Herbs that Relieve Cough and Asthma: Bai Guo / Gingko

白果

Bai Guo is the Gingko Biloba nut. It translates into "White Fruit." I remember the first Gingko tree I ever saw. It grew next to the library in the little Ohio town where I grew up. Longing for a wild I never knew really existed, I became enchanted with that tree with its strange fan-shaped leaves. I think that I felt closer to that tree than I did to my messed up family. The tree stood alone, so quiet, refined, unexpected, magical.

Not surprisingly, the Gingko is unlike any other tree in existance. Unrelated to any other living tree, it is considered to be a "living fossil" because it has been around for about 270 million years in basically the same form. It has been the sole survivor of its family since the Pliocene. I wonder if it is lonely? Individual Gingko trees can, and have, lived for 3,000 years.

Funny that current usage shows Gingko is helpful in the prevention of memory loss and it is also used to sharpen ones attention. Maybe this tree, the one who has lived for so long and seen so much, is trying to tell us something?

There was a long history in China of cultivation of the Gingko tree by monks. I think the monks must have known there was something very special about these trees. Because the tree is so old, they once grew wild in virtually every part of the world (before, I imagine, the continents floated apart), but now grow wild only in China.



In Bensky, Bai Guo is listed in the category "Herbs that Stabilize and Bind."

Bai Guo is the only herb in this category that in addition to going to the Lung, goes to the Kidney channel. Therefore, it is good for chronic, (deficient?) coughs (contraindicated for excess coughs) and is said to "preserve the lungs" and to "arrest wheezing."

A second function, related to the Kidney channel, is that it eliminates damp, stops discharge, and contains the urine--used in cases of deficiency and damp-heat vaginal discharge and turbid urine.

By nature, Bai Guo is sweet, bitter, astringent, and slightly toxic (must not be used in large dosages).