Camphor

Camphor

(Honghe Chinese herbal medicine)

[synonym] camphor tree.

[source] it is the root or stem of Cinnamomum camphora.

[plant morphology] Cinnamomum camphora

Evergreen trees, up to 25 m high. Branchlets angulate. The leaves are alternate and leathery; the shape of the leaves varies greatly, they are usually oval ovate or rectangular ovate, 6-12 cm long and 3-6 cm wide, with pinnate veins, 6-8 pairs of lateral veins and glandular spots in the axils. Inflorescence panicle or cyme; flowers small, greenish white; perianth segments 6, ovate, pubescent on the inside; fertile stamens 9, anthers 4-locular, third round stamens, anthers lobed outwards. The fruit is globose, black, 6-8 mm in diameter; the receptacle is oblong, red, with longitudinal stripes.

Distribution in Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan and other places.

The leaf (Cinnamomum camphora leaf) and fruit (Cinnamomum camphora fruit) of this plant are all used for medicine, and each is detailed in the special article.

[collection] it can be collected all year round, washed, sliced and dried in the shade.

[chemical constituents] the trunk and root of the tree contain 2-4% volatile oil. The main component of the oil is safrole, accounting for 60-95%, followed by β - pinene, phellandrene, eugenol and cinnamaldehyde.

[flavor] slightly pungent, warm.

[function indications] warm and disperse cold, eliminate food and remove stagnation. Treatment of gastroenteritis, stomach cold, abdominal pain, dyspepsia, pertussis, dysentery.

[usage and dosage] oral: decoction, 3-5 yuan.

[optional prescription] for pertussis and dysentery: dried Cinnamomum camphora skin for one cent, shancigu for five cents, brown sugar for two cents, fried in water.

It can also cure rheumatoid arthritis, malaria, traumatic injury, etc.