This product is the bark of the leguminous plant Albizia (Albizia julibrissin Durazz.). It is distributed in South China, Southwest China, East China, Northeast China, as well as Hebei, Henan, and Hubei provinces. It is harvested during summer and autumn; the bark is peeled off and dried in the sun. The flowers or flower buds of this plant (Albizia flower) are also used for medicinal purposes.

bubble_chart Morphological Characteristics

Deciduous tree, up to 10 meters or more in height. Trunk gray-black; twigs glabrous, with edges. Bipinnately compound leaves, alternate; total petiole 3-5 cm long; leaf length 9-23 cm, with 5-15 pairs of pinnae; leaflets 11-30 pairs, sessile; leaflet blades sickle-shaped rectangular, 5-12 mm long, apex short-pointed, base truncate, asymmetrical, entire, with marginal hairs, underside midvein with short pubescence, leaflets closing at night; stipules linear-lanceolate. Capitate inflorescences borne at branch tips, peduncles pubescent; flowers pale red; calyx tubular, about 2 mm long, apex 5-toothed, externally pubescent; corolla fistula disease funnel-shaped, about 6 mm long, externally pubescent, apex 5-lobed, lobes triangular-ovate; stamens numerous, fused at base, filaments slender, upper part pale red, about 3 times or more the length of the corolla tube; ovary superior, style nearly as long as filaments, stigma cylindrical. Pods flat, 8-15 cm long, 1-2.5 cm wide, yellowish-brown, pubescent when young, gradually shedding, usually indehiscent. Seeds elliptical and flat, brown. Flowering period June-August. Fruiting period August-October. Grows on slopes, roadsides, often cultivated in gardens.

Medicinal material: Dried bark, cylindrical or semi-cylindrical, up to 30 cm or more in length, 1-2 mm thick, outer surface rough, gray-green or gray-brown, scattered with transverse fine cracks, slightly longitudinally wrinkled, lenticels circular or oblong, reddish-brown. Inner surface pale brown or pale yellow, with fine dense longitudinal striations. Texture hard and brittle, fracture pale yellow, fibrous. Slightly aromatic, taste mild. Best quality is thin, uniform, tender and smooth bark.

bubble_chart Properties and Meridians

Sweet, neutral.

1. Benjing: sweet, neutral.
2. Bencao Huiyan: sweet, warm neutral.

1. Leigong Paozhi Yaoxing Jie: act on heart channel.
2. Bencao Zaixin: act on heart and liver channels.

bubble_chart Efficacy

Relieve depression, harmonize blood, calm the mind, and reduce abscesses and swelling.

bubble_chart Indications

Treats restlessness, depression, insomnia, lung abscess, abscesses and swellings, scrofula, and tendon fractures.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Benjing: "Maintains the peace of the five zang-organs, harmonizes the heart and mind, brings joy and eliminates worries."
2. Bencao Shiyi: "Kills worms."
3. Rihuazi Bencao: "Soft extract, reduces abscesses and swelling, and heals bones and tendons."
4. Gangmu: "Harmonizes blood, reduces swelling, and relieves pain."
5. 《Classification of Herbal Medicinal Properties》: "Reduces scrofula."
6. 《Folk Medicine of Animals and Plants》: "Treats cough."
7. Nanchuan《Common Chinese Herbal Medicine Manual》: "Treats heart qi agitation, insomnia, and muscular spasm."

bubble_chart Usage and Dosage

For internal use: decoct in water, 1.5-3 qian; or take as powder. For external use: grind into powder and apply topically.

bubble_chart Processing and Storage

Soak and clean in clear water, remove, steam until moist, then cut into equal-sized strips, and finally dice or slice, then dry.

bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology

The bark contains saponins, tannins, and other compounds. The seeds contain amino acids such as albizzine and S-(2-carboxyethyl)-L-cysteine. Fresh leaves collected in mid-May contain 189 mg% of vitamin C.

bubble_chart Selected Prescriptions

1. To treat cough with mild fever, irritability, and chest roughness, it is lung abscess. Take a palm-sized piece of silktree albizzia bark, finely chop it, boil with three liters of water until reduced to one liter, and divide into three doses. (Qianjin Fang Huanghun Tang)
2. To treat lung abscess that does not heal for a long time: silktree albizia bark and japanese ampelopsis root. Boil these two ingredients together and take as a decoction. (Jingyue Quanshu Hehuan Yin)
3. To treat injuries and damage to muscles and bones: take four taels of night-blooming cereus bark (dried and powdered), mix with one qian each of musk and frankincense. Take three large qian doses, mixed with warm wine, on an empty stomach. (Xu Benshi Fang)
4. To treat fractures from injuries: take four taels of night-blooming cereus (remove the rough bark, take the white bark, chop finely, and fry until yellow-black), and one tael of mustard seeds (fried). Grind into a fine powder, mix with wine, and take at night; apply the coarse residue to the wound and bandage. This medicine is specifically for setting bones. (Bai Yi Xuanfang)
5. To treat spider bite wounds: grind silktree albizia bark into powder, mix with ink from the bottom of a pot, and apply with raw oil. (Bencao Shiyi)