Leopardplant
StarFarfugium japonicum
Traditionally used for
- Cough & breathing
- Digestion
- Bowel health
- Skin
Cautions & contraindications
- Toxic — professional use only
Western Herbalism Properties
Traditional Uses
In Japanese and Chinese folk medicine the leaves and rhizome of tsuwabuki are applied to wounds, boils, swellings, bruises and eczema and used for diarrhoea and other digestive complaints, while the peeled stalks have been used for cough and for seafood poisoning. The young leaf petioles are also a traditional food, boiled to remove bitterness and prepared as the preserved dish kyarabuki (Japan Tourism Agency; PFAF).
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Botanical Description
Farfugium japonicum, known as leopard plant or tsuwabuki, is a rhizomatous evergreen perennial of the daisy family (Asteraceae) native to streamsides and rocky seashores of Japan, Korea and parts of eastern China. From a thick, fleshy rhizome it forms a loose clump roughly 40–60 cm tall and wide, with long-stalked, glossy, leathery leaves that are rounded to kidney-shaped, slightly fleshy, and up to about 30 cm across; cultivated forms are often spotted or variegated. In autumn it sends up branched flowering stalks bearing several daisy-like heads of bright yellow ray and disc florets well above the foliage. It naturally occupies moist, shaded coastal rocks, cliffs and stream banks, tolerating salt spray. The young leaf stalks are edible after boiling to remove bitterness, but the plant contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids and potent sesquiterpenes, so internal use is approached with caution.
Dosage Calculator
⚖ Dosage Calculator
A weight-based mathematical estimate for Leopardplant. Not a prescription.
⚠ Rule-Based Cautions
These entries come from the deterministic rule tables that gate Verscienta's formula tools — classical pair prohibitions, pregnancy and lactation contraindications, dose ceilings, and drugs outside the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. The botanical-genus entries are different: advisory notes are not part of the safety screen; the Aristolochia genus check is.
From the botanical genus
Farfugium includes species reported to contain hepatotoxic unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids; the content of this species or preparation is not verified here.
Pyrrolizidine-alkaloid genera — advisory note — recorded as Farfugium japonicum. Botanical names: WCVP
- EMA/HMPC/893108/2011 Rev. 1 (2021), Public statement on the use of herbal medicinal products containing toxic, unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) — “extracts of the PA-containing plants Petasites japonicum, Tussilago farfara, Symphytum officinale, Senecio longilobus, Senecio numorensis, Farfugium japonicum and Senecio cannabifolius”
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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