Bai Tou Weng looks messy. The other root herbs in this Relieve Toxicity group look nice and clean and neat. But what do you expect for an herb whose job it is to treat "hot dysenteric disorders"? If you have a heat toxic accumulating in clumps in your stomach and large intestine, the bitter cold nature of Bai Tou Weng will clear them out! Key word here is Dysentery (which is a catch-all word for diarrhea and sometimes vomiting of blood due to some sort of parasite, bacteria, etc. It is also known as "Traveler's Diarrhea").
Malarial disorders also apply. I've never had malaria, so I looked it up. Here are its symptoms:
- Fever.
- Chills.
- Headache.
- Sweats.
- Fatigue.
- Nausea and vomiting
There are two other herbs in this group that can provide relief from dysentery: Ma Chi Xian and Ya Dan Zi. Bensky speaks to the fact that these herbs all pretty much do the same thing, but they each have their special powers:
Ma Chi Xian: for bloody and mucus-y diarrhea (power to cool blood, stop bleeding)
Ya Dan Zi: for chronic, reoccurring diarrhea that alternates between mild and severe (this one also noted for malaria)
Bai Tou Weng: Useful in treating both types of dysenteric disorder! Good to know!
About the plant:
I found this interesting description for Bai Tou Weng (pulsatilla chinensis):
Pulsatilla chinensis is A greedy plant, inhibiting the growth of nearby plants, especially legumes,but a useful root with nickname "White Haired Old Man". Why "White Haired Old Man"? Because it is "found everywhere" with "white hair near its root just like an old white-haired man." "Bai" means white, "Tou" means head, and "Weng" means elderly person.
Look how pretty it is:
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