Herb

Crabgrass (You / Ma tang)

莸you
1 sourceDigitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.

Recorded for harmonizing the centre and brightening the senses, and for dispersing water-damp swelling and leg-qi.

Source

Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu)卷十六·隰草下·莸·主治（别录）

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：《别录》载马唐调中、明耳目，煎汁明目润肺；藏器谓莸消水气湿痹、脚气顽痹虚肿、小腹急、小便赤涩，绞汁服止消渴。

Nature, flavor & meridians

Nature & flavor: 甘，寒，无毒（藏器谓大寒）。

Citations
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十六·隰草下·莸·集解Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its classification.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十六·隰草下·莸·释名Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its alternate names.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十六·隰草下·莸·气味Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its nature & flavor.
  • Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) · Li Shizhen · 卷十六·隰草下·莸·主治（别录）Cited from Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu) for its traditional functions.