- Region
- Asia
- Origin
- Asia, Europe, North America
Asia · Herb · № 205
Lilium spp.
Herb · Asia
Lily
Lilium spp.
The bulb scales of some lilies (bai he) are used in Chinese medicine for dry cough, restlessness and sleeplessness after fever. Lilies are deadly poisonous to cats.
Safety notes
Traditional use is no proof of effectiveness; if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition, consult a doctor or pharmacist.
Cautions by tradition (2)
- Chinese food therapy: Use only the edible lily bulb (bai he) from the Chinese shop. Lilies are highly toxic to cats.
- Chinese materia medica: Not with wind-cold with phlegm or diarrhoea from spleen deficiency.
Preparation
No specific preparation described.
Use in traditions
In herbal magic associated with protection, lifting curses, cycles, rebirth. In China lily bulbs are eaten as a vegetable and in sweet soups. In Christian art the white lily is the symbol of Mary and purity; in Greek myth it arose from the milk of Hera.
Applications
Use by tradition
How different herbal traditions describe this herb. Amounts are traditional guidelines checked for obvious errors; they are not medical advice. For poisonous plants no dosage is given on purpose.
Chinese food therapy
Attributed effects
Slightly bitter: moistens the lungs, cools body heat, relieves cough and sore throat and calms the mind.
Caution: Use only the edible lily bulb (bai he) from the Chinese shop. Lilies are highly toxic to cats.
Chinese materia medica
- Nature and taste
- sweet, bland, slightly cold
- Meridians
- heart, lung
Attributed effects
Bai he cools heat and stops cough in lung yin deficiency or lung heat (sore throat, bloody phlegm) and cools the heart in insomnia, mild fever, irritability and palpitations after a febrile illness or from yin deficiency.
Preparation and amount
Traditional dosage: 9–30 g a day, usually in a decoction. Just like the image of a lily, the bulb is moistening and calming.
Combinations
- With zhi mu and raw rehmannia in the recovery phase of febrile illnesses with exhaustion and restlessness
Caution: Not with wind-cold with phlegm or diarrhoea from spleen deficiency.
Folklore and herbal magic
Symbolic meanings from folk use and modern herbal magic. These are handed-down associations, not effects.
Protection, lifting curses, cycles, rebirth, truth, antidote to love.
- Ways to prepare herbs
- Decoction
- Formulas
- Bai he gu jin tang