Kuan Dong Hua (Common Coltsfoot Flower)

Naming

Kuan Dong Hua (Flos Farfarae)——Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing (Shen Nong’s Herbal)

The Processing of 款冬花

Origin

The dry flower bud of perennial herb Tussilago farfara L. of family Composite.

Location

Henan, Gansu and Shanxi provinces and so on in China.

Harvest

Collected in December when the flower is not growing out from the underneath of the ground before the soil is frozen.

The actual smell and taste

Fragrant smell, slightly pungent and bitter taste, stickiness. When chewed, it feels like cotton.

Best quality

Large, stout and strong flower, purple red, short footstalk or without footstalk.

Processing

Removed footstalk and silt, then dried in the shade; stir-baked with honey.

The Effect of 款冬花

Property

Pungent, slightly bitter, slightly sweet, warm; lung meridian entered.

Actions

Moisten lung to resolve phlegm and stop cough.

Indications

Several kinds of cough

It is always stir-baked with honey for use. It has the main action of resolving phlegm and stopping cough, so it is indicated for cough caused by different reasons. The property and actions of Kuan Dong Hua are similar to Zi Wan, but the latter is good at resolving phlegm and the former is good at stopping cough, so they are mutually reinforced. For cough and dyspnea due to wind-cold and phlegm-fluid retention, it is often combined with wind-cold-dispersing and phlegm-dispelling and cough-stopping herbs. For instance, it is combined with Zi Wan, Xi Xin, Ban Xia, Sheng Jiang and Ma Huang and so on, in She Gan Ma Huang Tang, from Jin Kui Yao Lue. For cough predominant in heat, it is combined with lung-clearing and phlegm-resolving herbs, such as Zhi Mu, Sang Bai Pi and Bei Mu and so on. For persistent cough due to lung qi deficiency, it is combined with lung-qi-tonifying herbs, such as Ren Shen, Shan Yao and Huang Qi, etc. For dryness cough due to yin deficiency, it is combined with yin-nourishing and lung-moistening herbs to stop cough, such as Sha Shen and Mai Dong, etc.

Dosage and Administrations

Decoct 3~10 g. Make ointment or pills and powder. It is mostly stir-baked with honey.