Ji Mu

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Loropetalum chinense (R.Br.) Oliv.

Pinyin: Ji Mu
Red Fetters Wood

☯ TCM Properties

Category: clearing heat
Temperature: neutral
Taste: bitter, astringent
Meridians: liver, large intestine
Functions:

Clears Heat and removes toxicity; Invigorates the Blood and removes Blood Stasis; Stops bleeding by astringing

Traditional Chinese Uses

Ji Mu (Herba Loropetali, the leaves, flowers and root of Loropetalum chinense, Chinese fringe-flower, Hamamelidaceae) is a neutral heat-clearing folk herb used chiefly for its hemostatic and detoxifying actions. It clears Heat and resolves toxicity for sores, boils, and hot swollen throat, and invigorates the Blood to dispel Blood Stasis in traumatic injury and bruising.

Its most prominent traditional role is to astringe and stop bleeding: the fresh leaves or flowers are applied to wounds for traumatic hemorrhage, and internally it is taken for nosebleed, vomiting or coughing of blood, and bloody dysentery or diarrhea, where its astringent quality also checks damp-heat dysenteric discharge. Fresh material may be pounded for topical use, or the dried herb decocted. As a regional folk medicine outside the standard Pharmacopoeia, dosage and use should follow qualified local practice.

Western Herbalism Properties

Actions:
anti-inflammatoryanalgesic

Botanical Description

Ji Mu is Loropetalum chinense (R.Br.) Oliv. (Hamamelidaceae), Chinese fringe-flower, an evergreen shrub or small tree 2-7 m tall, native to southern China, southern Japan, and northern India. Branchlets are stellate-tomentose; the alternate, distichous, leathery leaves are ovate to elliptic, 2-5 cm long, with an oblique base, entire margins, and pubescent surfaces. In late winter and early spring, axillary clusters of three to eight flowers open simultaneously, each with four narrow, ribbon-like, white to creamy strap-shaped petals 1.5-2 cm long, giving the species a striking fringed appearance. A purple-leaved cultivar (var. rubrum) is widely planted ornamentally. The woody capsule splits at maturity, ejecting two glossy black seeds. The leaves, bark, and root are used in southern Chinese folk medicine to stop bleeding, reduce inflammation, treat dysentery, and as a topical poultice for burns and wounds, owing in part to tannin content.

Dosage

FormAmount Frequency Duration Population Notes
decoction 6-15g Daily

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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