Fritillaria thunbergii

Bulbus Fritillaria unibracteatae

United fritillary bulb

Fritillaria ussuriensis and Fritillaria thunbergii.

[source] it is the bulb of Fritillaria unibracteata hsiaoet K.C.Hsia.

[plant morphology] perennial herb, 15-23cm high. The diameter of bulb is 6-8 mm. The leaves are mostly opposite, strip or strip lanceolate, 3.6-5.5cm long and 3-5mm wide. The flowers are solitary, with one leaflike bract; the perianth segments are 2.5-2.7cm long, dark purple, with small yellowish brown squares, 6-10mm wide; the stamens are about half of the perianth segments, and the anthers are nearly basal; the stigma lobes are very short, about 0.5-lmm long. The capsule is 1-1.5cm long and 1-1.2cm wide, with ribs and narrow wings, about 1mm wide. The flowering period is June and the fruiting period is August.

It grows on the grassland of 3200-4500m above sea level. It is mainly produced in Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu.

[picking] from July to September, when the seedlings are not withered, they should be dug, exposed to the sun with mud or baked in low fire. They should be turned over with bamboo and wood at any time. When the skin is powdery white, they should be sieved off the mud, put into sacks, gently hit off the attached soil and old skin, and then dried in the sun.

[character] the bulb is conical or heart-shaped, 5-9mm in diameter and 4-8mm in height. The surface is white and smooth. The outer two scaly leaves are quite different in size. The large scaly leaves are tightly wrapped around the small scaly leaves. The exposed part of the small scaly leaves is crescent shaped, which is commonly known as "embracing the moon in the arms". The top is sharp or blunt, and most of them are closed. The bottom is flat and slightly concave. There are small scaly leaves and heart buds. It's slightly sweet.

[chemical constituents] it contains chuanbeinone and imperialine.

[flavor] slightly cold in nature, bitter and sweet in taste.

[indications] clearing heat and moistening lung, resolving phlegm and relieving cough. It is used for lung heat dry cough, dry cough with less phlegm, yin deficiency cough, expectoration with blood.