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Dendrobium nobile, Shi Hu 石斛

Shi Hu (TCM)
Pu she rtse  པུ་ཤེལ་རྩི  (Tibet)

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Atlas des plantes de jardins, Klincksieck, 1896

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Above: Bunches of freshly harvested Dendrobium
Right: fresh, stripped and bunched stems
(Chengdu Medicine Market, Adam, 2017)
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Botanical name:
Dendrobium spp.
D. nobile, D. candidum, D. fimbriatum are listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia.
The sources for Dendrobium Shi Hu are many and complex:
  1. Jin Chai Shi Hu (Golden Hairpin Dendrobium:
    D. linawianum
    D. nobile
  2. Er Huan Shi Hu (Earring Dendrobium):
    D. candidum
    D. hercoglossum
    D. moniliforme
  3. Ma Pien Shi Hu (Horsewhip Dendrobium):
    D. chrysanthem
    D. denneanum
    D. fimbriatum
    D. hancockii
  4. Huang Cao Shi Hu (Yellow Dendrobium):
    D. aduncum
    D. crepidatum
    D. devonianum
    D. houshanense
    D. lohohense
    D. wilsonii
  5. Yue Ke Shi Hu (Melon Dendrobium):
    D. bellatulum
    D. crispulum
    D. crumentatum
    D. kwangtungense
    D. lindleyi
    D. macraei [syn. Flickingeria fimbriata]
    D. pulchellum
    D. thyrsiflorum
Tibetan sources list D. nobile and D. moniliforme

Parts used:
Herb / stem, fresh or dried

Temperature & Taste:
Cool, moist. Sweet, slightly Salty

Classifications:
N. Tonics

Uses:
1. Nourishes, Yin, Generates Fluids, Clears Heat: (TCM, Tibet)
-Fever from Yin deficiency; Hectic Fever
-Dry Mouth, severe Thirst
-in Tibet for urge to vomit (from excess Stomach heat)

2. Nourishes Kidney Yin: (TCM, Tibet)
-Kidney Yin deficiency with low-grade Fever, Thirst, poor vision, aches and pains, red tongue with no coating
-in Tibet for obstructions of the Urinary passages

3. Strengthens the Kidneys, Nourishes Essence: (TCM)
-weakness of the Lower back and legs
-Dizziness or chronic Headache
-failing Vision and Night-blindness

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DOSE:
6–12 grams in Decoction; 15–45 grams of the fresh herb can be used.
The fresh herb or juice is occasionally used in China.

Main Combinations:
1. Stomach Yin deficiency, with Stomach discomfort or burning pain, poor appetite and a patchy tongue, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Soloman's Seal (Yu Zhu).
2. Low-Grade fever, thirst, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Rehmannia Sheng Di Huang and Figwort (Xuan Shen)
3. High fever, Toxic fever, acute and chronic Fever, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Red and White Sandalwood, Triphala, Camphor, Meconopsis, Tabasheer (as in Camphor 25 of Tibetan Medicine)
4. Dry mouth, low-grade Fever, with Fatigue:
i. Dendrobium Shi Hu with Astragalus Huang Qi
ii. Dendrobium Shi Hu with Rehmannia Sheng Di, Ophiopogon Mai Men Dong, Trichosanthes root (Tian Hua Fen) (as in Qing Re Bao Jing Fa)
5. Kidney Yin deficiency, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Rehmannia Shu Di Huang and Cornus Shan Zhu Yu
6. Diabetes from Stomach Heat and Kidney Yin deficiency, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Gypsum (Shi Gao), Trichosanthes root (Tian Hua Fen), Ophiopgon Mai Men Dong, Adenophora Nan Sha Shen (as in Qu Fan Yang Wei Tang)
7. Cold-Damp Rheumatism, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Aconitum Fu Zi, Acanthopanax Wu Jia Pi, Cyathula Niu Xi,  Licorice, Poria Fu Ling, Saposhnikovia Fang Feng. (as in Ba Ji Tang from Wonderful Well-Tried Prescriptions)
8. Liver heat, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Emblic Myrobalan, Picrorrhiza, Swertia (Tibetan Medicine)
9. Poor, Blurred or Failing Vision, Dizziness, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Lycium Gou Qi Zi (Goji) and Dodder seed (Tu Si Zi)
10. Weakness of the Lower Back and Legs, Dendrobium Shi Hu with Eucommia Du Zhong and Achyranthes Niu Xi.

Major Formulas:
Di Huang Yin Zi
Qing Re Bao Jing Fa
Qing Shu Yi Qi Tang
Qing Zao Run Chang Tang
Qu Fan Yang Wei Tang
Camphor 25 (Tibetan Medicine)
Emblic 25 (Skyu ru nyer lnga) (Tibetan Medicine)


Cautions:
1. Cool and moist, it is apt to increase Dampness.
2. Not used in Spleen deficiency with loose stool and a greasy tongue coating.

CITES LISTING:
This medicine is listed as endangered on CITES. However, it is farmed on a large scale for medicine and as an ornamental.

Main Preparations used:

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  • Home
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      • *Symphytum, Comfrey
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