Mei Gui Hua
English Name: rugosa rose, young flower of the Chinese rose
Pharmaceutical Name: Flos Rosae Rugosae
Medica Category: Qi-Regulating Herbs
Properties: Mei Gui Hua enters the Liver and Spleen channels; it is sweet in nature and neutral in temperature.
What is Mei Gui Hua?:
The Chinese Herb Mei Gui Hua is the young flower of a deciduous shrub that grows wild in cooler climes and dry soils of Northern China, Korea, Japan, and Eastern Russia (Rosa Rugosa Thunb.). It blooms primarily from April through to mid-summer with white or pink 5-petaled blossoms. The buds are harvested and then dried for use as medicine.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapeutic Actions of Mei Gui Hua:
Mei Gui Hua is a mild qi-regulator that promotes the movement of qi and relieves constraint. It is used to harmonize the Liver-Spleen relationship when it is out of balance, with such clinical presentations as: stifiling sensations in the chest, abdominal bloating, flank/epigastric pain, irregular menses, and breast tenderness (usually as an assistant as its actions are gentle and subtle).