Daphniphyllum calycinum Benth.

Daphniphyllum calycinum Benth.

Photo by Sze

Latin Name: Daphniphyllum calycinum Benth.; Family Daphniphyllaceae

Synonym Name: Daphniphyllum calleryanum Baill.; Daphniphyllum gaudichaudianum Baill.

English Name: Calyx-shaped Daphniphyllum, Calyx-shaped Tigernanmu

Description: Shrubs, 1.5-4 m tall; branchlets grayish brown, sparsely lenticellate. Petiole 4-8 cm; leaf blade obovate or obovate-elliptic, 12-16 × 4-9 cm, chartaceous, glaucous and inconspicuously papillate abaxially, green and shining adaxially, base broadly cuneate, margin slightly reflexed, apex obtuse or rounded, mucronate; lateral veins 8-11 pairs, visible adaxially, prominent abaxially. Male flowers: pedicel 8-10 mm; calyx discoid, 3- or 4-lobed, lobes broadly triangular; stamens 9 or 10, ca. 3 mm; filaments very short; anthers oblong, laterally compressed, connective exserted. Female flowers: pedicel 5-6 mm; calyx lobes broadly triangular, ca. 1.5 mm; ovary ellipsoidal, 1.5-2 mm; style very short; stigmas 2, recurved. Infructescence 4-5 cm, densely arranged; drupe ovoid-ellipsoidal, ca. 7 × 4 mm, tuberculate, glaucous; calyx and style branches persistent. Fl. Apr-Jun, fr. Aug-Nov.
Distribution: Growing in thickets, or thin forest along riverbanks. Distributed in Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan and etc. The medicinal materials are mainly produced in Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, Yunnan and etc. Mostly self-produced and self-marketing.

Part Used: Medical part: roots, branches and leaves and fruits.

Chinese name: roots: Niuerfenggen. Branches and leaves: Niuerfengzhiye. Fruits: Niuerfengzi.

Harvest & Processing: Roots: collected throughout the year, excavated the root, used fresh or sliced and sundried. Branches and leaves: collected after October, used fresh or cut off and sundried. Fruit: collected from September to November when mature fruits become black blue, and sun-dried.

Chemistry:  Kernel contains alkaloids, such as daphnicaline, daphnicadine and daphnicamine, etc. Fruit contains alkaloids, such as calycinine A, zwiherionic alkaloid and secodaphniphylline, etc.

Properties & Actions: Root, branches and leaves: pungent, bitter, cool, toxic. Fruits: bitter, harsh, neutral, toxic. Root, branches and leaves: clearing heat, detoxifying, relaxing the muscles and activating blood. Branches and leaves: removing wind, relieving pain, detoxifying and dispersing swelling. Fruit: anti-malaria.

Indications & Usage:  Root: common cold, cough, tonsillitis, pain in rheumatic joints, injuries from falls, fractures, venomous snake bites. Branches and leaves: rheumatic ostalgia, pyocutaneous disease and swelling, injuries from falls, venomous snake bites. Fruits: dysentery. Root: oral administration: decocting, 9-15g (double dose for fresh root). External application: prepared decoction for washing. Not use in case of pregnancy. Branches and leaves: external application: prepared decoction for washing; or smashed for application. Fruit: oral administration: decocting, 3-4.5g. Not use in case of pregnancy.

Examples:      

1. Eczema, cytitis, paddy-field dermatitis: calyx-shaped daphniphyllum root or leaves, decoct in water and wash, the effect will be better with spiny knotweed added.

Source:

Chinese Medicinal Material Images Database

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