Clear Heat / Purge Fire: Lu Gen

Today I started thinking more deeply about where all these herbs in our little baggies came from. I mean before Mayway got them. I wish that we had all the time in the world to learn herbs. To farm them alongside some very old man or woman who knew each plant like they knew an old friend. It is from this place that I began thinking about Lu Gen -- one of the most interesting looking herbs (I think) we've seen so far. I ended up finding out far more than perhaps anyone wants to know about Phragmites communis rhizome, "Lu Gen."

Historical Uses and Distribution
Lu Gen's Latin name is Phragmites communis rhizome. Simply put, it is a common reed. They grow all over the United States, and all over most of the world. In fact, Lu Gen is currently the most widespread plant in the world. You have seen them before, I am sure. In marshy areas they are the grassy looking reeds and they can be invasive. Many consider them weeds. Lu Gen has been used throughout human history for many purposes -- people have woven them together to make mats, used beds of reeds to filter fouled water (like a septic field), and the Native Americans used them for at least seventy-five different purposes including as arrow shafts, flutes, whistles, pipestems, cigarettes, and for matting. The plant was also made into a flour for bread, used to make woven frames for drying berries, and sewn into mats for house cover in the summer; the reeds have been used as pen quills in Europe, and were eaten by aboriginal Australian and Tasmanian people who also used the plant for raft ornaments and string.


Evidence of use of Phragmites in China goes back centuries as well. It seems the plant may have been involved in religious rituals, and Confucius also mentions this plant as being used to make mats and baskets that offerings for the gods were placed on.


Above: Bagpipes (the musical instrument) made from Lu Gen.

Today there is some talk about turning the common reed into biofuel. We certainly have enough of it, and since it is already growing invasively we wouldn't have to supplant food crops to create fuel.

Also today, environmentalists and biologists are studying phragmites quite a bit in an attempt to understand how helpful or hurtful they are to wetland environments. Many birds make nests in the "fields" of reeds, for example, or use the plant for nesting material. But the plant is strongly invasive--it can take over. Recently some scientists discovered that Lu Gen has a secret weapon that helps it to take over -- it releases a toxic acid from its roots that disintegrates the proteins in the roots of neighboring plants, thus killing them off.

Lu Gen has been a part of human culture for a very, very long time, and shows no signs of going away.

Medicinal Qualities
As far as Lu Gen's medicinal qualities, it is an herb that clears heat and generates fluids. It is said that fresh Lu Gen is better at generating fluids that dried Lu Gen (which makes a lot of sense to me). The plant also clears heat by promoting urination (helps with urinary tract infections) and encourages the expression of rashes. It is considered to be sweet and cold, and travels the lung and stomach channels.

Breaking these medicinal aspects down to help me remember...

It is sweet: The plant contains up to 5% sugar and has been used as a sweetener. When boiled a sugary gum comes out, which can then be rolled into balls and eaten like a candy. I chewed on it. It does taste sweet.

Cold: The plant is so cold that its stem has reportedly been used as a refrigerant. (And it is so cold, it shouldn't be taken if there is cold in the SP/ST.)

Fluid Generating: It grows as a wetland plant. I assume that a large percentage of the plant is water. It is more fluid generating in its fresh form, than dried, which makes sense. Through the generation of fluids, it helps to clear heat.

Promotes Urination: Because it is fluid generating, it also promotes urination. Promoting urination helps to drain fire.

Encourages rashes to surface: This seems to go hand in hand with the purging fire aspect. Through clear heat and draining fire, rashes are expressed which, I assume, also help to clear heat.

Other symptoms the clearing heat function is said to resolve: irritability, high fever, thirst; clearing lung heat (cough, thick yellow sputum); and clearing stomach heat (vomiting, belching).

Has been used topically for insect bites, and has been used as a medicine for diabetes, leukemia, and breast cancer.

Standard dosage is 15 to 30 grams. Used alone the dosage is 60 grams.

Clear Heat / Purge Fire: Jue Ming Zi

Above: the not very photogenic Jue Ming Zi. Looks kind of like poop, and it'll help you go, too!



Today I took my herb of the day, Jue Ming Zi (Cassia seed), with me and my friend Anuj (the birder) to Sunol Regional Park. I let Anuj know that throughout the course of the day he would probably be getting to know Jue Ming Zi as well since I would be conferring with it often. I was hoping I could convince him to try some, so I went through the list of indications to see if Anuj would be a good candidate. I started with the questions as we drove down 580 at the crack of dawn in an old borrowed Toyota Corolla that belongs to the Bulgarians who live down the street from Anuj:

Me: Are you constipated?
Anuj: Um. No.
Me: Hm.
Anuj: The birding is really good at Sunol.
Me: Do you have high blood pressure?
Anuj: Um. No.
Me: Hm.
Anuj: I've been there twice before. They have a lot of nesting birds.
Me: Oh, fun....How's your cholesterol?
Anuj: I don't know. I should get it checked.
Me: Yeah, you should...have you been overly hot and irritable lately?
Anuj: No! I've been really happy! (giggling)
Me: Hm.
(Anuj begins singing a song made up by his father)
Me: Let me see your eyes. Are they red?
(Borrowed car swerves as Anuj looks at me with very clear, wide open eyes)
Me: Nope. They look good. I don't think you have wind heat in the liver or errant liver yang.
Anuj: What's that?

I explain and we both decide that Jue Ming Zi is definitely not the right herb for Anuj. So I reach into the bag myself and bite on one of the little brown, moist-looking, cylindrical seeds.

Me: "Ew! They're not kidding. Those ARE bitter. Hm. And a little salty, but I don't taste the sweet."
Anuj: What's the name of the plant they come from again?
Me: Cassia.
Anuj: Caaasssia. That's a pretty name.

Anuj begins singing a Cassia seed song that he has just made up and then points out a Turkey Vulture in the sky as we almost swerve off the road again. I make him a deal that I will put the herbs away if he waits til we get to the park before he starts birding. Deal. Sort of. I keep looking at my herb, but quietly, and he tries to bird without driving off the highway. We both miss the signs signaling the exit for Sunol. Following the brief detour we arrive at Sunol, spot thirty-two species of birds (plus one deer, a cat, lots of coyote poop--pretty dry poop, I might add. A candidate perhaps, for Jue Ming Zi?--and many lizards).

Once at home I read into Jue Ming Zi a little more and find it is compared to Qing Xiang Zi (the herb I wrote about on Thursday) because they are both heat clearing herbs that help red eyes. Turns out that Jue Ming Zi is more nourishing -- it does go to the Kidney and Large Intestine channels, in addition to the Liver channel -- than Qing Xiang Zi. Looking at the physical appearance of both herbs, this makes sense. Jue Ming Zi is plumper and moister looking than the granular little Qing Xiang seeds. But Qing Xiang can dilate the pupils, a superhero trick not in Jue Ming Zi's repertoire.

They grow in pods, like peas, from a pretty plant that flowers:


Interesting factoid is that one website claims Jue Ming Zi can be used as a substitute for coffee. It kind of looks like coffee, too.

Here is another usage I found for Cassia Seed -- The Cassia Seed pillow!

Cassia Seed Pillows of Healthy Series Eyesight-Improving Pillows -- The Cassia Seed Pillows are stuffed with cassia seeds and other yin-natured Chinese herbs, which are refined with special techniques. It is recorded in Chinese Materia Medica that cassia seeds can improve eyesight, calm the nerves, rectify heat, refresh the brain, clear the liver, tonify the kidneys, decrease the blood pressure, open the bowels, and lose weight. The beads on the surface massage the head, improving the blood circulation of the head and reinforcing memory. The Cassia Seed Pillows are cool in summer, but warm in winter. The unique design of socket structure offers high air permeability, improves the support to the neck, and protects the cervical vertebrae. Buckwheat husk, middle hollow cotton and other fillings are filled in the double layered pillows. Special notes: Cassia seeds are widely used in physical therapies, such as reducing blood pressure, opening the bowels, and losing weight. In addition, the peculiar quality of coolness guarantees the comfortable use in summer, which suits the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Purge Fire / Clear Heat: Shan Zhi Zi

UPDATE: I submitted the following question to Dennis and he shared the following response:

QUESTION: I'm wondering why Shan Zhi Zi is not in the "Herbs that clear heat / Cool Blood" category.

RESPONSE: Many of the herbs wear different hats and different authors will place them in various categories. Bensky and Chen both emphasize the Fire purging abilities. Many herbalists pay much attention to its ability to treat not only Fire disorders, but its ability to treat Wood Damp-Heat such as biliary congestion, HTN and emotional symptoms since it works as a sedative.

Shan Zhi Zi is a very pretty and delicate feeling little puffbag of seeds born of the Gardenia. The Latin name is Gardenia jasminoides fruit. A lovely reddish-orange, I gazed at this herb all day long as I carried it around wherever I went, hoping to get to know it better. Funny thing is, though it's pretty--it reminds me of little paper lanterns--try as I might, I had a hard time connecting with it. Perhaps that's because, like many pretty things, it is cold and bitter.

Shan Zhi Zi is not only pretty, but very busy as well. It works primarily in the liver channel but also in the heart, lung, stomach, and san jiao channels. Since those organs aren't as photogenic (well, who knows what the san jiao looks like, but lungs, stomachs and livers aren't very appetizing) above I show only the heart.


As I said, I am having some trouble connecting with the heart (and the liver, lungs, stomach and san jiao) of this cold, bitter herb. The pressure of coming up with some clever story about Shan Zhi Zi is making me hot, irritable, and restless. I have a stifling sensation in my chest now and the stress of it all has given me horribly dribbly pee which got all over the floor. This is all quite traumatic to have to admit.

The upside of my problems--and what a coincidence--is that if I crush these pretty little lanterns--and right now, believe me, I feel like doing so--and ingest the tiny seeds within, they will rush to my aid; Shan Zhi Zi is very commonly used for such troubles. It will drain my heat, eliminate my restlessness, alleviate this stifling sensation in my chest. It will even allow me to sleep soundly and rid me of my worrisome insomnia. My painful urinary dribbling will begin to nicely flow as Shan Zhi Zi will resolve the dampness in my body. Shan Zhi Zi will cool my bubbling, reckless blood and resolve the toxicity of this post!

Shan Zhi Zi will reach my ying and xue levels and alleviate this rash I am beginning to develop.

But enough about my troubles. If you, or someone you know, is suffering from any of these same troubles, or additional problems such as blood stasis (apply topically with vinegar or egg white), or a "flooding syndrome" (fancy language for heavy periods and / or fibroids) you can use this very dynamic--and pretty--herb to help bring your body back into balance. One word of warning, if you have deficient cold of the spleen and stomach you should look for a different solution to your troubles than Shan Zhi Zi; also, if you get overly zealous about this herb and take more than 6 to 9 grams, it might make you crap your pants.

Here's a more concise and straightforward version of Zhi Zi (which it is often called):

Purge Fire/ Clear Heat: Qing Xiang Zi

Qing Xiang Zi looks like gunpowder or poppy seeds.

It is used to drain liver fire and wind heat, just as gunpowder releases a fire. It is also sweet by nature, like poppy seeds. When I was a little girl my sister told me that poppy seeds were spent coffee grounds. I wouldn’t eat poppy seeds after that for many years until one day I realized what a stupid thing she had told me. That wasn’t so sweet, but it was slightly cold – just like Qing Xiang Zi. If I remember correctly, the word Qing in Chinese means green-blue, the color associated with the liver. And this is the organ channel that Qing Xiang Zi goes to. Zi means seed, and it is indeed a seed. They are cool looking, which is appropriate, because they are also cool by nature.

When the liver is on fire, the fire will overflow upwards, showing in your eyes which become red and painful, obstructing your literal, and figurative, vision. Taking this cool gunpowder seed will help to improve your vision, by removing the fire. How does it do this? I don’t know. Maybe it helps by attracting the fire to itself, like gunpowder does, and then releasing it in a big blast.

It is also good for Liver yang rising, another fiery condition that will create heat in your eyes, and Qing Xiang Zi is also good for removing that deficient heat—causing hypertension—as well.

The Latin name for the seed is “Celosia argentea seed.” Celosia is actually a beautiful flower that is often flaming red in color and likes to grow in full sun – perhaps this is why it knows how to cool things down. It is also known by the name cockscomb. The seed is traditionally harvested in the fall, after the flowers are done blooming and go to seed.

The main chemical ingredient of the seed is celosiaol, which dilates the pupil of the eye.

Three to fifteen grams should be taken, decocted in water or tea.