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Used for famine relief.
Sweet and neutral in nature. Tonifies deficiency, emaciation, and exhaustion; warms the stomach and intestines; stops vomiting and reflux. Long-term consumption promotes health, lightens the body, and prevents hunger. (*Bowuzhi* records: On the isles of the East Sea, there is a grass named *Ci*, bearing fruit that tastes like barley. It ripens in July, and people harvest it until winter, calling it "Natural Grain" or "Yu's Surplus Grain." Li Nanhai in *Yaopu* states: The fruit of *Ci* is ball-shaped, harvested in August. Locals consume it regularly, but it has never been seen in China. Fang Xiaoru's *Xunzhizhai Ji* contains the poem "Hai Mi Xing," likely describing this type of grass. The poem reads: "By the sea grows a grass named Hai Mi, larger than mugwort but smaller than shepherd's purse. Women gather in groups with baskets by day, washing their harvest in the sea water. Returning home, they clean the pots and burn pine branches to cook rice for morning hunger. Do not complain of its bitterness making it hard to swallow; life depends on it for a brief moment.")

(Another variety of barnacle grain) Pungent, sweet, bitter, and slightly cold. Can be cooked as food. Benefits Qi and harmonizes the spleen. Hence, Cao Zhi praised it as "Fragrant Colocasia and Refined Barnacle." Its roots and shoots (can be used for traumatic injuries and bleeding from wounds that does not stop. Crushed externally or applied as powder, it stops bleeding effectively.)

(Bi Yu Ren / Coicis Semen) Tonifies the Spleen and Lungs, promotes the circulation of fluids.
Sweet, bland, and slightly cold, belonging to Earth. It is a herb of the Yangming channel (corresponding to the Stomach). Sweetness tonifies the Stomach; Earth overcomes Water; blandness leaches out dampness. Draining water benefits Earth, thus strengthening the Spleen. It treats edema, bi-syndrome due to dampness, Hong Kong foot (swelling and pain in the feet), hernia, diarrhea, dysentery, and hot strangury. Tonifying Earth generates Metal, thus benefiting the Lungs and clearing heat. (Its white color enters the Lung, and its slight coldness clears heat.) Treats lung diseases (cooking pig lungs and dipping them in Bi Yu Ren powder yields good results.) Supporting Earth suppresses Wood, thus treating wind-heat causing tendon stiffness and spasms. (Jueyin Wind-Wood governs tendons, yet treating bone and tendon diseases takes the Yangming channel as the root, because Yangming moistens the Zongjin [major tendons], which bind bones and facilitate joint movement. If Yangming is deficient, Zongjin becomes lax, hence the classic says: "In treating Wei syndrome, focus solely on Yangming." It also states: "Lung heat scorches the leaves, leading to Wei Bi [flaccidity syndrome]. The Lung is the official of ministerial assistance, where governance and regulation originate. Damp-heat from Yangming steams upward to the Lung, scorching its leaves, causing Qi to lose its master and governance, resulting in Wei Bi. Bi Yu Ren obtains the dryness of Earth and the coolness of Autumn, thus drying Spleen dampness and clearing Lung heat. Tendons contract when cold, shrink when hot, and become lax when damp. However, long-standing cold-dampness can transform into heat; conversely, heat steaming causes fluid stagnation, eventually forming dampness. Bi Yu Ren is an essential herb for removing dampness.) Promotes appetite. Contraindicated in cases of dry stool constipation or tendon stiffness due to cold. Its action is mild and gentle; dosage should be doubled compared to other herbs. Use after stir-frying and lightly grinding.