Introduction of Xu Chang Qing: Paniculate Swallowwort Root
✵The article records the herb Paniculate Swallowwort Root—including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, botanical source—a single plant species, (1) Cynanchum paniculatum (Bunge) Kitag.—and provides a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environment of this species, as well as the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of the herb, its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Pinyin Name: Xú Cháng Qīng
English Name: Paniculate Swallowwort Root
Latin Name:Radix Cynanchi Paniculati Properties and Flavor: Warm; pungent.
Brief Introduction:Radix Cynanchi Paniculati is the dried root and rhizome of Cynanchum paniculatum (Bunge) Kitag. It is used to unblock collateral meridians, alleviate pain, clear toxicity, and reduce swelling, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, toothache, lumbago, traumatic injuries, dysmenorrhea, and eczema. The herb is also known as Paniculate Swallowwort Root, Radix Cynanchi Paniculati, or Xú Cháng Qīng.
Botanical Source: Classical herbal works define Radix Cynanchi Paniculati (Paniculate Swallowwort Root) as the dried root and rhizome of (1) Cynanchum paniculatum (Bunge) Kitag. It is a plant of the genus Cynanchum L., family Apocynaceae (formerly Asclepiadaceae; commonly referred to as the milkweed family), order Gentianales. This widely used species is described below:
(1) Cynanchum paniculatum (Bunge) Kitag.
Botanical Description:Cynanchum paniculatum (Bunge) Kitag. is also known as Asclepias paniculata Bunge or Pycnostelma paniculata K. Schum.; it is commonly called Xú Cháng Qīng or Jiān Dāo ér Miáo. A perennial upright herb growing up to 1 m tall. Roots are thin and whisker-like, numbering over 50, arranged in a horsetail-like cluster and emitting a distinctive aroma. Stem is slender, erect, unbranched, glabrous or sparsely puberulent. Leaves are opposite and sessile; leaf blades are lanceolate to linear, 4–13 cm long and 3–15 mm wide; apex is acuminate; base attenuate; both surfaces are glabrous, or upper surface is sparsely pilose; margin is slightly reflexed with ciliate margins; upper surface is dark green; lower surface is pea-green (pale green); midvein is prominent.
Coniform cymes arise from leaf axils near the stem apex, up to 7 cm long, each bearing more than 10 flowers; calyx is 5-lobed, ovate-lanceolate; corolla is yellow-green, 5-lobed, broadly ovate, spreading (explanate) or revolute; 5 paracorollas (catacorollas), yellow, succulent, reniform, bases fused to staminal column; 5 stamens connate into a cylindrical staminal column; anthers are bilocular, each locule containing one pendulous pollinium (pollen mass), with short stalks and spreading (explanate) apices; 1 pistil, ovary is superior, composed of 2 free carpels, with 2 styles and a pentagonal stigma, apex is slightly protuberant.
Follicles are horn-shaped, solitary, ~6 cm long, surface is hazel (pale brown). Seeds are numerous, ovoid (egg-shaped) and flattened, dark brown; apex bearing a tuft of white, slender, elongated hairs. Flowering occurs from May to July; fruiting from September to December.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows in grassy areas on sunny slopes.
Growth Characteristics:Cynanchum paniculatum exhibits strong climatic adaptability and can be cultivated across northern and southern regions. Well-drained, fertile, loose sandy loam soil is preferred for cultivation.
Characteristics of the Herb: The rhizome is irregularly columnar, with discoid nodes, 0.5–3.5 cm long and 2–4 mm in diameter; some have cylindrical stem remnants attached at the apex, 1–2 cm long, and the fracture surface is hollow. Roots arise in clusters from the root nodes; they are cylindrical, slender, elongated, and curved, 10–16 cm long and 1–1.5 mm in diameter; the surface is pale yellowish-brown to light brown, bearing fine longitudinal wrinkles and fine fibrous roots; the texture is crisp and brittle, easily broken, and the fracture surface is mealy (powdery); the cortex is off-white or yellowish-white, the cambium ring is light brown, and the xylem (wood portion) is thin and small. The herb has a fragrant odor and tastes slightly pungent and cool. The whole plant bears roots; the stem is solitary or sparsely branched, 20–60 cm long and 1–2 mm in diameter; the surface is pale yellowish-green, with the base slightly mauve (lilac), exhibiting fine longitudinal striations or pubescence; the texture is slightly crisp, and the fracture surface is fibrous. Leaves are opposite; leaf blades are twisted and easily broken; intact leaves are long-lanceolate, with a pale yellowish-green surface, stipulate (bearing short petioles) or subsessile.
Pharmacological Actions: (1) analgesic effect; (2) sedative effect; (3) hypotensive effect; (4) lipid-lowering effect; (5) effect on smooth muscle; (6) antibacterial effect—exhibiting inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A streptococcus).
Medicinal efficacy: Expels wind and dispels dampness, relieves itching, alleviates pain, suppresses cough, reduces swelling, resolves edema, promotes blood circulation, and detoxifies. It is indicated for rheumatic arthralgia and numbness, epigastric distension and pain, gastric pain, toothache, lumbago, rheumatic pain, epigastric pain, menstrual abdominal pain, traumatic injury from falls, chronic bronchitis, ascites (abdominal dropsy), edema, diarrhea, dysentery, enteritis, urticaria (nettle rash), eczema, and venomous snakebite.
Administration of Radix Cynanchi Paniculati(Xú Cháng Qīng):
Reference:
Administration Guide of Radix Cynanchi Paniculati(Xú Cháng Qīng)
TCM Books:
(1) Internally:3–12 grams, added late in decoction; (2) Internally:water decoction, 1–3 qian (≈3–9 grams), or prepared as pills or wine infusions; external use: mashed fresh herb applied topically or washed with water decoction; (3) Internally:water decoction, 1–3 qian (≈3–9 grams); prolonged decoction is not recommended—preferably added late—or prepared as pills or wine infusions.
Precautions and adverse reactions: Radix Cynanchi Paniculati should be used with caution in individuals with constitutional deficiency or physical weakness.
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1.Introduction of Xu Chang Qing: Paniculate Swallowwort Root
✵The article records the herb Paniculate Swallowwort Root—including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, botanical source—a single plant species, (1) Cynanchum paniculatum (Bunge) Kitag.—and provides a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environment of this species, as well as the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of the herb, its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Pinyin Name: Xú Cháng Qīng
Botanical Description: Cynanchum paniculatum (Bunge) Kitag. is also known as Asclepias paniculata Bunge or Pycnostelma paniculata K. Schum.; it is commonly called Xú Cháng Qīng or Jiān Dāo ér Miáo. A perennial upright herb growing up to 1 m tall. Roots are thin and whisker-like, numbering over 50, arranged in a horsetail-like cluster and emitting a distinctive aroma. Stem is slender, erect, unbranched, glabrous or sparsely puberulent. Leaves are opposite and sessile; leaf blades are lanceolate to linear, 4–13 cm long and 3–15 mm wide; apex is acuminate; base attenuate; both surfaces are glabrous, or upper surface is sparsely pilose; margin is slightly reflexed with ciliate margins; upper surface is dark green; lower surface is pea-green (pale green); midvein is prominent.
Coniform cymes arise from leaf axils near the stem apex, up to 7 cm long, each bearing more than 10 flowers; calyx is 5-lobed, ovate-lanceolate; corolla is yellow-green, 5-lobed, broadly ovate, spreading (explanate) or revolute; 5 paracorollas (catacorollas), yellow, succulent, reniform, bases fused to staminal column; 5 stamens connate into a cylindrical staminal column; anthers are bilocular, each locule containing one pendulous pollinium (pollen mass), with short stalks and spreading (explanate) apices; 1 pistil, ovary is superior, composed of 2 free carpels, with 2 styles and a pentagonal stigma, apex is slightly protuberant.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows in grassy areas on sunny slopes.
Characteristics of the Herb: The rhizome is irregularly columnar, with discoid nodes, 0.5–3.5 cm long and 2–4 mm in diameter; some have cylindrical stem remnants attached at the apex, 1–2 cm long, and the fracture surface is hollow. Roots arise in clusters from the root nodes; they are cylindrical, slender, elongated, and curved, 10–16 cm long and 1–1.5 mm in diameter; the surface is pale yellowish-brown to light brown, bearing fine longitudinal wrinkles and fine fibrous roots; the texture is crisp and brittle, easily broken, and the fracture surface is mealy (powdery); the cortex is off-white or yellowish-white, the cambium ring is light brown, and the xylem (wood portion) is thin and small. The herb has a fragrant odor and tastes slightly pungent and cool. The whole plant bears roots; the stem is solitary or sparsely branched, 20–60 cm long and 1–2 mm in diameter; the surface is pale yellowish-green, with the base slightly mauve (lilac), exhibiting fine longitudinal striations or pubescence; the texture is slightly crisp, and the fracture surface is fibrous. Leaves are opposite; leaf blades are twisted and easily broken; intact leaves are long-lanceolate, with a pale yellowish-green surface, stipulate (bearing short petioles) or subsessile.
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