Kuan Dong Hua (款冬花) is the flower of coltsfoot, a plant of the daisy family, recorded as Flos Farfarae. It is acrid in flavour and warm in temperature, entering the Lung channel alone.

Pinyin

kuan dong hua

Chinese

款冬花

Latin Name

Flos Farfarae

English Name

Coltsfoot Flower·common coltsfoot flower·Tussilago Flower:Coltsfoot

Japanese

kantoka

Korean

kwandonghwa

Actions and indications

Moistens the Lungs, descends Qi, stops cough and transforms Phlegm

Cough and wheezing from many causes, most often Cold
Rebellious Lung Qi with cough and wheeze; being moistening, it can be used in Dryness where a purely warm, drying herb would not suit
Cough and wheezing from Heat or from Yin deficiency, in suitable combinations
Long-standing cough with streaks of blood in the sputum

Combinations

zi wan

Cough with sputum that is hard to bring up

xing ren

Phlegm obstruction with cough and wheezing

wu wei zi + zhi ban xia

Congested fluids (thin mucus) with cough and wheezing

bai qian

Qi and Phlegm obstruction causing cough

bai he

Long-standing dry cough, or cough of Yin Deficiency bringing up blood-streaked sputum

zhi mu + sang ye

Cough when Wind-Heat invades the Lung

zi wan + feng mi

Lung consumption with cough and bloody sputum, or Lung Deficiency with a dry cough

zhi mu + sang ye + zhe bei mu + xing ren

Cough from Lung Heat combined with Wind-Heat invading the Lung

Age

Raw

Granule

Tincture

Concentrate

Frequency

Any 4.5-10g; Tincture: 2-4ml

4.5-10 g

—

2-4 ml

—

Cautions

caution Coughing up blood or pus, including Lung abscess

caution Cough from Heat, or from Heat due to Yin deficiency; a warm herb, it works against a frank Heat pattern

pregnancy Avoid in pregnancy

lactation Avoid while breastfeeding

caution The plant contains liver-toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, mainly senkirkine with traces of senecionine, the same class behind the liver toxicity of comfrey and ragwort

caution Germany and the EU cap daily intake from herbal products carrying these alkaloids, and coltsfoot is regulated rather than freely sold in some markets

caution Correct identification matters: the most cited coltsfoot poisoning involved a misgathered look-alike, and documented harm centres on wild-gathered material

Interactions

Antagonistic with

chuan bei mu Works against Chuan Bei Mu (Sichuan fritillary bulb)
huang qi Works against Huang Qi (Astragalus root)
huang qin Works against Huang Qin (Scutellaria root)
ma huang Works against Ma Huang (Ephedra)
xin yi hua Works against Xin Yi Hua (magnolia flower bud)
xuan shen Antagonistic pairing with Xuan Shen (Scrophularia root)
zhe bei mu Works against Zhe Bei Mu (Zhejiang fritillary bulb)

Drug interactions

Liver-toxic medicines, and other herbs containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids (comfrey, borage, butterbur): exposure adds to the total liver burden, and limits apply to the combined daily intake; precautionary, not a studied interaction

Prepared forms (1)

kuan dong hua Mi Zhi

款冬花·Flos Farfarae

Kuan dong hua mi (款冬花) is the honey-processed flower of coltsfoot, an Asteraceae species recorded as Flos Farfarae. The catalogue records it on the Lung channel, and holds no category or actions for it.

The catalogue records no separate actions, dose or cautions for this preparation. Unless noted above it follows kuan dong hua.

kuan dong hua

About kuan dong hua

Names

Classification

Actions and indications

Moistens the Lungs, descends Qi, stops cough and transforms Phlegm

Combinations

Dosage

Cautions

Interactions

Antagonistic with

Drug interactions

Prepared forms (1)

kuan dong hua Mi Zhi

About kuan dong hua

Names

Classification

Actions and indications

Moistens the Lungs, descends Qi, stops cough and transforms Phlegm

Combinations

Dosage

Cautions

Interactions

Antagonistic with

Drug interactions

Prepared forms (1)

kuan dong hua Mi Zhi

Related

Prepared forms

Used in 1 formula