Tendrilled fritillary bulb (Chuanbeimu)
Fritillaria cirrhosa D. Don (Fam. Liliaceae)
Pharmaceutical Name: Bulbus fritillariae cirrhosae
Botanical Name: 1. Fritillaria cirrhosa D. Don; 2. Fritillaria przewalskii Maxim; 3. Fritillaria unibracteataHsiao et K. C. Hsia; 4. Fritillaria delavayiFranch. (Fam. Liliaceae)
Common Name: Tendrilled fritillary bulb.
Source of Earliest Record: Shennong Bencao Jing.
Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: The bulbs are dug in summer and dried in the sun. The bulb bark is removed.
Properties & Taste: Bitter, sweet and slightly cold.
Meridians: Lung and heart.
Functions: 1. To moisten the lungs and resolve phlegm; 2. To stop cough; 3. To clear heat and release nodules.
Indications & Combinations:
1. Cough: a) chronic cough due to lung deficiency manifested as dry cough and dry throat Tendrilled fritillary bulb (Chuanbeimu) is used with Ophiopogon root (Maidong) and Glehnia root (Shashen); b) phlegm-heat cough manifested as yellow and thick sputumTendrilled fritillary bulb (Chuanbeimu) is used with Scutellaria root (Huangqin), Anemarrhena rhizome (Zhimu) and Trichosanthes fruit (Gualou); c) wind-heat coughTendrilled fritillary bulb (Chuanbeimu) is used with Mulberry leaf (Sangye), Peucedanum root (Qianhu) and Apricot seed (Xingren).
2. Scrofula, mastitis and lung abscess:a) scrofula Tendrilled fritillary bulb (Chuanbeimu) is used with Scrophularia (Xuanshen) and Oyster shell (Muli); b) mastitis Tendrilled fritillary bulb (Chuanbeimu) is used with Dandelion herb (Pugongying) and Forsythia fruit (Lianqiao); c) lung abscess Tendrilled fritillary bulb (Chuanbeimu) is used with Houttuynia (Yuxingcao) and Coix seed (Yiyiren).
Dosage: 3-10 g, ground into powder and taken with water, 1–1.5 g each time.
Cautions & Contraindications: This herb cannot be used with Sichuan aconite root (Wutou), as they counteract each other.
