Bidens tripartita, Water Agrimony, Lang Ba Cao 狼杷草

Water Agrimony, Bur Beggarsticks, Bur Marigold, Bastard Hemp
Hepatorum, Eupatorium
Lang Ba Cao (TCM)

Bidens tripartita
Korsmo, E., Unkrauttaflen – Weed plates – Planches des mauvaises herbes – Ugressplansjer (1934)

Botanical name:

Bidens tripartita (syn. B. comosa, B. connata)

Parts used:

Whole Plant in flower

Temperature & Taste:

Cool, dry. Bitter

Uses:

1. Clears Heat, Resists Poison:
-Fever, Malarial Fever (West)
-Swollen Sore Throat, Tonsillitis
-Boils, Abscesses, Furuncles (TCM, West)
-Eczema, Erysipelas (TCM); Itch, Scab (Culpeper) (as a wash externally)
-Snake and Scorpion Bite (TCM, West)

2. Clears Lung Heat, Stops Cough:
-Lung Heat Cough, Bronchitis (TCM); Cough and Catarrh (West)
-Tuberculosis (West, TCM)
-‘Strengthens the Lungs exceedingly’. (Culpeper)

3. Clears Damp-Heat:
-Diarrhea, Dysentery (root is also used)
-Enteritis, Acute Gastroenteritis, Ulcerative Colitis
-Urinary Tract Infections, Edema (TCM, West)
-Gravel, Stones of the Kidney, Bladder or Gall Bladder (West)
-Jaundice, Hepatitis & Liver complaints (TCM, West)
-Childhood Malnutrition
-Cachexia (West)

4. Moves the Blood, Stops Bleeding:
-Amenorrhea (TCM, West); in baths to promote menstruation
-Menstrual disorders
-Uterine hemorrhage (U.S.)
-Heart disorders
-hemorrhages, ruptured blood vessel (West)
-used as a Wound herb in the West.

5. Externally:
-as a wash to Eczema, Dermatitis and similar skin diseases
-beaten and applied to Snake Bite
-beaten herb is applied as a paste to Boils, Abscesses and Swellings
-as a wash or fomentation to Bruises and Wounds
-applied to the Throat for Sore Throat and Tonsillitis
-poultice to hardness of the Spleen and Liver
-Leukorrhea, Candida (topical wash)
-topically for Alopecia
-decoction as a mouthwash for Toothache, or chew the leaf and apply to the gum

NOTE:
The root is used for Dysentery, Erysipelas, and is also indicated for Night-Sweating

Dose:

Powder: 1–3 grams
Infusion: 1 oz. in a pint, taken in wineglassful doses
Decoction: 3–9 grams
Compound Decoction: Water Agrimony (2 oz.), Ginger (1 oz.), decoct in 3 pints down to 1 quart; take in wineglassful doses up to 4 times daily.

Comment:

1. Water Agrimony has been use din East and West, although has never been in widespread use.
2. Culpeper noted it was called Hepatorum because it strengthens the Liver.

Corrective:

Ginger

Main Combinations:

1. Chronic Dysentery:
i. the herb decoction can be used as a stand-alone treatment.
ii. Water Agrimony, Agrimony, Tormentil
2. Bleeding, Water Agrimony, Plantain leaf, Marshmallow, Comfrey root, Water Plantain leaf (equal parts). Simmer 1 oz. of the mix in 1 pint of boiling water for half an hour. Strain, take 1 wineglassful, four times daily. (The Medical Herbalist)

Major Formulas:

Cautions:

Avoid during Pregnancy.