Introduction of Bai Qian: Rhizoma Cynanchi Stauntonii
✵The article records the herb Willowleaf Swallowwort Rhizome, including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, and botanical sources—two plant species: (1) Cynanchum stauntonii (Decne.) Schltr. ex Lévl. and (2) Cynanchum glaucescens (Decne.) Hand.-Mazz.—with a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environments of these two plants; the characteristics of the herb Willowleaf Swallowwort Rhizome; its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Pinyin Name: Bái Qián
English Name: Willowleaf Swallowwort Rhizome
Latin Name:Rhizoma Cynanchi Stauntonii Properties and Flavor: Slightly warm; pungent, bitter
Brief Introduction:Rhizoma Cynanchi Stauntonii is the dried rhizome and root of Cynanchum stauntonii (Decne.) Schltr. ex Lévl. or Cynanchum glaucescens (Decne.) Hand.-Mazz., used for treating cough and dyspnea with profuse phlegm. It is commonly known as Rhizoma Cynanchi Stauntonii, Willowleaf Swallowwort Rhizome, or Bái Qián.
Botanical Source:Rhizoma Cynanchi Stauntonii (Willowleaf Swallowwort Rhizome) is the dried rhizome and root of Cynanchum stauntonii (Decne.) Schltr. ex Lévl. or Cynanchum glaucescens (Decne.) Hand.-Mazz., both belonging to the family Apocynaceae (formerly Asclepiadaceae), subfamily Asclepiadoideae, order Gentianales. It is also known as Willowleaf Swallowwort Rhizome, Glaucescent Swallowwort Rhizome, Rhizome of Willowleaf Swallowwort, Rhizome of Glaucescent Swallowwort, or Bái Qián.
Classical herbal works define Rhizoma Cynanchi Stauntonii (Willowleaf Swallowwort Rhizome) as the dried rhizome and root of: (1) Cynanchum stauntonii (Decne.) Schltr. ex Lévl. or (2) Cynanchum glaucescens (Decne.) Hand.-Mazz. These two commonly used species are described below:
(1) Cynanchum stauntonii (Deone.) Schltr. ex Lévl.
Botanical Description:Cynanchum stauntonii (Decne.) Schltr. ex Lévl. is also known as Pentasacme stauntonii Decne. Other vernacular names include water willow, big crane gourd, willow-leaf Cynanchum, and Bái Qián. It is a perennial, semi-erect, bushy plant reaching 0.5–1 m in height. The rhizome grows vertically or obliquely, is hollow like a goose-quill tube, and the roots are extensively developed—numerous, slender, whisker-like, yellow-white or slightly reddish brown. The stem is cylindrical, with a celadon (sage-green) surface bearing fine longitudinal ridges. Leaves are opposite, with short petioles; leaf blades are chartaceous (papery), lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 3–12 cm long and 0.3–1.4 cm wide; apex is acuminate, base is tapering, margin is entire; midrib is prominent on the abaxial surface, with approximately six pairs of lateral veins.
Umbellate cymes are axillary, bearing 3–8 flowers; bractlets are numerous. The calyx is 5-lobed; few nectaries occur at the base of the inner surface. The corolla is rotate, 5-lobed; lobes are linear, prunus-colored (violet-red); inner surface is densely pilose. Corona lobes are peltate, thickened, and shorter than the anthers. Five stamens are fused with the pistil into a gynostegium; anthers are bilocular, each locule containing one pendulous, light-yellow pollinium; stigma is slightly protuberant and enveloped by the thin anther membrane.
Follicles are simple, narrowly lanceolate, up to 9 cm long. Seeds are lanceolate and yellowish-brown, with white, filiform or silky hairs at the apex. Flowering occurs from May to August; fruiting from September to October.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows along stream banks, river margins, or in damp valley habitats, often partially submerged in water.
Growth Characteristics: It thrives on sandy beaches, riverbanks, or moist valley soils. It prefers warm, humid climates and is drought-intolerant; optimal cultivation conditions include deep, fertile, humus-rich topsoil.
Characteristics of the Herb: The rhizome is cylindrical and branched, 4–14 cm long and 2–4 mm in diameter; surface is yellow-white to yellow-brown, with fine vertical wrinkles and conspicuous nodes; internodes are 1.5–4 cm long; several residual stems present at the apical end. Texture is brittle and easily fractured; cross-section is hollow or containing membranous pith. Roots are slender, curved, clustered at nodes, 3–10 cm long and less than 1 mm in diameter; repeatedly branched into pilose, whisker-like structures, often coiled into balls. Texture is brittle; fracture surface is white. Odor is slight; taste slightly bitter.
Pharmacological Actions: (1) Respiratory system effects; (2) Anti-inflammatory effects.
Medicinal efficacy: Descending Qi (to subdue abnormal upward movement), resolving phlegm, relieving cough; indicated for cough with excessive phlegm, lung Qi stagnation, chest fullness, and dyspnea with rapid breathing.
Administration of Rhizoma Cynanchi Stauntonii (Bái Qián):
Reference:
Administration Guide of Rhizoma Cynanchi Stauntonii (Bái Qián)
TCM Books:
(1) Internally: 3–10 grams; (2) or 1.5–3 qián (approximately 4.5–9 grams); (3) 3–10 grams, prepared as a water decoction.
(2) Cynanchum glaucescens (Deone.) Hand. Mazz.
Botanical Description:Cynanchum glaucescens (Decne.) Hand.-Mazz. is also known as Pentasachme glaucescens Decne. It is commonly called Yuán Huā Yè Bái Qián, Shā Xiāo, or Shuǐ Zhú Xiāo—a perennial herb reaching 25–40 cm in height. Rhizomes are amphitropous; nodes are tufted and bear numerous fibrous roots. Stems are erect; young branches are brown and pubescent, while older branches retain pubescence only on residual parts. Leaves are opposite, rarely sessile; leaf blades are elliptic, 2.5–5 cm long and 0.8–1.5 cm wide, with a rounded or acute apex and a cuneate base; margins are entire.
Cymose inflorescences are axillary; the calyx is yellow-green and nearly deeply lobed, with ovate lobes; the corolla is yellowish-white and deeply 5-parted, with ovoid lobes; the corona is yellow-green, fleshy, nodular, and positioned supraventral around the apex of the pistil, several times longer than the pistil; there are 5 stamens, with the anthers covering the apex of the staminal column; the ovary is superior, composed of 2 nearly free carpels, and the two styles are apically connate to form a hypertrophied phialiform (disc-shaped) stigma.
1–2 follicles, narrowly ovoid, approximately 4.5 cm long. Seeds are numerous, with the apex covered in fine white tomentum. Flowering occurs in August; fruiting extends from September to October.
Differences between this species and Cynanchum stauntonii (Decne.) Schltr. ex Lévl.: stems bear two rows of pubescence; leaf blades are long-elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, with a slightly obtuse apex; leaf shape resembles that of Cynanchum stauntonii, measuring 3–5 cm in length and 1–1.5 cm in width, and are subsessile. Flowers are larger, and the corolla is yellowish-white.
Ecological Environment: The growth habitat and distribution of Cynanchum glaucescens are identical to those of Cynanchum stauntonii; the two species frequently co-occur.
Growth Characteristics: The plant grows on seashores, sandy riverbanks, or in damp valley habitats. It prefers a warm, humid climate and is drought-intolerant; for cultivation, deep, fertile, humus-rich topsoil is optimal.
Characteristics of the Herb: The rhizome is short and slender, with a grayish-green or pale yellow surface; internodes measure 1–2 cm in length; the herb is hard in texture, with a small central cavity at the fracture surface. Fibrous roots are relatively thick and elongated (5–15 cm long, ~1 mm in diameter), sparsely branched, and brittle—easily broken. Higher-grade herb material exhibits thicker and longer fibrous roots.
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References:
1.Introduction of Bai Qian: Rhizoma Cynanchi Stauntonii.
✵The article records the herb Willowleaf Swallowwort Rhizome, including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, properties and flavor, and botanical sources—two plant species: (1) Cynanchum stauntonii (Decne.) Schltr. ex Lévl. and (2) Cynanchum glaucescens (Decne.) Hand.-Mazz.—with a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environments of these two plants; the characteristics of the herb Willowleaf Swallowwort Rhizome; its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines.
Pinyin Name: Bái Qián
Botanical Description: Cynanchum stauntonii (Decne.) Schltr. ex Lévl. is also known as Pentasacme stauntonii Decne. Other vernacular names include water willow, big crane gourd, willow-leaf Cynanchum, and Bái Qián. It is a perennial, semi-erect, bushy plant reaching 0.5–1 m in height. The rhizome grows vertically or obliquely, is hollow like a goose-quill tube, and the roots are extensively developed—numerous, slender, whisker-like, yellow-white or slightly reddish brown. The stem is cylindrical, with a celadon (sage-green) surface bearing fine longitudinal ridges. Leaves are opposite, with short petioles; leaf blades are chartaceous (papery), lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 3–12 cm long and 0.3–1.4 cm wide; apex is acuminate, base is tapering, margin is entire; midrib is prominent on the abaxial surface, with approximately six pairs of lateral veins.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows along stream banks, river margins, or in damp valley habitats, often partially submerged in water.
Botanical Description: Cynanchum glaucescens (Decne.) Hand.-Mazz. is also known as Pentasachme glaucescens Decne. It is commonly called Yuán Huā Yè Bái Qián, Shā Xiāo, or Shuǐ Zhú Xiāo—a perennial herb reaching 25–40 cm in height. Rhizomes are amphitropous; nodes are tufted and bear numerous fibrous roots. Stems are erect; young branches are brown and pubescent, while older branches retain pubescence only on residual parts. Leaves are opposite, rarely sessile; leaf blades are elliptic, 2.5–5 cm long and 0.8–1.5 cm wide, with a rounded or acute apex and a cuneate base; margins are entire.
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