Jiangshanglu

[Alias] Guangdong pokeberry, Guang pokeberry, Zhangliutou, white stalagmite.

[Source] Costus speciosus (koen.) Dry rhizomes of Smith.

[Original plant] Closed-sheath ginger is a perennial herb, with a plant height of 1~3 meters. The stem is close to woody, and the top branches are often coiled. Leaves spiral arrangement, blade oblong or lanceolate, 15~20 cm long, 6~10 cm wide, densely sericeous leaf back, leaf sheath closed. Flowers July to September, spikes terminal, 5 - 15 cm long; bracts arranged into cones, ovate, ca. 2 cm long, leathery, red, pubescent, thickened and sharply mucronate; calyx 3-lobed, red; corolla tube ca. 1 cm long, lobes 3, oblong-elliptic, ca. 5 cm long, white or red at tip; Labellum trumpet-shaped, long 6.5~9 cm, white, top with split teeth, corrugated, stamen 1, petaloid, about 4.5 cm long, 1.3 cm wide. Capsule slightly woody, globose, 1.3 cm long, red. Seeds black, shiny, ca. 3 mm. Born in sparse forest, valley damp, ditch edge, roadside grass, barren slope and so on. Distribution in our province and Taiwan, Guangxi, Yunnan and other provinces. Wild or cultivated. Widely distributed in tropical Asia.

[Medicinal materials] are produced everywhere in our province. Cultivated species are mainly produced in northern Guangdong; wild species are produced in southern and other counties. Harvesting and processing can be harvested all year round, and the quality of those harvested in autumn is good. Dig rhizome, remove soil and fibrous roots, wash, slice fresh, dry. Rhizome characters were slightly flat block, like ginger shape, near the head slightly woody. Cork thinner, smooth or longitudinal wrinkles, grayish yellow or taupe, visible links and residual fine root marks. Most of the products are longitudinal, oblique or transverse slices, curved and wrinkled, 4~7 cm long, 1.5~3 cm wide and about 3 mm thick. The section is grayish white or grayish yellow, scattered with numerous fibers and vascular bundles. The body is light, loose and tough, not easy to break. The smell is slight, the taste is light and slightly bitter. Quality requirements to piece uniform, soft quality, gray yellow color is better. Packaging storage with bamboo baskets or sacks loaded, stored in a ventilated dry place.

[Identification] The cork layer is a series of cork cells in the cross section of the rhizome, and the residual cortex can be seen outside the cork layer. The cortex is composed of parenchyma cells, there are many oil cells scattered, containing yellow oil; vascular bundles scattered in the leaf trace of cortex. The endocortex is distinct. There are many outer tough vascular bundles scattered in the middle column, and fiber groups are common around them. Parenchyma cells contain a lot of starch grains.

[Processing] Remove impurities and clean up.

[Medical use] It tastes spicy, cold, and slightly poisonous. Meridians return to spleen and kidney meridians. Functions and indications: diuresis, detumescence, extirpation of sore poison. For edema abdominal fullness excess see two stool closed knot. External use for carbuncle, sore and swelling. Usage and dosage 9~ 15g, decoction. For external use, appropriate amount of fresh products are mashed and applied to affected areas.