ya zhi cao

鸭跖草·Herba Commelinae

common dayflower

About ya zhi cao

Ya Zhi Cao (鸭跖草) is the common dayflower, recorded as Herba Commelinae. It is sweet and bland in flavour and cold in temperature, entering the Lung, Stomach and Small Intestine channels. The catalogue files it among the herbs that drain Fire.

Names

Pinyin	ya zhi cao
Chinese	鸭跖草
Latin Name	Herba Commelinae
English Name	common dayflower
Japanese	osekiso
Korean	abcheokcho

Classification

Category: Drain Fire
Channels: Lung, Stomach, Small Intestine
Flavour: Sweet, Bland
Temperature: Cold

Actions and indications

Clears Heat, drains Fire, and mildly resolves toxicity and cools the Blood

Fever from a fairly superficial Warm pathogen
Fever and sore throat with the common cold
Persistent fever in Warm pathogen disease
Leukorrhea
Sores and boils
Uterine bleeding
Hepatitis with jaundice
Erysipelas
Barbiers
Mumps (parotitis)
Nosebleed
Dysentery

Clears Heat, promotes urination and relieves painful urinary dysfunction

Hot, painful urination with edema, and blood in the urine
Edema with little urine
Acute rheumatoid arthritis
Scanty urine (uropenia)

Combinations

bo he + niu bang zi
Qi level diseases.
shi gao + lu gen
Swollen, sore throat, including sore throat with mumps
fu ping + bai mao gen
Urinary dysfunction that is hot and painful, with Exterior symptoms present
che qian zi + dan zhu ye
Damp-Heat in the Urinary Bladder causing painful urinary dysfunction

Dosage

Age	Raw	Granule	Tincture	Concentrate	Frequency
Any 9-30g; Fresh 60-90g	9-30 g	—	—	—	—

Cautions

caution Deficiency Cold of the Spleen and Stomach