Genkwa Flower (Yuanhua)
| Pharmaceutical Name: | Flos Genkwa |
| Botanical Name: | Daphne genkwa Sieb. Et Zucc. |
| Common Name: | Genkwa flower |
| Source of Earliest Record: | Shennong Bencao Jing |
| art Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: | The flower buds are gathered in spring and dried in the sun, baked or fried with vinegar. |
| Properties and Taste: | Pungent, bitter, warm and toxic |
| Meridian: | Lung, kidney and large intestine |
| Functions: | To transform water and stop cough To resolve phlegm and stop cough To kill worms |
| Indications and Combinations: | 1. Edema in the face or body, ascites and retention of fluids in the chest. *Use with Kansui root (Gansui) and Peking spurge root (Daji) in the formula Shizao Tang. 2. Sudden cough and cold-damp type of chromic bronchitis. *Use with Jujube (Dazao) . 3. Scabs, white ringworm and stubborn ringworm. *Ground herb into powder and use with powdered Realgar (Xionghuang) and pig fat oil for external application. |
| Dosage: | 1.5-3 g |
| Cautions: | This herb must not be used with Licorice root (Gancao) as it counteracts it. This herb is contraindicated during pregnancy. |