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Cang'er (Xanthii Fructus), also known as Juan'er. It is found everywhere. The stem is four to five chi high, with black spots. The leaves resemble those of Malva verticillata (kui), with wavy margins. In the seventh and eighth months, it produces small white flowers. The fruit resembles an ear ornament; the outer shell is tough and densely covered with prickles, containing two seeds inside that closely resemble human kidneys.

Cang'erzi (Xanthii Fructus)
Taste: sweet, bitter. Temperature: warm. Indications: treats all types of wind-pathogens, fills the marrow, warms the waist and knees. Treats cold-pain in the head, rheumatic bi-syndrome causing stiffness and pain in the limbs, and chronic qi stagnation. Stir-fry until fragrant, soak in wine, and take orally to dispel wind and tonify deficiency. (Recorded by Li Shizhen) For Biyuan (nasal sinusitis) with runny nose, stir-fry Cang'erzi, grind into powder, and take one or two qian each time with plain boiled water.

Cang'er Jingye (Stems and Leaves of Xanthium strumarium)
Odor and taste: bitter, acrid. Temperature: slightly cold. Toxicity: slightly toxic. Properties: excels at penetrating the vertex and connecting to the brain. Indications: treats severe wind-epilepsy, wind-damp bi-syndrome of the head, toxins deep in the bone marrow, and wind-toxins. In summer, harvest and sun-dry, grind into powder, and take one bi (spoonful) with water; in winter, take with wine, or make into pills. Take 20-30 pills each time, three times a day. If symptoms manifest as sores resembling scabies with exudate, or mottled, rough skin with peeling, the muscle will become smooth like congealed fat. (Author missing) Mix with lard from the twelfth lunar month, apply externally to ding-swelling (carbuncles/furuncles) to extract the root. It has warming, wind-dispelling, and youth-preserving effects. Treats skin wind-pathogens, keeping the skin clean and pure. Use the roots, stems, leaves, and fruits of Cang'er. Wash and shade-dry, burn to ash, and leach with hot water. Boil twice consecutively. As the liquid reduces, replenish continuously without stopping the fire for a full day, until frost-like crystals precipitate. Store in a dry porcelain jar. Take two spoons with wine morning and evening to treat dizziness. Sun-dry Cang'er leaves, grind into powder, take one qian each time, mixed with wine, three times a day. If vomiting occurs, prepare honey pills the size of Sophora japonica seeds. For women suffering from blood-wind attacking the brain, causing dizziness, fainting, and collapse, take the tender hearts of Cang'er grass, shade-dry, grind into powder, and take one qian with wine; this is highly effective.

Treats carbuncles, back abscesses, swelling and toxicity, ding-sores, headless malignant sores, all types of wind-itch sores, beating injuries, toothache, and throat obstruction (houbi). Harvest Cang'er on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Wash clean and sun-dry, cut finely. Use five large pots, add water, boil until soft, filter out coarse residues, then filter again through cloth and silk. Pour into a clean pot and simmer over fire until thick, stirring into a paste. Store in a new jar and seal. Apply externally to affected areas for cure. For toothache, apply to the teeth; for throat obstruction, apply to the tongue, or hold in the mouth; both are effective. Take one spoon with wine daily; extremely effective. For fanhua malignant sores (fungating ulcers) where flesh resembles rice grains, bleeding upon rupture, and subsequent protrusion, take three he of the juice and apply externally, twice a day. For critical ding-swelling, crush Cang'er roots and leaves, mix with children's urine, squeeze out the juice, and take three times a day; extracting the root is very effective. Cang'er Wan (Pills): At noon on the Dragon Boat Festival, harvest Cang'er leaves, wash clean, sun-dry, and grind into powder. Make pills with refined honey, size of Sophora japonica seeds. Take 50 pills each time, three times a day. If wind pathogens reside in the body, they will be expelled as particles resembling hemp seeds or millet, indicating the exit of wind-toxins. Harvesting can also be done on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month or the ninth day of the ninth lunar month.

[Discussion] Cang'er excels at penetrating the vertex and connecting to the brain, thus it can eliminate toxins in the bone marrow. Ri Hua Zi Ben Cao also states it fills the marrow, likely because it can reach the yang within the extreme yin, transforming static wind, resolving damp-bi at the vertex, becoming the root of life, ascending from below, dispersing stagnation, with its taste being bitter and slightly acrid, and its fruit... [Text fragment].

Those taking Cang'er should avoid pork and rice washing water.

[Processing] When using the fruit, steam or stir-fry until cooked, crush, and remove the prickles before use. Use stems and leaves according to the prescription.