Greater plantain (aerial parts) - 车前草 (Che Qian Cao)
Plantain Herb
车前草
Che Qian Cao·Grand Plantain (parties aériennes)
Plantaginis Herba
- Traced and verified origin
- Dispatched within 24/48h, packed to order
- Kept away from light and moisture
According to the classical texts
利尿通淋 清热解毒 凉血明目
Pinyin
Li Niao Tong Lin · Qing Re Jie Du · Liang Xue Ming Mu
Overview
The aerial parts of Plantago asiatica or Plantago depressa, that common plantain of the roadside (“the grass in front of the cart” — Che Qian — comes from the fact that the plant thrives in cart ruts, where the seeds fall and germinate).
Cut in summer, during flowering, dried whole in bundles, it keeps its characteristic leaves with parallel veins and its fine flower spikes.
A humble and accessible plant, much used in the Chinese folk pharmacopoeia.
Traditional uses
A mild herb of the freeing register, for the fluids in Heat-Dampness of the lower region.
Traditionally used for constitutions of settled heat in the sphere where the fluids are let go, and to clear gently the heat that veils the Clarity (which the tradition ties to the Wood Phase and to that of Water).
Preparation and traditional-use quantity
- Decoction: 9 to 30 g (the quantity readily goes high, the herb being very mild), simmer for 25 minutes
- Eye compresses: a concentrated infusion, cooled, applied locally to the eyelids
- Popular use: a traditionally gathered herb, very approachable and widely used in the popular pharmacopoeia
Precautions
To be avoided in cases of deficient Yang with deep cold. Otherwise a herb approachable by most constitutions.
