Herb

Safflower (Hong hua)

红花hong hua
1 sourceFlos Carthami

Quickens the blood and frees menstruation, disperses stasis and relieves pain; in large amounts it breaks blood, in small amounts it nourishes blood.

Source

Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu)卷十五·草部·红蓝花·主治（《开宝》）

References
  • functions_en self-translated from 本草纲目 traditional_functions (public domain; the Chinese tf carries verbatim excerpt_hash citations). No modern work consulted.
  • WHO IST-TCM terminology-aligned for the English rendering.
  • public pharmacopoeia & botanical facts (public-domain reference facts; no proprietary modern source).
Traditional functions

Classical source text (Chinese) — English summary above.

传统中医记载：《开宝》载红蓝花主产后血运口噤、腹内恶血不尽绞痛、胎死腹中，亦主蛊毒；朱震亨谓多用破留血、少用养血；李时珍谓活血润燥、止痛散肿、通经。

Nature, flavor & meridians

Nature & flavor: 辛，温，无毒（《开宝》花）；张元素谓苦温、阴中之阳、入心养血；王好古谓辛而甘苦温、肝经血分药也。·Meridians: 肝（足厥阴）, 心（手少阴）

Citations
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·隰草类·红蓝花（宋《开宝》）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its classification.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·红蓝花·释名Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its alternate names.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·红蓝花·气味（《开宝》花）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its nature & flavor.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·红蓝花·气味（好古·肝经血分药）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its meridian tropism.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·红蓝花·气味（元素·入心养血）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its meridian tropism.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·红蓝花·主治（《开宝》）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·红蓝花·主治（时珍·活血通经）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十五·草部·红蓝花·发明（震亨·多用破留血）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its safety notes.