Selaginella uncinata

Species: Selaginella  uncinata

English Name: Peacock spike-moss, Blue Selaginella, Rainbow Moss

Chinese Name: 翠雲草, 藍地柏, 綠絨草

Family: Selaginellaceae

Description:

Named after its striking, iridescent, bluish-green summer foliage that changes to a rusty-rose in the winter months  and notable for its frilly, metallic-blue foliage, Peacock fern is closely related to true ferns, but in its own plant family, the Selaginellaceae. This perennial, trailing plant is native to China. Its creeping stems hug the ground and root as they spread. The scale-like leaves are green with a lustrous cast of blue-green to powdery blue.  No flowers are produced, but this “fern ally” makes spores upon small leafy spikes.

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Ganoderma lucidum

Species: Ganoderma lucidum 

English Name:  Lingzhi Mushroom, Reishi Mushroom

Chinese Name: 靈芝

Family: Ganodermataceae

Description:

The Lingzhi Mushroom  has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 4,000 years to treat liver disorders, high blood pressure, arthritis, and other ailments. It is a polypore mushroom that is soft (when fresh), corky, and flat, with a conspicuous red-varnished, kidney-shaped cap and, depending on specimen age, white to dull brown pores underneath. It lacks gills on its underside and releases its spores through fine pores, leading to its morphological classification as a polypore. Grows wild on decaying logs and tree stumps.  Occurs in six different... Read more »

Magnolia grandiflora

Species: Magnolia grandiflora

English Name: Southern Magnolia

Chinese Name: 荷花玉蘭丶洋玉蘭丶廣玉蘭

Family: Magnoliaceae

Description:

Evergreen large trees, up to 30 m in native place, bark pale brown or grey, thin scaly fissured, twigs, buds, abaxial surfaces of leaves and petioles densely brown or grayish brown tomentellate. Floweare large, solitary, terminal, white, fragrant, similar to lotus flower.

It is mainly cultivated.

Preparation: Flower buds and bark are used. Flower buds are collected in early summer, dried in sun. Bark can be collected in all seasons.

Properties: Acrid in taste, warm in nature.

Actions and Indications: Flowers: expels wind, alleviates pain, lowers blood pressure. Indicated for common cold... Read more »

Pteris semipinnata

Species: Pteris semipinnata

English Name: Half leaf fern

Chinese Name: 半邊旗

Family: Pteridaceae

Description:

Perennial herbs. Rhizomes creeping in soil. Fronds are 2-pinnatipartite, upper margin of most pinnae is entire, lower one deeply divided nearly into rachis, the whole pinna similar to a half leaf (hence the name). It grows on roadsides, streamsides, wet places or in forests.

Preparation: Whole herb used. Collected all year round. Washed and used fresh or dried under the sun.

Properties: Bitter, acrid in taste, cool in nature.

Actions and indications: Clearing heat, removing toxic substance, relieving swelling, and hemorrhage. Indicated for enteritis, icteric hepatitis, conjunctivitis.... Read more »

Cibotium barometz

Species: Cibotium barometz 

English name: Lamb of Tartary/Golden Chiken fern/Wolly fern

Chinese name: 金毛狗、黃毛狗、黃狗頭

Family: Dicksoniaceae. 

Description:

Perennial, large fern (grows to a height of 1m). Rhizomes are stout, creeping in the soil, covered with dense golden-yellow hairs. Fronds are large, tripinnate. It can be found on bank of dicthes, under woods, in damp and shady places.

Preparation: Rhizome and golden hairs are used. Collected all year round. The rhizome should be clear of its golden hairs and fibrous roots, sliced, steamed and dried for storage. Golden hair should be dried for use or ground into power.

Properties: Bitter, sweet in taste,... Read more »

Lygodium japonicum

Species: Lygodium japonicum 

English name: Japanese Climbing Fern

Chinese name: 海金沙、羅網藤、鐵絲藤

Family: Lygodiaceae.

Description:

Herbaceous vines. Rhizomes are creeping, producing rachis. Rachis are stem like, slender, climbing, growing indeterminately and branching many alternate spurs. It grows on hill slopes, woods, in thickets or grasslands.

During controlled burns of wooded areas this fern may act as a fuel ladder which would allow the flames to climb into the canopy and destroy trees. After burns the fern can quickly grow back.

Preparation: Whole herb used. Collected in summer and autumn. Chopped and dried for reserve.

Properties: Sweet in taste cold in nature.

Actions and indications: Clearing heat, removing... Read more »

Dicranopteris pedata

Species: Dicranopteris pedata 

English name: Forked Fern

Chinese name: 芒萁、狼萁

Family: Gleicheniaceae.

Description:

Stem erect or trailing. Rhizome slender, creeping. Leaves sparsely arranged, with rachise branching usually 2-3 times. A dormant bud at each branching point covered with hairs and protected by a pair of leafy bract. A pair of pinnae presented at each branching point as well as at the tip, pinnae lanceolate, pinnatipartite, with several decade pair of lobes, pale-white or grey-blue beneath.

It can be found growing on hillsides and mountain slope.

Preparation: Whole herb, root and stem are used. They can be collected in all seasons, well-washed, used fresh... Read more »

Equisetum debile

Species: Equisetum debile 

English name: Frail Horsetail

Chinese name:  筆管草、纖弱木賊、節骨草、土木賊、木賊

Family: Equisetaceae

Description:

Perennial herbs. Rhizome is black with aerial stems. Leaves are attached at node, forming a sheath around the stem. It grows on damp soil along the bank of streams.

Preparation: The whole herb is used and collected all year round. Washed and dried under the sun.

Properties: Sweet, slightly bitter in taste, mild in nature.

Actions and indications: It is used to clear heat, promote diuresis, clear liver-fire, and to improve vision. Indicated for acute conjunctivitis, icteric hepatitis and urethral stone.

 

References:

Department of Gardens and Green... Read more »

Palhinhaea cernua

Species: Palhinhaea cernua

English name: Nodding clubmoss

Chinese name: 鋪地蜈蚣、垂穗石松、燈籠石松、筯骨草、燈籠草、過山龍

Family: Lycopodiaceae.

Description:

Roots are clustered, with erect, reclining or creeping stems. Its branching is dichotomous with linear-subulate, spirally arranged leaves.

It usually grows on hill slopes or under thickets.

The whole plant is used all year round, and it helps clear the heat, expel damp, relaxing muscle and tendons and relieving hemorrhage promoting the regeneration of tissue. It’s indicated for rheumalgia, traumatic sprain, acute hepatitis, conjunctival congestion, hematemesis, hemafecia, dysentery, enteritis, burn, scald, herpes zoster and rubella.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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