Medicago falcata

Medicago falcata

(manual of plateau Chinese herbal medicine treatment)

[synonym] mosanghe (Tibetan name).

[source] it is the whole plant of Medicago falcata.

[plant morphology] Medicago falcata

Herbs annual or perennial, erect, 30-80 cm high. Stem nearly square. Leaves with 3 leaflets; leaflets broadly obovate, oblong or suborbicular, 1.5-3 cm long and 1-2.5 cm wide, apex rounded or slightly concave, margin denticulate, glabrous above and sparsely pilose below; petiole slender, 5-8 mm long; stipules lanceolate or narrowly ovate, 6-10 mm long and 2-4 mm wide, apex pointed, margin serrate, base sometimes subhalberd, glabrous. Raceme with 3-5 flowers, axillary, flowering pedicel 1-2 cm long; fruiting pedicel slightly elongated, usually 3.5 cm; calyx broadly campanulate, calyx teeth triangular, pilose; corolla white purplish, 7-8 mm long; ovary linear, apex curved. Pods falcate, glabrous, reticulate, apex beaked, up to 2.5 cm long. Seeds rectangular, 13 mm long, 4 mm wide.

It grows on dry hillside and grass dam in pastoral area. It is distributed in the northwest of Sichuan. Qinghai, Gansu, Xinjiang and other places.

[collection] harvest from July to August.

[flavor] slightly bitter, slightly cold.

[Guijing] into the heart and small intestine.

Functions and indications: clearing away heat and inflammation, strengthening heart and diuresis. Treatment of pneumonia and cough; external friction trauma.

[usage and dosage] oral: decoction, 2-4 yuan.