Red-headed Little Immortal is the name of a traditional Chinese medicine. It is the whole plant of Blumea mollis (D. Don) Merr. [Erigeron molle D. Don; Blumea wightiana DC.; B. parvifolia DC.], a member of the Asteraceae family.It is distributed in South China, Southwest China, and regions such as Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Taiwan, and Hunan. It has the therapeutic effects of clearing lung heat, relieving cough, detoxifying, and alleviating pain. It is commonly used to treat lung-heat-induced cough and wheezing, pediatric malnutrition, headaches, chronic rhinitis, pleurisy, stomatitis, and mastitis.
Red-headed Erigeron
Red-headed Little Immortal is the name of a traditional Chinese medicine. It is the whole plant of Blumea mollis (D. Don) Merr. [Erigeron molle D. Don; Blumea wightiana DC.; B. parvifolia DC.], a member of the Asteraceae family.It is distributed in South China, Southwest China, and regions such as Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Taiwan, and Hunan. It has the therapeutic effects of clearing lung heat, relieving cough, detoxifying, and alleviating pain. It is commonly used to treat lung-heat-induced cough and wheezing, pediatric malnutrition, headaches, chronic rhinitis, pleurisy, stomatitis, and mastitis.
Chinese Name : 红头小仙
Aliases : Purple-backed Upside-Down Gourd, Child-Nourishing Herb, Pig Grass, Red-headed Grass
Nature, Flavor & Meridian Tropism : Slightly bitter in taste, neutral in nature. Enters the Lung Meridian
Benefits & Efficacy
Benefits
Clears the lungs and relieves cough; detoxifies and alleviates pain.
Indications
Used for lung-heat-induced cough and wheezing, pediatric malnutrition, headache, chronic sinusitis, pleurisy, stomatitis, and mastitis.
Usage and Dosage
Internal use: Decoct 10–15 g in water; or pound into a paste, mix with boiling water, and hold in the mouth. External use: Use an appropriate amount; decoct in water for washing; or pound to extract juice and apply topically.
Pharmacological Actions
1. Anti-inflammatory effects. 2. Antipyretic effects. 3. Analgesic effects.
Relevant Discussions
*Compendium of Chinese Herbal Medicines*: “Reduces inflammation and fever. Primarily used to treat pneumonia, cough and wheezing, pleurisy, mastitis, and spring-onset wind-heat syndromes.”
Applications
Related Compatibility
1. For treating malnutrition in children: 6 g of downy Artemisia and 1.5 g of Wusuli Wave. Decoct in water and take orally. For extremely thin children, take up to 10 doses; additional ingredients may be added based on symptoms. (*Hunan Materia Medica*)
2. For treating stomatitis: Several leaves of Red-headed Small Immortal. Rub into a paste, mix with boiling water, and hold in the mouth. (*Compendium of Chinese Herbal Medicines*)
3. For eczema and itchy skin: Decoct downy Artemisia for steam baths, or pound fresh leaves into a paste and apply topically. (*Hunan Materia Medica*)
Processing & Preparation
Harvesting & Processing
Harvest in summer and fall; use fresh or cut into sections and sun-dry.
Crude Drug Identification
Properties of Crude Drugs
The main root is thick and straight, with fibrous, forked lateral roots. The stem is branched or, rarely, unbranched; it is grooved and covered with long, soft white hairs, mixed with stalked glandular hairs.Leaves are simple and alternate, with petioles; they are obovate to obovate-oblong, tapering gradually from a wedge-shaped base to a rounded-obtuse apex, with densely fine teeth along the margins; both surfaces are covered with long, silky soft hairs; the midrib is distinctly raised on the underside; lateral veins are arcuate or obliquely ascending; reticulate venation is prominent.The involucre is cylindrical; the involucral bracts are herbaceous, purple or pale red, reflexed after flowering, and pubescent on the abaxial surface; the receptacle is flattened, honeycomb-like, and glabrous. The flowers are purplish-red, or the lower half of the corolla is pale white. The odor is faint, and the taste is slightly bitter.
Botanical Information
Botanical Classification
A plant of the Asteraceae family, *Mullein*.
Morphological Characteristics
The main root is thick and straight, with fibrous, forked lateral roots. The stem is branched or, rarely, unbranched; it is grooved and covered with long, soft white hairs, mixed with stalked glandular hairs.Leaves are simple and alternate, with petioles; they are obovate to obovate-oblong, tapering gradually from a wedge-shaped base to a rounded-obtuse apex, with densely fine teeth along the margins; both surfaces are covered with long, silky soft hairs; the midrib is distinctly raised on the underside; lateral veins are arcuate or obliquely ascending; reticulate venation is prominent.The involucre is cylindrical; the involucral bracts are herbaceous, purple or pale red, reflexed after flowering, and pubescent on the abaxial surface; the receptacle is flattened, honeycomb-like, and glabrous. The flowers are purplish-red, or the lower half of the corolla is pale white. The odor is faint, and the taste is slightly bitter.
Distribution Area
Southern and southwestern China, as well as Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Taiwan, and Hunan.