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There are hundreds of varieties of Chrysanthemum (Ju Hua, 菊花). Their stems, leaves, and flower colors vary from one variety to another. The "Xing" type has small yellow-green flowers, with deep-colored, small, and thin leaves; it blooms in the ninth month according to the seasonal climate. Single-leaf white Chrysanthemum from Dengzhou is also used in medicine, while the rest are not utilized in medical classics. Its stems differ in being stalk-like or vine-like, and in colors such as purple, red, green, and blue-green. Its leaves vary in size, density, thickness, shape (pointed or blunt), and texture. Its flowers differ in having multiple petals or single petals, a central disk or none, bearing seeds or not. Colors range from yellow, white, red, purple, to mixed shades, with variations in depth and size. Flavors include sweet, bitter, and pungent, and there are summer, autumn, and winter chrysanthemums. Generally, only single-leaf chrysanthemum with a sweet taste is used medicinally. These include the Sweet Chrysanthemum (Gan Ju, 甘菊), Dengzhou Yellow Chrysanthemum, and Dengzhou White Chrysanthemum recorded in *Ju Pu* (Chrysanthemum Catalogue).

[Properties and Flavor]
Bitter, neutral, non-toxic. Also described as bitter, sweet, and cold. It can ascend and descend, belonging to Yin with slight Yang characteristics. Yellow varieties enter the Yin aspects of Metal and Water organs; white varieties enter the Yang aspects of Metal and Water organs; red varieties circulate in the Blood aspect of women. This is because its nature belongs to Earth and Metal, incorporating Water and Fire.

[Indications]
It treats various types of Head Wind (Tou Feng, 头风) causing dizziness, headache, and swelling; eyes feeling like they are protruding with tearing; dead skin tissue; aversion to wind-dampness and bi-syndrome (Bi Zheng, 痹证). Long-term use benefits Qi and Blood, lightens the body, delays aging, and prolongs life. It tonifies Yin and Blood, nourishes the Eyes, and benefits Liver Wood. It dispels all wandering Wind from the body. For symptoms of protruding eyes and tearing, it works by tonifying Water to control Fire, and benefiting Metal to calm Wood. When Wood is balanced, it does not damage Stomach Qi. This refers to Wild Chrysanthemum (Ye Ju Hua, 野菊花), which has small yellow flowers with a lotus-seed-like center, treating carbuncles, sores, scrofula, and other swellings.

[Properties and Flavor]
Bitter, neutral, toxic. Belongs to Yang with Yin characteristics.

[Indications]
It treats cough with rebellious Qi, throat obstruction (Hou Bi, 喉痹), and sore throat. It dissipates stagnant Qi, treats rebellious evil Qi in the abdomen, and excessive heat from food and drink. Applied externally with vinegar for toxic swellings. It treats Zhu disease (Zhu Qi, 注气, a type of chronic infectious or lingering illness), resolves blood stasis, unblocks amenorrhea in women, resolves phlegm, breaks up masses, chest and diaphragm fullness, abdominal distension, asthma, and fixed masses (Pi Ke, 癖块). It opens the stomach and promotes appetite. It calms the Liver and brightens the eyes. It is excellent for treating Lung Qi-related throat obstruction. She Gan (Belamcanda Rhizome, 射干) belongs to Metal, possessing Wood and Fire characteristics. It moves accumulated Phlegm in the Taiyin and Jueyin meridians, causing nodules to dissolve quickly. It also treats dampness triggered by fatigue, transforming into perianal abscesses (Bian Du, 便毒). It descends Fire, making it a key herb in ancient formulas for treating Bi syndrome and sore throats. Zhang Zhongjing's formula for cough with rebellious Qi and a sound in the throat resembling a water frog is She Gan Ma Huang Tang (Belamcanda and Ephedra Decoction, 射干麻黄汤). It is also used in Bie Jia Jian Wan (Soft-Shelled Turtle Pill, 鳖甲煎丸) for treating Malaria Mass (Nuo Mu, 疟母). Both applications utilize its ability to descend Ministerial Fire of the Jueyin meridian; when Fire descends, blood disperses, swelling subsides, phlegm nodules resolve, and hard masses break apart.