Geranium

Geranium

FructusNandinaeDomesticae

Common Nandina fruit

[alias] Tianzhu, Nanzhu and Tianzhu.

[source] it is the fruit of Nandina domestica Thunb.

[plant morphology] evergreen shrub, about 2m high. Stem erect, young branch yellow. The leaflets are leathery, elliptic lanceolate, 3-7cm long, apex acuminate, full margin, dark green, and often red in winter; there are joints under the leaflets and at the base of petiole. Panicle terminal; perianth piece many rounds, each round 3 pieces, outer round small, inner round big; stamen 6, petal shape; ovary superior. The berries are globose and bright red when ripe. The flowering period is from May to June and the fruiting period is from September to October.

It grows in moist Valley, hillside, or garden. Produced in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

[harvest] the fruits are harvested from November to December or February and dried in the sun.

[character] the fruit is spherical, 7-9mm in diameter. The surface is yellowish red or reddish purple, smooth, slightly glossy, sometimes slightly concave, with a slightly protruding stigma at the top and a thin fruit stalk or its broken mark at the base. The pericarp is brittle, with two seeds, slightly hemispherical, concave inside and yellowish brown. It tastes sour and astringent.

[chemical constituents] it contains isocorydine, protopine, 0-methylstigmatine, hydrocyanic acid, etc.

[nature and taste] flat, sour and sweet.

[function indications] astringent lung and antitussive. Used for long cough, asthma and pertussis.

Chinese PinYin : Tian Zhu Zi