Introduction of Qian Nian Jian: Obscured Homalomena Rhizome
✵This article documents the herb Obscured Homalomena Rhizome, including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, botanical source—namely, Homalomena occulta (Lour.) Schott—and provides a detailed introduction to the plant’s botanical features, growth characteristics, ecological environment, herbal characteristics, pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Rhizoma Homalomenae (Obscured Homalomena Rhizome)
Pinyin Name: Qiān Nián Jiàn
English Name: Obscured Homalomena Rhizome
Latin Name:Rhizoma Homalomenae Properties and Flavor: Warm, pungent, and bitter
Brief Introduction:Rhizoma Homalomenae is the dried rhizome of Homalomena occulta (Lour.) Schott. It dispels wind-dampness, strengthens tendons and bones, and alleviates rheumatic pain, primarily used to treat rheumatoid arthritis with cold sensation and pain in the lower back and knees, and contracture of the lower limbs. Common names include Rhizoma Homalomenae, Obscured Homalomena Rhizome, and Qiān Nián Jiàn.
Botanical Source: Classical TCM works define Rhizoma Homalomenae (Obscured Homalomena Rhizome) as the dried rhizome of Homalomena occulta (Lour.) Schott—a species in the genus Homalomena, family Araceae (the aroid or arum family), order Arales. This widely used species is described below.
(1) Homalomena occulta (Lour.) Schott.
Botanical Description:Homalomena occulta (Lour.) Schott is also known as Calla occulta Lour., Homalomena cochinchinensis Engl. (H. cochinchinensis Engl.), or Homalomena tokinensis Engl. (H. tokinensis Engl.). It is commonly known as Qiān Nián Jiàn, Obscured Homalomena Rhizome, or Rhizome of Obscured Homalomena. A perennial herb. Rhizomes are procumbent, thin and long, up to 1.5 cm thick. The roots are succulent, densely covered with pale brown short tomentose hairs; fibrous roots are fibriform. Usually, the plant has upright aboveground stems, 30–50 cm tall. Scale leaves are linear-lanceolate, up to 16 cm long and 2.5 cm wide at the base, narrowing upward and sharply pointed; petioles are 20–40 cm long, with a sheath on the lower part 3–5 mm wide; leaf blades are membranous to chartaceous (papery), arrow-shaped to cordate, 15–30 cm long and 10–28 cm wide, with an abruptly narrowing and acuminate apex; lateral veins are parallel and ascending obliquely.
One to three inflorescences arise from the axils of scale leaves; pedicels are shorter than petioles; spathe is greenish-white, oblong to elliptic, 5–6.5 cm long, curling into a fusiform (spindle-shaped) structure before flowering and slightly unfolding into a short ship-shaped form during flowering; spadix is 3–5 cm long; female inflorescence is 1–1.5 cm long and 4–5 mm thick; male inflorescence is 2–3 cm long and 3–4 mm thick. The ovary is oblong, with one false stamen on one side at the base; the ovary has three loculi. Berry; seeds are brown and oblong. Flowering occurs from July to September.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows in gullies within dense forests (jungles), bamboo groves, and shrublands on hillsides and mountain slopes, at altitudes of 80–1,100 meters above sea level.
Growth Characteristics:Homalomena occulta prefers a warm and humid climate, is not cold-tolerant, and avoids strong light. It is advisable to cultivate it in fertile, loose sandy loam soil.
Characteristics of the Herb: The rhizome is cylindrical or slightly curved; some are slightly flattened, 15–40 cm long and 0.8–2 cm in diameter. The surface is reddish-brown or yellowish-brown, coarse and rough, bearing numerous twisted longitudinal grooves, circular root scars, and yellowish-white fibrous bundles. The texture is crisp and easily fractured; the fracture surface is reddish-brown, resinoid (resin-like), and displays many exposed fibrous bundles and round, glossy oil spots. The herb has an aromatic odor and tastes pungent and slightly bitter.
Medicinal efficacy: Expels wind-dampness, strengthens muscles and bones, relaxes tendons and activates collaterals, relieves pain, reduces swelling, and promotes blood circulation to alleviate pain. It is indicated for wind-cold-damp arthralgia, rheumatic arthralgia, cold-induced pain in the lumbar region and knees, soreness of limbs and joints, muscular weakness and flaccidity, constriction and numbness of the lower limbs, traumatic injuries from falls, gastralgia (stomach pain), carbuncles, abscesses, and swellings.
Administration of Rhizoma Homalomenae (Qiān Nián Jiàn):
Reference:
Administration Guide of Rhizoma Homalomenae (Qiān Nián Jiàn)
TCM Books:
(1) Internally: 4.5–9 grams; (2) Internally: water decoction, 1.5–3 qian (≈4.5–9 grams), or infused in wine; externally: apply an appropriate amount of finely ground herb powder as a paste; (3) Internally: water decoction, 9–15 grams, or infused in wine; externally: apply an appropriate amount of finely ground herb powder as a paste.
Contraindications, Precautions, and Adverse Reactions: Rhizoma Homalomenae should not be combined with Raphanus sativus seed.
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1.Introduction of Qian Nian Jian: Obscured Homalomena Rhizome
✵This article documents the herb Obscured Homalomena Rhizome, including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, botanical source—namely, Homalomena occulta (Lour.) Schott—and provides a detailed introduction to the plant’s botanical features, growth characteristics, ecological environment, herbal characteristics, pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Pinyin Name: Qiān Nián Jiàn
Botanical Description: Homalomena occulta (Lour.) Schott is also known as Calla occulta Lour., Homalomena cochinchinensis Engl. (H. cochinchinensis Engl.), or Homalomena tokinensis Engl. (H. tokinensis Engl.). It is commonly known as Qiān Nián Jiàn, Obscured Homalomena Rhizome, or Rhizome of Obscured Homalomena. A perennial herb. Rhizomes are procumbent, thin and long, up to 1.5 cm thick. The roots are succulent, densely covered with pale brown short tomentose hairs; fibrous roots are fibriform. Usually, the plant has upright aboveground stems, 30–50 cm tall. Scale leaves are linear-lanceolate, up to 16 cm long and 2.5 cm wide at the base, narrowing upward and sharply pointed; petioles are 20–40 cm long, with a sheath on the lower part 3–5 mm wide; leaf blades are membranous to chartaceous (papery), arrow-shaped to cordate, 15–30 cm long and 10–28 cm wide, with an abruptly narrowing and acuminate apex; lateral veins are parallel and ascending obliquely.
One to three inflorescences arise from the axils of scale leaves; pedicels are shorter than petioles; spathe is greenish-white, oblong to elliptic, 5–6.5 cm long, curling into a fusiform (spindle-shaped) structure before flowering and slightly unfolding into a short ship-shaped form during flowering; spadix is 3–5 cm long; female inflorescence is 1–1.5 cm long and 4–5 mm thick; male inflorescence is 2–3 cm long and 3–4 mm thick. The ovary is oblong, with one false stamen on one side at the base; the ovary has three loculi. Berry; seeds are brown and oblong. Flowering occurs from July to September.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows in gullies within dense forests (jungles), bamboo groves, and shrublands on hillsides and mountain slopes, at altitudes of 80–1,100 meters above sea level.
Characteristics of the Herb: The rhizome is cylindrical or slightly curved; some are slightly flattened, 15–40 cm long and 0.8–2 cm in diameter. The surface is reddish-brown or yellowish-brown, coarse and rough, bearing numerous twisted longitudinal grooves, circular root scars, and yellowish-white fibrous bundles. The texture is crisp and easily fractured; the fracture surface is reddish-brown, resinoid (resin-like), and displays many exposed fibrous bundles and round, glossy oil spots. The herb has an aromatic odor and tastes pungent and slightly bitter.
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