Pyrrosia leaf (Shiwei)
Pyrrosia shearei (Bak.) Ching (Fam. Polypodiaceae)
Pharmaceutical Name: Folium Pyrrosiae
Botanical Name: 1. Pyrrosia shearei (Bak.) Ching; 2. Pyrrosia petiolosa (Christ) Ching; 3. Pyrrosia lingua (Thunb.) Farwell (Fam. Polypodiaceae)
Common Name: Pyrrosia leaf.
Source of Earliest Record: Shennong Bencao Jing.
Part Used & Method for Pharmaceutical Preparations: The leaves are gathered all year round. They are cleaned, dried in the sun and cut into small pieces.
Properties & Taste: Bitter or sweet and slightly cold.
Meridians: Lung and urinary bladder.
Functions: Diuretic, used in the treatment of gonorrhea, clears Heat, relieves cough, and arrests bleeding.
Indications & Combinations:
1. For gonorrhea with hematuria, it is used with Pollen Typhae (Pu Huang).
2. For cough and asthma due to Excess Lung Heat, it is used with Semen Arecae (Bing Lang) in “Pyrrosiae Powder” (Shi Wei San).
3. For metrorrhagia, hemoptysis, and epistaxis, itcan be used to arrest bleeding.
Dosage: 5-10 g, decocted in water for an oral dose.
