Tian Ma (Tall Gastrodia Tuber)

Name

Tian Ma (Rhizoma Gastrodiae), recorded in the Shennong Bencao Jing.

Source and quality

Plant

The dried tuber of Gastrodia elata Bl., family Orchidaceae.

Where it is grown

Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces.

Harvest

Lifted in winter or spring. Winter lifting gives Dong Ma, which is the better grade; spring lifting gives Chun Ma, of poorer quality.

Smell and taste

Distinctive smell; sweet.

Better grade

Solid. One end bears withered buds with a brownish-red color, commonly called Ying Ge Zhui; the other end shows the rounded umbiliform scar left where it separated from the mother plant. The surface has natural transverse striations, the color is yellow-white, the cross-section is bright, and the center is hollow-free.

Processing

Lifted, the stem and fibrous roots removed, washed and dried at low temperature; alternatively soaked until thoroughly moist and then sliced, used raw.

Nature and action

Sweet and neutral; enters the liver channel. Extinguishes wind and stops spasm, pacifies liver yang, and dispels wind and unblocks the collaterals.

When it is used

Stirring of liver wind

Because it is sweet, moistening and mild, with a good gentle action of extinguishing wind and stopping spasm, it is combined with other herbs to treat stirring of liver wind, fright epilepsy and convulsions of any origin, whether heat or cold, deficiency or excess.

For acute infantile convulsions it is often combined with herbs that clear the liver, extinguish wind and stop spasm, such as Ling Yang Jiao, Gou Teng and Quan Xie. For chronic infantile convulsions from spleen deficiency it is combined with herbs that tonify the spleen and stomach with herbs that extinguish wind and stop spasm, such as Ren Shen, Bai Zhu and Jiang Can. For an epileptic attack from wind-phlegm obstruction it is combined with herbs that resolve phlegm and extinguish wind to bring the patient round, such as Dan Nan Xing, Quan Xie and Shi Chang Pu.

Liver yang hyperactivity

It is the key herb for dizziness and headache, because it extinguishes liver wind and pacifies liver yang, and it is combined with other herbs according to the kind of dizziness and headache.

For dizziness and headache from hyperactivity of liver yang it is often combined with herbs that clear heat and pacify the liver, as with Gou Teng, Shi Jue Ming and Huang Qin in Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin. For dizziness and headache from upward disturbance by wind-phlegm it is often combined with herbs that invigorate the spleen, dry dampness and resolve phlegm, as with Ban Xia, Bai Zhu and Fu Ling in Ban Xia Bai Zhu Tian Ma Tang. For migraine it is often combined with herbs that extinguish wind, stop spasm, dispel wind and relieve pain, such as Chuan Xiong in Chuan Xiong Wan.

Wind stroke and wind-damp painful obstruction

It dispels exogenous wind and unblocks the collaterals. Where wind attacks the channels, with paralysis and numbness of the limbs, it is often combined with herbs that nourish qi and blood, move the blood and unblock the collaterals, such as Huang Qi, Dang Gui and Chuan Xiong. For wind-damp painful obstruction, with pain and limited flexion and extension of the joints, it is often combined with herbs that dispel wind and dampness, such as Qin Jiao, Qiang Huo and Sang Zhi.

Dose

Decoction 3~10 g. As powder, 1~1.5 g.