Feng Wei Cao
English Name: pteris, Chinese brake, spider brake
Literal Translation: “phoenix tail herb”
Pharmaceutical Name: Herba Pteris
Medica Category: Heat-Clearing and Toxin-Eliminating Herbs
Properties: Feng Wei Cao enters the Large Intestine and Urinary Bladder channels; it is bitter in nature and cold in temperature.
What is Feng Wei Cao?:
The Chinese Herb Feng Wei Cao is the dried aerial parts of the plant commonly known as spider brake (Pteris multifida Poir.), a small, evergreen fern plant that often grows in the cracks of sidewalks and masonry. Thought to be native to China, it now ranges across the world in tropical and sub-tropical climes.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapeutic Actions of Feng Wei Cao:
Feng Wei Cao clears heat and drains damp from the Urinary Bladder, Large Intestines, and Spleen to treat dysentery, diarrhea, and painful dysuria.
Feng Wei Cao cools the Blood and eliminates toxins (i.e. clears toxic-heat in the Blood that causes bleeding and cancer).