Herbs
2 weeds are Chinese herbal medicine
Self-care from natural
Published in
2 min readNov 3, 2022
Dandelions and Plantago are the 2 kinds of weeds that we can find easily. However, they are herbal medicines commonly used in TCM.
Dandelions (Taraxacum) (Pu Gong Ying) (蒲公英) (Penner, 2022)
- It is used as a kind of wild vegetable and herbal medicine in TCM.
- It tastes slightly bitter.
- Mainly for clearing Heat & Toxicity (infection and inflammation).
- It goes to Liver Channel with the function to relieve red eyes.
- It goes to Stomach Channel to relieve sore throat and pimples.
- It is not suitable for people with a deficient constitution, cold syndrome, diarrhea, or loose stools.
- Use caution during pregnancy.
Plantago (Asian Plantain) (Che Qian Cao 车前草) (Penner, 2022)
- It is used as a kind of wild vegetable and herbal medicine in TCM.
- It tastes slightly bitter.
- It is mainly used for clearing Damp-Heat (infection and inflammation with water retention).
- It is mainly used in painful urinary dysfunction by promoting urination to clear bladders.
- By releasing urination, water in diarrhea would be drained out and become solid. And thus, it helps to stop diarrhea.
- It is used to clear red eyes at Liver Channel.
- Plantago seeds are also used in TCM with similar functions. And the seeds are mainly to stop coughing at Lung Channel.
- It is not suitable for people with a deficient constitution.
- Use caution during pregnancy.
Dandelions and Plantago are 2 kinds of herbal medicines commonly used in TCM. Generally speaking, They are safe and gentle in functions. And therefore, they can be served as wild vegetables with a fresh taste. I find that they are weeds growing beautifully everywhere in parks, gardens, and on roads. It seems that there are values in nature.
Reference
Penner, J. (2022). Individual Herbs (Pin Yin). American Dragon. https://www.americandragon.com/IndividualHerbsIndex2.html
