Reed rhizome (lu gen)

Phragmites australis (syn. P. communis)

Traditionally attributed effects: cools heat and moistens in thirst, cough with yellow phlegm, vomiting from stomach heat and painful urination.

Safety notes

Not with a weak spleen and stomach from cold. Traditional use is no proof of effectiveness; if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or have a medical condition, consult a doctor or pharmacist.

Preparation

Rhizome, preferably fresh. Usually as a decoction, together with other herbs.

Use in traditions

Described in the classical Chinese materia medica, in the group 'herbs that cool internal heat'. The fresh rhizome (lu gen) cools heat in the lungs and stomach, for thirst, nausea and cough with yellow phlegm; it is part of Wei Jing Tang. Reed is used all over the world for roofs and mats.

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 materia medica

Nature and taste: sweet, cold
Meridians: lung, stomach

Attributed effects

Cools heat and promotes body fluids in fever with thirst and dehydration, cools the lungs in cough with thick yellow phlegm and lung abscesses, cools the stomach in vomiting and belching and drains heat in painful, dark urination.

Preparation and amount

Traditional dosage: 9–30 g a day, twice as much fresh. The fresh root works best; it is often mistaken for bamboo.

Combinations

With gypsum, ophiopogon and tian hua fen for fever with thirst
With loquat leaf, fresh ginger and bamboo shavings for stomach heat
With cogon grass for heat in lung and stomach

Ways to prepare herbs: Decoction
Formulas: Sang ju yin Yin qiao san

Sources

All herbs from Asia →