Introduction of Shen Jin Cao: Common Club-moss Herb
✵This article documents the herb Common Club-moss Herb—including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, and botanical sources as defined in classical herbal works—namely: (1) Lycopodium japonicum Thunb., and two other commonly used species: (2) Lycopodium centrochinense Ching and (3) Palhinhaea cernua (L.) Franco et Vasc. It provides a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environments of these three plant species, as well as the macroscopic characteristics, pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines for the herb Common Club-moss Herb.
Herba Lycopodii (Common Club-moss Herb)
Pinyin Name: Shēn Jīn Cǎo
English Name: Common Club-moss Herb
Latin Name:Herba Lycopodii Properties and Flavor: Neutral; pungent and bitter
Brief Introduction:Herba Lycopodii is the dried whole plant of Lycopodium japonicum Thunb., used to dispel wind-dampness and relieve muscular contracture in arthralgia with stiffness. It is commonly known as Herba Lycopodii, Common Club-moss Herb, or Shēn Jīn Cǎo.
Botanical Source: Official herbal classics define Herba Lycopodii (Common Club-moss Herb) as the dried whole plant of (1) Lycopodium japonicum Thunb. Other authoritative herbal works also accept (2) Lycopodium centrochinense Ching and (3) Palhinhaea cernua (L.) Franco et Vasc. as legitimate sources. These species belong to the genus Lycopodium L., family Lycopodiaceae (P. Beauv. ex Mirb.), order Lycopodiales. The two most commonly used species are introduced below:
(1) Lycopodium japonicum Thunb.
Botanical Description:Lycopodium japonicum Thunb. is also known as Lycopodium clavatum auct. non L. (L. clavatum auct. non L.). It is commonly called Shí Sōng. A perennial native plant. The main stem is procumbent, 2–3 m long; lateral branches are erect, up to 15 cm long and ≈6 mm in diameter, bearing multiple dichotomous branches. Branchlets of the main stem diverge at obtuse angles; ultimate branchlets are broadly dichotomous and form Y-shaped structures directed laterally; branchlets are ≈3–5 mm in diameter. Leaves are spirally arranged, linear-lanceolate, 3–5 mm long and 0.3–0.8 mm wide; the base is broad, the apex is acuminate, with membranous, aristate (awned) tips; margins are entire and the texture is chartaceous (papery).
The fertile spike is cylindrical; 3–6 spikes occur at the tips of fertile branches, each spike is ≈3–5 cm long and ≈0.5 cm wide. Fertile fronds are rhomboid-ovate, ≈2 mm long and ≈1.5 mm wide; the apex is aristiform; the margin is suberoded; the texture is membranous. Sporangia are reniform, yellow, ≈0.8 mm long, ≈1.5 mm wide, and ≈0.5 mm thick, grow singly in the axils of fertile fronds.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows in grasslands on hillsides or mountain slopes, shrublands, or acidic soils under pine forests.
Characteristics of the Herb: Stolons are cylindrical, slender, elongated, and curved, up to 2 m long—often fragmented—and 3–5 mm in diameter; the surface is yellow or pale brown. Lateral branches bear dense leaves and are ≈6 mm in diameter, with a pale brown surface. Numerous yellowish-white adventitious roots arise beneath the stolons; they are dichotomously branched. Leaves are densely packed, linear-lanceolate—often wrinkled and curved—3–5 mm long and 0.3–0.8 mm wide, yellow-green or celadon (grayish-green); the apex is aristiform; margins are entire or minutely serrated; venation is inconspicuous. Fertile spikes may be visible at branch tips: erect, claviform (club-shaped), often fragmented, 2–5 cm long and ≈5 mm in diameter. The herb is tough and not easily broken; the fracture surface is pale yellow and reveals a white pith (duramen). It has a faint odor and a mild taste.
Pharmacological Actions: (1) diuretic and uricosuric; (2) inhibitory activity against Shigella bacilli; (3) antipyretic; (4) analgesic.
Medicinal Efficacy: Dispel wind and eliminate dampness, dissipate cold, relax tendons and activate collaterals, promote blood circulation, reduce swelling, relieve cough, and detoxify. It is indicated for joint pain, difficulty bending or stretching, wind-cold-damp arthralgia with fixed pain, numbness of the skin, weakness and flaccidity of the limbs, edema, traumatic injury, jaundice, cough, sores, herpes, and scalds.
Administration of Herba Lycopodii (Shēn Jīn Cǎo):
Reference:
Administration Guide of Herba Lycopodii (Shēn Jīn Cǎo)
TCM Books:
(1) Internally: 3–12 grams; (2) Internally:water decoction, 3–5 qian (≈9–15 grams), or infused in wine; externally: mashed and applied as a poultice; (3) Internally: water decoction, 9–15 grams, or infused in wine; externally: appropriate amount, mashed and applied as a poultice.
Contraindications, Precautions, and Adverse Reactions: Avoid using Herba Lycopodii during pregnancy.
(2) Lycopodium centro-chinense Ching
Botanical Description: The plant Lycopodium centro-chinense Ching is commonly known as Huá Zhōng Shí Sōng. The main stem is procumbent; lateral branches are upright, up to 10–15 cm long, with multiple dichotomously branched stems ca. 7–8 mm in diameter—distinct from Lycopodium japonicum Thunb. Its branchlets ramify at an acute angle, obliquely ascending or erect, densely clustered; the divergence angle of the ultimate branchlets is sharp and narrow, pointing upward; branchlets are 3–5 mm in diameter—also distinct from Lycopodium japonicum Thunb. Its leaves are denser, spirally arranged, slightly incurved or nearly straight, linear-lanceolate, with membranous, aristate apices ca. 2–3 mm long; leaves are ca. 3–4 mm long and 0.5–0.7 mm wide.
Fertile spikes are terminal, and morphological characters are similar to those of Lycopodium japonicum Thunb.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows in grasslands on hillsides or mountain slopes, or in shrublands.
Characteristics of the Herb: The herb of Lycopodium centro-chinense Ching resembles that prepared from Lycopodium japonicum Thunb, but its stem is dichotomously branched and diverges at an acute angle; leaves on lateral branches are sparse, whereas those on branchlets are dense; leaves are membranous and bear long aristate tips.
(3) Palhinhaea cernua (L.) Franco et Vasc.
Botanical Description: The plant Palhinhaea cernua (L.) Franco et Vasc.—also known as Lycopodium cernuum L., commonly called Dēng Lóng Cǎo—has an erect main stem up to 40 cm tall and ca. 2 mm in diameter; it is herbaceous, with the upper part highly branched. Green lateral branches spread outward, bearing multiple dichotomously branched stems ca. 1–1.5 mm in diameter. Leaves are densely spirally arranged, subulate-linear, ca. 2.5–3.5 mm long and 0.2–0.5 mm wide; the leaf base is decurrent and adnate to the branchlets; the apex is slightly recurved upward; the tip is aristiform (awned), entire, thin, and soft.
Fertile spikes are small, cylindrical, 4–7 mm long and 1.5–2.5 mm wide, solitary, grow terminally on branchlets, and pendulous when mature; fertile fronds are ovate-rhombic, ca. 1.5 mm long and 0.6 mm wide, with a caudate apex and penicillate, irregularly blunt-toothed margins. Sporangia develop in the axils of fertile fronds, reniform, rounded, primrose yellow (pale yellow), ca. 0.4 mm in diameter.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows in acidic-soil grasslands on low hills, at broad-leaved forest edges, and in Pinus massoniana forests.
Characteristics of the Herb: The upper part is highly branched, 30–50 cm long—or fragmented into short segments 1–2 mm in diameter—with a yellow or yellowish-green surface. Leaves are densely arranged, linear-subulate, 2–3 mm long, yellow-green or pale green (pea green), entire, often recurved upward; the herb is thin and fragile. Fertile spikes occur terminally on branches, rectangular-cylindrical or cylindrical, 5–15 mm long, sessile, and often pendulous. The herb has a faint odor and a mild taste.
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1.Introduction of Shen Jin Cao: Common Club-moss Herb
✵This article documents the herb Common Club-moss Herb—including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, and botanical sources as defined in classical herbal works—namely: (1) Lycopodium japonicum Thunb., and two other commonly used species: (2) Lycopodium centrochinense Ching and (3) Palhinhaea cernua (L.) Franco et Vasc. It provides a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environments of these three plant species, as well as the macroscopic characteristics, pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines for the herb Common Club-moss Herb.
Pinyin Name: Shēn Jīn Cǎo
Botanical Source: Official herbal classics define Herba Lycopodii (Common Club-moss Herb) as the dried whole plant of (1) Lycopodium japonicum Thunb. Other authoritative herbal works also accept (2) Lycopodium centrochinense Ching and (3) Palhinhaea cernua (L.) Franco et Vasc. as legitimate sources. These species belong to the genus Lycopodium L., family Lycopodiaceae (P. Beauv. ex Mirb.), order Lycopodiales. The two most commonly used species are introduced below:
Botanical Description: Lycopodium japonicum Thunb. is also known as Lycopodium clavatum auct. non L. (L. clavatum auct. non L.). It is commonly called Shí Sōng. A perennial native plant. The main stem is procumbent, 2–3 m long; lateral branches are erect, up to 15 cm long and ≈6 mm in diameter, bearing multiple dichotomous branches. Branchlets of the main stem diverge at obtuse angles; ultimate branchlets are broadly dichotomous and form Y-shaped structures directed laterally; branchlets are ≈3–5 mm in diameter. Leaves are spirally arranged, linear-lanceolate, 3–5 mm long and 0.3–0.8 mm wide; the base is broad, the apex is acuminate, with membranous, aristate (awned) tips; margins are entire and the texture is chartaceous (papery).
The fertile spike is cylindrical; 3–6 spikes occur at the tips of fertile branches, each spike is ≈3–5 cm long and ≈0.5 cm wide. Fertile fronds are rhomboid-ovate, ≈2 mm long and ≈1.5 mm wide; the apex is aristiform; the margin is suberoded; the texture is membranous. Sporangia are reniform, yellow, ≈0.8 mm long, ≈1.5 mm wide, and ≈0.5 mm thick, grow singly in the axils of fertile fronds.
Characteristics of the Herb: Stolons are cylindrical, slender, elongated, and curved, up to 2 m long—often fragmented—and 3–5 mm in diameter; the surface is yellow or pale brown. Lateral branches bear dense leaves and are ≈6 mm in diameter, with a pale brown surface. Numerous yellowish-white adventitious roots arise beneath the stolons; they are dichotomously branched. Leaves are densely packed, linear-lanceolate—often wrinkled and curved—3–5 mm long and 0.3–0.8 mm wide, yellow-green or celadon (grayish-green); the apex is aristiform; margins are entire or minutely serrated; venation is inconspicuous. Fertile spikes may be visible at branch tips: erect, claviform (club-shaped), often fragmented, 2–5 cm long and ≈5 mm in diameter. The herb is tough and not easily broken; the fracture surface is pale yellow and reveals a white pith (duramen). It has a faint odor and a mild taste.
Pharmacological Actions: (1) diuretic and uricosuric; (2) inhibitory activity against Shigella bacilli; (3) antipyretic; (4) analgesic.
Botanical Description: The plant Palhinhaea cernua (L.) Franco et Vasc.—also known as Lycopodium cernuum L., commonly called Dēng Lóng Cǎo—has an erect main stem up to 40 cm tall and ca. 2 mm in diameter; it is herbaceous, with the upper part highly branched. Green lateral branches spread outward, bearing multiple dichotomously branched stems ca. 1–1.5 mm in diameter. Leaves are densely spirally arranged, subulate-linear, ca. 2.5–3.5 mm long and 0.2–0.5 mm wide; the leaf base is decurrent and adnate to the branchlets; the apex is slightly recurved upward; the tip is aristiform (awned), entire, thin, and soft.
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