Mahonia broadleaf

Chinese Name: Mahonia broadleaf

[category]: foliage

Leatherleaf Mahonia leaf

[alias]: Cortex Phellodendri, Rhizoma Coptidis, Illicium verum, Cortex Phellodendri, Rhizoma Polygonati.

[source]: the leaves of Mahonia bealei (Fort.) Carr.

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

[nature and taste]: tonifying lung qi, reducing damp heat, benefiting liver and kidney. It is used for hot flashes, cough, hemoptysis, weakness of waist and knee, dizziness, tinnitus, enteritis and diarrhea, jaundice hepatitis, red eye swelling and pain.

[plant morphology]: evergreen shrub, up to 4m high. The cross section of stem is bitter and yellow. Pinnate compound leaves alternate, 30-40 cm long, petiole base flat and wide embracing stem; leaflets 7-15, thick leathery, broadly ovate to ovate elliptic, 3-14 cm long and 2-8 cm wide, apex acuminate into spines, margin involute, 2-7 large spines on each side. Raceme stout, tufted at the top of branches; bracts small, dense; sepals 9, 3-whorled, petals 6, pale yellow, apex 2-lobed, near base with 2-dense glands on the inner surface; stamens 6; ovary superior, 1-locular. The berries are ovoid, blue black and powdery when ripe. The flowering period is from July to October and the fruiting period is from October to November.

[growing place]: it grows in the valley and under the forest. It is distributed in Gansu, Henan, Zhejiang, Anhui, etc.

[chemical composition]: containing berberine, etc.

Main indications: pinnate compound leaves, leaflets 7-15, opposite, without petiole, slightly shrunken, leathery, broadly ovate, margin reversed, 3-5 spines on each side, veins protruding to the back, upper surface green to grayish green, lower surface yellowish green. The total petiole is cylindrical, about 5 mm in diameter, and the leaflets are expanded and annular. It tastes bitter.

[note]: pinnate compound leaf, leaflets 7-15, opposite, without petiole, slightly shrunken, leathery, broadly ovate, margin reversed, with 3-5 spines on each side, veins protruding to the back, upper surface green to grayish green, lower surface yellowish green. The total petiole is cylindrical, about 5 mm in diameter, and the leaflets are expanded and annular. It tastes bitter. Roots, stems and fruits are also used as medicine.