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[Boehmeria nivea Root]
Indications: Cools blood. Treats dry-heat epidemic febrile diseases (seasonal epidemic heat syndromes). For severe thirst and mania caused by the ingestion of mineral drugs, as well as anal swelling and pain due to heat-toxin (fumigation and washing with decoction), it is effective. It also calms the fetus, treats carbuncles on the back, chicken or fish bones stuck in the throat (decoction for gavage), snake or insect bites, and poisonous arrow wounds (buried application).

Zhu Gen Tang (Boehmeria Root Decoction): Zhu Gen (Radix Boehmeriae Niveae) and Sheng Gan Di Huang (Rhizoma Rehmanniae Recens Siccus) each 2 liang; Dang Gui (Radix Angelicae Sinensis), Shao Yao (Radix Paeoniae Rubra), E Jiao (Colla Corii Asini), and Gan Cao (Radix Glycyrrhizae) each 1 liang. Add 6 sheng of water, boil down to 2 sheng, remove dregs, add E Jiao until dissolved. Divide into three doses. Treats restless fetus, lower abdominal and lumbar pain, and vaginal bleeding (this formula is contraindicated with Hai Zao and Wu Yi).

[Arctium Lappa]
Niu Bang Zi (The fruit is thorny, hence named E Shi or Shu Nian Zi)
Indications: Purges heat, cools blood, dispels wind, moistens the lungs, unblocks the twelve meridians, clears the throat, and benefits the waist and knees. Must be sun-dried repeatedly before use; raw administration causes vomiting and diarrhea.

Niu Bang Zi San (Arctium Seed Powder): Niu Bang Zi (Fructus Arctii), Xin Dou Chi (Fermented Soybean, stir-fried), and Qiang Huo (Rhizoma Notopterygii) each 3 liang; Sheng Di Huang (Rhizoma Rehmanniae Recens) 1 liang 5 qian. Grind into powder. Take 4 qian per dose.

Another prescription: Add Sheng Jiang (Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens) and Gan Cao (Radix Glycyrrhizae) each 1 liang, Fang Feng (Radix Saposhnikoviae) 5 qian. Grind into powder. Take 3 qian per dose. Benefits the throat, resolves phlegm, and stops coughing.

Yet another prescription: Niu Bang Zi (wine-fried and ground), Tian Hua Fen (Radix Trichosanthis), She Gan (Rhizoma Belamcandae), and Lian Qiao (Fructus Forsythiae) each 2 qian; Sheng Di Huang (Rhizoma Rehmanniae Recens) and Zhe Bei Mu (Bulbus Fritillariae Thunbergii, ground) each 3 qian; Xuan Shen (Radix Scrophulariae) and Sheng Gan Cao (Radix Glycyrrhizae) each 2 qian 5 fen; Bai Jiang Can (Bombyx Batryticatus, fried and ground) 1 qian; add Sang Ye (Folium Mori) 20 leaves. Add 2 zhong of water, boil down to 8 fen. Warmly take when hungry. Treats Hou Xuan (throat herpes/lichen), characterized by dry and itchy throat, feeling as if the fetus is about to split.

[Cocklebur]
Indications: Dispels wind, induces sweating, removes dampness, warms the waist and feet. Treats wind-damp generalized bi-syndrome and spasmodic pain in the four limbs.

Wan Ying Gao (Universal Ointment): Collect Cocklebur plants in the fifth, seventh, and ninth lunar months. Boil vigorously first, then simmer gently until thick, stirring into an ointment. Store in a new jar and seal tightly. Treats all kinds of carbuncles, furuncles, malignant sores without heads, ding-toxins, wind-itch, cane-wounds, toothache, and Hou Bi (sore throat). Internal use: one spoonful, taken with wine. External use: apply as a plaster.

Cang Er Wan (Cocklebur Pills): Cang Er Ye (Folium Xanthii) in any quantity, dried in shade and ground into powder. Use 5 liang of this powder each time. Take 2 he of millet, cook into porridge, and grind into a paste-like consistency. Mix with 1 liang of Lang Du Zi (Fructus Daturae, washed clean and lightly fried and ground). Form pills the size of mung beans. Take 20 pills each time, with warm wine on an empty stomach, and again before evening meal. Treats Yang Feng (a chronic skin disease resembling leprosy).