Mistletoe

Chinese Name: mistletoe

[category]: stems and vines

English Name: colored mistletoe herb

[alias]: Arachis japonicus, parasitic mulberry, parasitic willow, parasitic seed.

[source]: it is the leafy stem branch of Viscum coloratum (Kom.) nakal.

[harvesting]: it can be harvested all year round, chopped and dried in the sun.

[character and taste]: the stem and branch are cylindrical, 3-8mm in diameter, the node is slightly expanded, 1.5cm thick, with purple black ring lines; the surface is golden yellow, with irregular longitudinal and oblique wrinkles. The leaves are thick, golden yellow to yellowish brown, with many transverse wrinkles. The stem is hard, the cross section is light yellow, the skin is loose, the cambium ring is obvious, the rays are white, and the pith is small. It is mild in nature, sweet and bitter in taste.

[plant morphology]: evergreen semi parasitic shrub, 30-60cm high. The stem branches are cylindrical, yellowish green or green, the nodes are obvious, and the nodes have 2-3 forked branches. Leaves simple, opposite, at branch ends, sessile, succulent, glossy, elliptic lanceolate or oblanceolate, entire, glabrous on both sides. The flowers are unisexual and heterologous at the ends of branches or bifurcations; the perianth of male flowers is 4-lobed, the stamens are 4-lobed, without filaments, and the anthers are multi locular; the female flowers have 1-3 flowers on the thick and short pedicels, the perianth is bell shaped and 4-lobed, and the ovary is inferior. Berries globose, translucent, orange red when ripe, rich in mucilaginous. The flowering period is April to May and the fruiting period is September.

[growing place]: it is parasitic on elm, birch, maple poplar, pear, Quercus acutissima, etc. It is mainly produced in Northeast and North China.

[chemical constituents]: the stems and leaves contain oleanolic acid, β - amyrin, mesoinositol and flavonoids; the leaves also contain Viscum a, B and iupeol.

Indications: dispelling wind and dampness, tonifying liver and kidney, strengthening muscles and bones, and stabilizing fetus. It is used for rheumatic arthralgia, soreness and weakness of waist and knee, and restlessness of fetal movement.