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Balanophora harlandii Hook. f.
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English Name |
Harland's Balanophora, Harland Snakemushroom, Harland Balanophora |
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Latin name |
Balanophora harlandii Hook. f. |
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Family & Genus |
Balanophoraceae, Balanophora |
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Description |
Herbs, 2.5-9cm tall; rhizome pale brown, flat-spherical or nearly spherical, diameter 2.5-5cm, fragile and crustaceous when dry with coarse, dense small spots, wrinkled, scapes 2-5.5cm long, pale red; scaly bracts 5-10, some carnosus, red or pale red, onlong-ovate, 1.3-2.5cm long, clustered at scape base, involucres-shaped. Flowers dioecious (inflorescences); inflorescences nearly spherical, or ovate-elliptic; male inflorescence rachis with honeycombed hollow; male flowers 3, diameter 1.5-3mm; perianth lobes 3, wide-triangular; synantherous stamens with 3 anthers; peduncles firstly very short, then expands to 5mm, expands out of hollow; ovary of male flowers yellow, ovate, usually no gynophores, borne at attachment base or inflorescence rachis, style filamentous; attachment dark brown, inverted conic or obovoid, top truncate or middle part protrudent, sessile or with very small stalk. Flowering: July to August, fruiting: September to November. |
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Distribution |
Growing in moist and humus soil in shady forests. Distributed in Taiwan, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Southwest Hunan, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Hainan, Northwest Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, North Shaanxi and West Henan. |
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Part Used |
Medical part: entire plant. Chinese name: Gexun. |
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Harvest & Processing |
Excavated in autumn and winter, removed soil, foreign matters and dried in shade, or used fresh. |
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Properties & Actions |
Taste bitter, harsh, and cold in nature.Cooling the blood to stop bleeding, clearing heat and detoxifying. |
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Indications & Usage |
Used for cough and empsyxis, profuse uterine bleeding, discharging fresh blood in stools, hemorrhoids and swelling pain, syphilis, furunculosis, infantile phalloncus.Internal: decocting, 9-15g. External: appropriate amount, triturated for application; or powdered for application. |
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Examples |
1. Cough with lung heat, coughing up blood: Japanese balanophora herb, stargrass, false wintergreen, white cogongrass 9-15g each. Decoct in water and swallow.
2. Discharging fresh blood stool: Japanese balanophora herb, unpleasant swallowwort herb, fortune windmillpalm root 9-15g each. Decoct in water and swallow.
3. Syphilis: Japanese balanophora herb and borneo camphor (a little), grind into powder, and smear onto the affected lesions. |
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