Cajeput

Cajeput

(Chinese medicine and plant Atlas)

[synonym] Yushu.

[source] it is the bark of white stem layer of family plants.

White stem layer

Evergreen trees, about 20 m high. The bark is grayish white, thick and loose, and can flake off layer by layer. Single leaf alternate, sometimes opposite, narrowly elliptic or lanceolate, 5-10 cm long, 1-1.5 cm wide, both ends acuminate, entire; 3-7 longitudinal veins. Spikes terminal, rachis hairy, continue to grow into a leafy new branch after anthesis; flowers dense, milky white, sessile; calyx tube ovate, lobes 5, round, outer hairy; petals 5, broadly ovate, apex rounded, abscission; stamens many, base combined into 5 bundles, opposite petals; pistil 1, ovary inferior, apex raised, hairy, 3-locular. Capsule apically 3-lobed, cup-shaped or hemispherical, ca. 3 mm in diam., apically truncate, dehiscent into 3-petals at maturity. The flowering period is from January to February.

It grows on dry sandy land and is mostly cultivated. Distributed in Fujian, Taiwan, Guangdong, Guangxi and other places.

The leaves of this plant are also used for medicine. Please refer to the special section for details.

[collection] all year round.

[chemical composition] bark contains 54.2% lignin and resinol, which is called bletillin.

[flavor] light, flat.

[function indications] tranquilizing and calming.

[selection] treatment of neurasthenia and insomnia: Melaleuca dried skin 2-3 Qian. Take it in water. (the nature and taste are listed in the Handbook of commonly used Chinese herbal medicine of Guangzhou army.)