Herb: Guang Jing Qian Cao


Latin name: Desmodium styracifolium


Family: Leguminosae



Medicinal use of Guang Jing Qian Cao:

The whole plant is diuretic and febrifuge. It is used in the treatment of gonorrhoea. A decoction of the plant is used in the treatment of gallstones, urinary tract stones and hepatitis.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Perennial


Height:
75 cm
(2 feet)

Habitat of the herb:

Mountain slopes, grasslands and thickets at elevations below 1000 metres in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hubei and S Yunnan Provinces.

Propagation of Guang Jing Qian Cao:

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse. Scarify and pre-soak stored seed for 5 hours in warm water then sow March in a greenhouse. The seed usually germinates within 1 - 4 months at 25°C. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots once they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer and consider giving them some protection from frost in their first winter outdoors. Cuttings of half-ripe wood with a heel, July/August in a frame. Division as the plant comes into growth in the spring. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring. Root cuttings in winter.

Cultivation of the herb:

Mountain slopes, grasslands and thickets at elevations below 1000 metres in Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hubei and S Yunnan Provinces.

Known hazards of Desmodium styracifolium:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.