Flowers bloom all year round, colorful and fragrant, bringing people vitality, energy and a good feeling. Not only that, there are many plants whose flowers can be used as medicine, playing an important role in maintaining human health.
The main parts of flower Chinese medicine are flowers (buds), inflorescences, spikes with flowers, corollas, stamens, styles (stigmas), pollen, etc. The effects can be summarized into six categories: clearing heat, regulating qi, promoting blood circulation, stopping bleeding, relieving cough and relieving asthma, and nourishing the heart and calming the mind.
1. Clearing heat
Real heat should be cleared, and heat should be treated with cold. This type of flower medicine is cold and cool.
| Name | Benifit |
| Honeysuckle | Not only good at clearing heat and detoxifying, but also good at dispersing wind-heat, suitable for heat-toxic and wind-heat diseases. |
| Chrysanthemum | The functions of dispelling wind and heat, calming the liver and improving eyesight, clearing heat and detoxifying, while wild chrysanthemum mainly clears heat and detoxifies, and also has a good antihypertensive effect. |
| Hibiscus | The functions of clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling blood and stopping bleeding, and reducing swelling and pus |
| Prunella vulgaris | Clearing the liver and improving eyesight, and can also disperse nodules and reduce swelling |
| Buddleja | Clear heat and nourish the liver, improve eyesight and remove cataracts |
| Gardenia | Clear the lungs and stop coughs, and can also cool blood and stop bleeding |
| Panax notoginseng flower | The effects of clearing heat and calming the liver |
| Name | Benifit | |
| Those with a warm nature | Clove | pungent, warm and aromatic, good at warming the stomach and lowering the adverse. |
| Rose | It can relieve liver depression, promote blood circulation and relieve pain. "Ben Cao Zheng Yi" says: "It has the strongest fragrance, clear but not turbid, harmonious but not fierce, softens the liver and wakes up the stomach, promotes qi and activates blood circulation, and clears stagnation without the disadvantages of pungent, warm, hard and dry. It is the most effective and docile among the qi-regulating medicines, and there is no aromatic product that can match it. | |
| Jasmine | It is aromatic and stomach-regulating, and has the functions of regulating qi and relieving depression, eliminating filth and harmonizing the middle. | |
| Magnolia officinalis | In addition to promoting qi and relieving fullness, it also has the function of removing dampness and stimulating the spleen, but its power is slower than that of Magnolia officinalis. | |
| Those with a cool nature | Wild Rose | In addition to clearing summer heat, removing dampness and harmonizing the stomach, and stopping bleeding, it also has the function of promoting blood circulation. |
| Aurantium Amara | The functions of promoting qi and relieving fullness, digesting food, and resolving phlegm. Its fragrance is strong and lasting, and its qi-regulating power is slow without hurting yin, especially suitable for harmonizing the stomach. | |
| Those with a neutral nature | Buddha's hand flower and plum blossom | Both enter the liver and stomach meridians , both have the effect of relieving liver depression and harmonizing stomach, while Buddha's hand flower is more inclined to promote qi and relieve pain, while plum blossom is more inclined to resolve phlegm and dissipate knots. |
| Kudzu flower | Relieving alcohol, invigorating spleen and harmonizing stomach, and can clear away heat and promote urination. | |
| Orchid | Regulate qi and harmonize the middle, and can also relieve cough and improve eyesight. | |
3. Activating blood circulation
Blood-activating and stasis-removing drugs belong to the genus Ginseng, and are pungent, respectful, warm and unblocked.
| Name | Benifit |
| Safflower | activate blood circulation, promote menstruation, disperse blood stasis and relieve pain. "Compendium of Materia Medica" says that it is "used for many If used too much, it will break blood, but if used less, it will nourish blood." |
| Saffron | It is the stigma of the crocus plant of the Iridaceae family. It has a stronger effect on promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis than safflower, and it also has the functions of cooling blood, detoxifying, relieving depression and calming the mind. |
| Chinese peony | It is known as the "flower of gynecology". It has the effects of promoting blood circulation and menstruation, nourishing blood and softening the liver, removing blood stasis and removing spots. |
| Peony | It can promote blood circulation and regulate menstruation. |
| Chinese Rose Flower | Promote blood circulation and regulate menstruation, relieve liver and relieve depression. |
| Ling Xiao Flower | It is a medicine for the blood of liver meridians, which can promote blood circulation, cool blood and dispel wind. "Bencao Qiuzhen" calls it "a must-have medicine for women's blood heat" |
| Impatiens | promote blood circulation, dispel wind and relieve pain. "Bencao Huiyan" calls it "a medicine that promotes blood circulation and qi, and benefits tendons and veins" |
4. Hemostasis
Flower medicines can achieve the purpose of hemostasis by astringency, cooling blood and removing blood stasis.
| Name | Benifit |
| Sophora japonica | It can cool blood and stop bleeding, and can also clear the liver It can relieve heat and is often used to treat bloody stools caused by damp-heat in the large intestine. |
| Camellia | It can cool blood and stop bleeding, and can also disperse blood stasis and reduce swelling. |
| Cattail Pollen | It is good at astringing and stopping bleeding when fried, and it has the function of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis when used raw, so it can stop bleeding without leaving blood stasis. |
| Cockscomb | It can astringe and stop bleeding, stop leucorrhea, and stop dysentery. It is often used for red and white leucorrhea caused by damp-heat in the lower part of the body. |
| Hibiscus | It can clear heat and cool blood, detoxify and reduce swelling, and is good at treating intestinal wind. Blood and red and white diarrhea. |
| Name | Benifit |
| Coltsfoot flower | Pungent, bitter, warm, moist but not dry, has the effect of relieving cough and asthma, especially suitable for those with long-term cough due to lung deficiency. |
| Inula flower | Bitter, pungent, salty, slightly warm, can eliminate phlegm and relieve asthma, reduce adverse qi, reduce lung qi and stop cough and asthma, reduce stomach qi and stop vomiting. |
| Lily | Sweet, slightly bitter, slightly cold, can moisten the lungs and relieve cough, and can also clear the heart and calm the mind. |
| Globe amaranth | Sweet and flat, can relieve cough and asthma, and can also calm the liver and improve eyesight. |
| Pear flower | Sour and cool, can moisten the lungs, resolve phlegm, relieve cough, and relieve alcohol. |
| Datura flower | Pungent and warm, toxic, can relieve asthma and cough, relieve spasms, and relieve pain. |
6. Nourishing the heart and calming the mind
Albizzia julibrissin: open during the day and close at night, quite in line with the meaning of the opening and closing of yin and yang in heaven and earth. Its nature and flavor are sweet and flat, and its function is similar to Albizzia julibrissin bark, especially good at relieving depression and calming the mind.
Modern research shows that the nature and flavor of flower Chinese medicine have a corresponding relationship with the chemical components it contains, such as glycosides, alkaloids, volatile oils, amino acids, organic acids and sugar components.
Whether it is called "the spirit of nature" or "the body fragrance of nature", flowers are gifts from nature, closely related to the quality of human life, and also play an important role in maintaining health. However, people's current understanding of the medicinal uses of flowers is still very limited. In terms of explaining their characteristics and efficacy, relevant pharmacological research is still in its early stages, clinical applications need to be deepened, and many mysteries remain to be solved.
