Dendrobium nobile, Shi Hu 石斛
Shi Hu (TCM)Pu shel rtse པུ་ཤེལ་རྩི (Tibet)
Dendobium nobileAtlas des plantes de jardins, Klincksieck, 1896
Above: Bunches of freshly harvested Dendrobium Right: fresh, stripped and bunched stems (Chengdu Medicine Market, Adam, 2017) |
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Botanical name:
Dendrobium spp.
D. nobile, D. candidum, D. fimbriatum are listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia.
The sources for Dendrobium Shi Hu are many and complex:
- Jin Chai Shi Hu (Golden Hairpin Dendrobium:
D. linawianum
D. nobile - Er Huan Shi Hu (Earring Dendrobium):
D. candidum
D. hercoglossum
D. moniliforme - Ma Pien Shi Hu (Horsewhip Dendrobium):
D. chrysanthem
D. denneanum
D. fimbriatum
D. hancockii - Huang Cao Shi Hu (Yellow Dendrobium):
D. aduncum
D. crepidatum
D. devonianum
D. houshanense
D. lohohense
D. wilsonii - Yue Ke Shi Hu (Melon Dendrobium):
D. bellatulum
D. crispulum
D. crumentatum
D. kwangtungense
D. lindleyi
D. macraei [syn. Flickingeria fimbriata]
D. pulchellum
D. thyrsiflorum
Parts used:
Herb / stem, fresh or dried
Temperature & Taste:
Cool, moist. Sweet, slightly Salty
Classifications:
N. Yin Tonics
Uses:
1. Nourishes, Yin, Generates Fluids, Clears Heat: (TCM, Tibet)
-Fever from Yin deficiency; Hectic Fever
-Dry Mouth, severe Thirst
-in Tibet for urge to vomit (from excess Stomach heat)
2. Nourishes Kidney Yin: (TCM, Tibet)
-Kidney Yin deficiency with low-grade Fever, Thirst, poor vision, aches and pains, red tongue with no coating
-in Tibet for obstructions of the Urinary passages
-‘tonifies the consumptive condition of the Five Viscera’. (Shen Nong Ben Cao)
3. Strengthens the Kidneys, Nourishes Essence: (TCM)
-weakness of the Lower back and legs
-Dizziness or chronic Headache
-failing Vision and Night-blindness
-‘enhances male sexuality and reinforces Jing (Vital Essence).’ (Shen Nong Ben Cao)
-‘makes one feel happy and vigorous and able to enjoy long life’. (Ming Yi Bie Lu)
-‘heightens intelligence’ (Da Ming)
Dose:
Decoction: 6–12 grams; 15–45 grams of the fresh herb can be used.
The fresh herb or juice is occasionally used in China and is better to clear Heat and generate fluids.
Preparation:
Generally used in its unprepared form.
1. The stem may be soaked overnight in wine, then dried.
Substitute:
In Tibetan Medicine, Coelogyne corymbosa is used as a type of Pu shel rtse.
Main Combinations:
1. Stomach Yin deficiency, with Stomach discomfort or burning pain, poor appetite and a patchy tongue, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Soloman’s Seal (Yu Zhu).
2. Low-Grade fever, thirst, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Rehmannia Sheng Di Huang and Figwort (Xuan Shen)
3. High fever, Toxic fever, acute and chronic Fever, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Red and White Sandalwood, Triphala, Camphor, Meconopsis, Tabasheer (as in Camphor 25 of Tibetan Medicine)
4. Dry mouth, low-grade Fever, with Fatigue:
i. Dendrobium Shi Hu with Astragalus Huang Qi
ii. Dendrobium Shi Hu with Rehmannia Sheng Di, Ophiopogon Mai Men Dong, Trichosanthes root (Tian Hua Fen) (as in Qing Re Bao Jing Fa)
5. Lung heat with Spleen deficiency, Dendrobium Shi Hu (6 grams), fresh Ginger (1 slice). Drink as a tea. (Ben Cao Gang Mu)
6. Cough from Yin deficiency with Heat, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Lilium Bai He, Mulberry root bark (Sang Bai Pi)
7. Kidney Yin deficiency, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Rehmannia Shu Di Huang and Cornus Shan Zhu Yu
8. Yin deficiency with Irritability, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Soloman’s Seal (Yu Zhu), Ophiopogon Mai Men Dong
9. Diabetes from Stomach Heat and Kidney Yin deficiency, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Gypsum (Shi Gao), Trichosanthes root (Tian Hua Fen), Ophiopgon Mai Men Dong, Adenophora Nan Sha Shen (as in Qu Fan Yang Wei Tang)
10. Cold-Damp Rheumatism, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Aconitum Fu Zi, Acanthopanax Wu Jia Pi, Cyathula Niu Xi, Licorice, Poria Fu Ling, Saposhnikovia Fang Feng. (as in Ba Ji Tang from Wonderful Well-Tried Prescriptions)
11. Liver heat, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Emblic Myrobalan, Picrorhiza, Swertia (Tibetan Medicine)
12. Poor, Blurred or Failing Vision, Dizziness, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Lycium Gou Qi Zi (Goji) and Dodder seed (Tu Si Zi)
13.. Weakness of the Lower Back and Legs, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Eucommia Du Zhong and Achyranthes Niu Xi.
Major Formulas:
Di Huang Yin Zi
Qing Re Bao Jing Fa
Qing Shu Yi Qi Tang
Qing Zao Run Chang Tang
Qu Fan Yang Wei Tang
Camphor 25 (Tibetan Medicine)
Emblic 25 (Skyu ru nyer lnga) (Tibetan Medicine)
Cautions:
1. Cool and moist, it is apt to increase Dampness.
2. Not used in Spleen deficiency with loose stool and a greasy tongue coating.
CITES listing:
This medicine is listed as endangered on CITES. However, it is farmed on a large scale for medicine and as an ornamental.