Garden Pharmacy Grow your Own Medicine

KNOTWEED

Huo tan mu is 'one' of the Chinese Knotweeds and depending on who you talk to and where they are from, you may get wildly different opinions as to it's Common name.

As a garden plant, it is quite happy living in those spots where little else will comfortably grow, and as long as the soil is aerated enough for it to develop it's remarkable root, it requires very little else.

It has a rambling habit that can be trained but does not always need to be.

Medicinally we substitute this herb for Flowery Knotweed which it is also 'known as' in some areas of China.

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The following summary is from Traditional Chinese Medicine Materia and we apply it where indicated......

Common knotgrass (Bian xu)

Pharmaceutical Name: Herba Polygoni avicularis

Botanical Name: Polygonum chinense L.

Common Name: Polygonum, Common knotgrass

Source of Earliest Record: Shennong Bencao Jing

Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations:

The aerial parts of the plant are gathered in summer and dried in the sun. Properties & Taste: Bitter and slightly cold

Meridian: Urinary bladder

Functions:

1. To promote water metabolism and regulate abnormal urination;

2. To expel parasites and stop itching

Indications & Combinations:

1. Damp-heat in the urinary bladder manifested as scanty urine with blood, painful urination, urgency of micturition and frequent urination.

Common knotgrass (Bianxu) is used with Pink (Qumai), Clematis stem (Mutong) and Talc (Huashi) in the formula Bazhen San.

2. Eczema and trichomonas vaginalis.

The decoction of Common knotgrass (Bianxu) is used externally for washing.

Dosage: 10-15 g