The source is from the tuber of Bletilla striata (Thunb.) Reichb. f., family Orchidaceae. The medicinal material is mainly produced in the reaches of Yangtze River to the provinces of its south and southwest. It is dug and collected in summer and autumn before the plant is dried, boiled in boiling water, dried in the sun, cut into pieces or pounded into powder for medication.
Medicinal Properties:
Bitter, sweet and astringent in flavor, slightly cold in nature and attributive to the lung, liver and stomach meridians.
Actions:
Stop bleeding by astringing, remove swelling and promote granulation.
Application
1. It can be used for hemoptysis, haematemesis and bleeding due to trauma injures. It can be powdered alone and then mixed with water for oral use. It can be used in combination with Pipaye (Folium Eriobotryae), Ejiao (Colla Corii Asini), and Shengdihuang (Radix Rehmanniae), etc.
to treat insufficiency of lung-yin with dry cough and hemoptysis; in treating bleeding of stomach, combined with Wuzeigu (Os Sepiellae seu Sepiae), etc.; in treating bleeding due to trauma, it can be used alone or combined with Duanshigao (Gypsum Fibrosum Usta), which is ground into powder and applied to the local area.
2. It can be used for sores and carbuncle, and rhagadia of hands and feet. For the early stage of carbuncle, it is usually combined with Jinyinhua (Flos Lonicerae), Beimu (Bulbus Fritillariae Thunbergii), Tianhuafen (Radix Trichosanthis), Zaojiaoci (Spina Gleditsiae), etc., such as Neixiao San (Powder); for ulcerated and unhealed carbuncle, its powder is usually used externally; for rhagadia of hands and feet, the powder can be mixed with sesame oil and then applied to the local area.
Besides, it is also used for pulmonary abscess with cough out of fishy sputum, pus and blood that reduce day by day, it is usually combined with Jinyinhua (Flos Lonicerae), Jiegeng (Radix Ptatycodi ), Shashen (Radix Adenophorae Strictae) and Gancao (Radix Gtycyrrhizae) , etc..
Usage and Dosage:
3 - 10 g is used in decoction for oral use; 1.5 - 3 g of the powder is used and just right amount for external use.
Notes:
It is incompatible with Wutou (Rhizoma Aconiti).