi, flat wart.
Administration of Semen Coicis(Yì Yǐ Rén):
Reference:
Administration Guide of Semen Coicis (Yì Yǐ Rén)
TCM Books:
①.Internally:9~30 grams; ②.Internally:water decoction, 0.3~1 liang (about 9~30 grams), or prepare to powder; ③.Internally:water decoction, 10~30 grams,or prepared to pill, powder, infusing in wine, cook porridge, or thick soup.
Precautions and Adverse Reactions:The herb Semen Cocis should be used cautiously in conditions splenoasthenic constipation, during pregnancy.
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1.Introduction of Yi Yi Ren:Coix Seed, Job's-tear Seed or Semen Coicis.
✵The article gives records of the herb Coix Seed, its English name, Latin name, property and flavor, its botanical source one plant species, ①.Coix lacryma-jobi L.var.ma-yuen (Romanet) Stapf., with a detailed introduction to the botanical features of this plant species, the growth characteristics, and ecological environment of this plant species, the features of the herb Coix Seed, its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guide.
Pin Yin Name: Yì Yǐ Rén.
Botanical description: Coix lacryma-jobi L.var.ma-yuen (Romanet) Stapf also known as C. ma-yuen Romanet., or C. lacryma-jobi L.var.frumentacea Makino., is a plant of the Poaceae family (Gramineae, grass family) and Coix genus, it is commonly known as tear grass, or Yì Yǐ. Annual or perennial herb, 1~1.5 meters tall. The fibrous roots are relatively thick, up to 3 mm in diameter. Stalk is upright, about 10 knots (nodes). The leaf blade is linear-lanceolate, length is up to 30 cm, width is 1.5~3 cm, edges are coarse, midrib is thick, protruding on the back surface; leaf sheaths are smooth, upper ones are shorter than internodes; paraphyll (ligule) is hard, about 1 mm long.
Ecological environment: The plant Coix lacryma-jobi grows near the house, in the wilderness, by the river, stream, or in the wet valley. It is distributed in the major areas of China and is cultivated. This species was native to Southeast Asia, but elsewhere it is cultivated in gardens as an annual. It has been naturalized in the southern area of the USA (the United States of America) and the tropical areas.
Growth characteristics: The plant Coix lacryma-jobi prefers a warm and moist climate, is afraid of drought, resistant to fertilizer. It can be planted in various kinds of soil. It has a strong tolerance to salt damage and moisture in saline-alkali land and marshland, but it is suitable to be planted in sunny fields, fertile soil, or clay soil. Better avoid continuous cropping, it is not suitable for crop rotation with the graminaceous crops.
Characters of herbs: The kernel of the herb is broad-ovate or oblong oval, 4~8 mm long, and 3~6 mm wide. The surface is cream white (milky white), smooth, and occasionally has remaining tawny (yellow-brown) seed coat. One end is blunt and round, the other end is wider and emarginate (slightly concave), and has a pale brown punctate hilum. The back surface is round and convex, and there is a wide and deep longitudinal groove on the ventral surface. The texture of the herb is solid and firm, the fracture surface is white, powdery. The herb has a slight odor, it tastes slightly sweet. The herb of a better grade has big and full grains, white color, and is not broken.
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