Zhu Fan Hua Tou
English Name: mirabilis
Pharmaceutical Name: Rhizoma Mirabilidis
Medica Category: Stop-Bleeding Herbs
Properties: Zhu Fan Hua Tou enters the Lung, Stomach, and Urinary Bladder channels; it is sweet, bitter, and astringent in nature
What is Zhu Fan Hua Tou?:
The Chinese Herb Zhu Fan Hua Tou is the dried root of Mirabilis jalapa, a small flowering herb (native to the Americas) that has been naturalized to tropical climes in the Pacific Island and Southeast Asia. In its cultivated, ornamental form it is commonly known as the four o’clock flower because it blooms in the late afternoon/evening and stays open til morning. In TCM, it is the roots that are used medicinally.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapeutic Actions of Zhu Fan Hua Tou:
Zhu Fan Hua Tou invigorates blood and disperses blood stagnation to address peptic and bleeding ulcers, gastritis/gastric bleeding, and hemorrhoids.
Zhu Fan Hua Tou sedates heat and promotes urination to treat dysuria with cloudy/turbid urine and leukorrhea.
–safety note: Zhu Fan Hua Tou is contraindicated during pregnancy.