Herb

Rice-paper-plant Pith (Tong cao)

通草tong cao
1 sourceMedulla Tetrapanacis

Disinhibits water and frees urination to relieve strangury and edema, drains lung-heat, and promotes lactation.

Used in 2 formulas

Source

Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu)卷十八·草部·通脱木·主治（李杲·利阴窍五淋）

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：李杲载通脱木利阴窍、治五淋、除水肿癃闭、泻肺；苏颂谓解诸毒虫痛；汪机谓明目退热、下乳催生。李时珍谓入太阴肺经引热下降而利小便、入阳明胃经通气上达而下乳汁。

Nature, flavor & meridians

Nature & flavor: 甘、淡，寒，无毒（通脱木；李杲谓甘、平、降也）。·Meridians: 肺（手太阴）, 胃（足阳明）

Used in formulas
Citations
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十八·草部·蔓草类·通脱木（《法象》）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its classification.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十八·草部·通脱木·释名Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its alternate names.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十八·草部·通脱木·气味Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its nature & flavor.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十八·草部·通脱木·发明（时珍·入太阴肺经利小便）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its meridian tropism.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十八·草部·通脱木·主治（李杲·利阴窍五淋）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十八·草部·通脱木·主治（汪机·下乳催生）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十八·草部·通脱木·气味Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its safety notes.