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Xanthium sibiricum Patrin. ex Widder
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English Name |
Cocklebur, |
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Latin name |
Xanthium sibiricum Patrin. ex Widder |
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Family & Genus |
Asteraceae, Xanthium |
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Description |
Annual herb 20-90cm. Root spindlelike, with branches or without. Stem upright, no branches or few branches, lower part cylindrical, upper part longitudinal groove, covered with stiff straight hair. Leaf arrangement alternate; petiole long, 3-11cm; blades deltoid-ovate or cordate, 4-9cm long, 5-10cm wide, margin entire, or 3-5 inconspicuous lobate, apex pointed or obtuse, trinerved, upper part green, lower part pale, coated with white short appressed hair. Capitulum nearly no peduncle, is aggregate, and shows diclinous polygamy; male inflorescences spherical, phyllary small, 1 ranged, covered with dense hair, receptacle columnar, receptacle slice oblanceolate; floret tubular, apex dentate 5-lobed, stamens 5, anthers oblong-linear; female inflorescences ovate, phyllary 2-3 ranged, outer bracts small inner bract big, fused to form a hard body which has 2 chambers, cystic, ovate and barb hair coated, apex 2 conical tips, florets 2, no corolla, ovary in involucre, 1 flower in each chamber, style linear, sticking out from involucre. Achene in hard involucre when mature, mature involucre ovate or elliptic, margin beak, 12-15mm × 4-7mm, green, pale yellow or red-brown beak 1.5-2.5mm; achene 2, oblanceolate, 1 seed in each achene. Flowering: July to August. Fruiting: September to October. |
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Distribution |
Growing on plains, hills, wilderness, roadsides, ditch-sides, paddy fields, grasslands and villages, etc. Distributed in all parts of China. The medicinal materials are mainly produced in all parts of China. |
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Part Used |
Medical part: whole plant, roots, flowers and fruits with involucres. Chinese name: whole plant: Cang’er. Roots: Cang’ergen. Flowers: Cang’erhua. Fruits with involucres: Cang’erzi. |
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Harvest & Processing |
Whole plant: cut the whole plant in summer, removed soil, cut to pieces, sun-dried or used fresh. Roots: excavated after autumn, used fresh or sun-dried after cut to slices. Flowers: harvested in summer and dried or used fresh. Fruits with involucres: harvested from September to October when the matured fruits change to yellow and most of leaves wither, cut the whole plant, threshed and sun-dried. |
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Chemistry |
Whole plant contains strumarosid, Xanthinin, Xanthumin, 8-(?-Isopen-tenyl)-5,7, 3,4-Tetrahydroxy-flavone and 1,4-Dicaffeoylquinic acid. |
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Pharmacology |
Hypoglycemic, anti-inflammatory, pharmacological on respiratory system and cardiovascular. |
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Properties & Actions |
Bitter, pungent, little cold; mild-toxic.Dispelling wind, dissipating hot, eliminating dampness and detoxifying. |
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Indications & Usage |
Common cold, head-wind, dizziness, persistent turbid nasal discharge, conjunctival congestion, corneal opacity, arthralgia due to anemogenous febrile disease, numbness and tendon spasms, wind leprosy, furunculosis, sarcoptidosis, skin itching, hemorrhoids, dysentery.Oral administration: decocting, 6-12g, large dosage up to 30-60g; or pounded to extract juice; or prepared ointment; or made as pills or powders. External application: appropriate amount, smashed for applying; or burnt preserving nature and powdered for applying; or decocted for washing; or prepared ointment. |
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Examples |
1. Treat toothache: cocklebur a bundle, cook in water, add salt and hold in mouth.
2. Treat stroke, typhus and headache, furuncle: freshly pestle cocklebur root and leaves, mix with infantile urine, wring and collect juice, cool down, and swallow 1 sheng, 3 times a day.
3. Treat pruritus and urticaria: cocklebur flower and leaves of equal amount. Pestle and grind into powder, swallow 2 qian with beans and liquor. |
| Link to |
 Chinese Medicinal Material Images Database
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