Four leaf ginseng

Radixcodonopsis Lanceolatae

Lanceasia bell root

[alias] conch, milkvetch, goat milk, Codonopsis lanceolata.

[source] the root of Codonopsis lanceolata (Sieb. Et Zucc.) Trautv.

[plant morphology] it is a perennial twining herb with milk and peculiar odor. Stem glabrous, with many short branches. The leaves on the main stem are alternate and small, 4 leaves on the short branch are clustered, elliptic or rhomboid ovate, with bristles on the leaf margin and gray green on the back; subsessile. Flowers solitary, occasionally opposite at the end of lateral branches; calyx adnate to the middle of the house, apex 5-lobed, corolla campanulate, 5-lobed, yellowish green, with purple spots inside. Capsule lower hemispherical, upper beak, with persistent calyx. Seeds have wings. The flowering period is from July to August and the fruiting period is from September to October.

It grows in the wet area, forest edge and shrub. It is mainly produced in Northeast China, North China, East China, Central South China, Guizhou and Shaanxi.

[harvest] dig in spring and autumn, remove the fibrous roots, cut them lengthwise and dry them in the sun, or slice them and dry them in the sun after steaming.

[character] the root is spindle or conical, and most of them are cut into two halves or pieces. The surface is grayish yellow, with dense ring-shaped raised wrinkles, small root head, several stem bases or bud marks; the edges of the longitudinal section are curled inward to form a conch, and the section is yellowish white. It is light in weight and white in broken surface.

[chemical constituents] it contains albic acid, oleanolic acid, cycloartenol, α - spinasterol and △ 7-stigmasterol.

Warm in nature and sweet in taste.

Main indications: Buxue Tongru, Qingre Jiedu, detumescence and purulence. It is used for body deficiency, insufficient milk, carbuncle, sore and mastitis.

Yiqi, Yangyin, detumescence, detoxification effect. It is used for weak body, weakness of limbs, dizziness and headache, yin deficiency cough, insufficient milk, lung abscess, mastitis, sore treatment, insect bite, etc.