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Cuscutae Semen [pd74.bmp]

Pungent, sweet, neutral in nature, non-toxic. Primarily treats the healing of severed injuries, supplements deficiencies, benefits qi and strength, and promotes robustness and health. Its juice removes facial pigmentation (melasma), nourishes muscle tissue, strengthens yin, and solidifies sinews and bones. It primarily treats cold in the penis, spontaneous emission of essence, dribbling after urination, bitter taste in the mouth with dryness and thirst, and accumulation of cold blood. Long-term consumption brightens the eyes, lightens the body, and prolongs life.

Also known as Tulu (Tulü), Tulü (Tulü), Tangmeng (Tangmeng), Nvü (Nvü), Chiwang (Chiwang), or Tulei (Tulei, pronounced like 'lei'). Grows in the rivers, marshes, fields, and wilds of Korea, creeping over grasses and trees. Those that are yellow and fine are called Chiwang; those that are pale and large are called Tulei. Harvest the fruits in September and dry them in the sun. (Processing with wine is beneficial; Dioscoreae Rhizoma (Shuyu) and Pini Resina (Songzhi) act as its assistants; it abhors certain fungi.)

Tao Hongjing stated: It is suitable for making pills but not for decoction. It is abundant in fields and villages, floating and growing on Isatidis Folium (Lan) and Artemisiae Scopariae Herba (Ma'ao). Old texts claimed that below there was Polyporus (Fuling) and above grew Cuscuta, but this is not always the case now. Its stems can be used to bathe infants to treat heat prickly heat (Refei, pronounced like 'fei'). For its seeds, they must first be soaked in wine overnight. Both the *Immortal Classics* and folk prescriptions regard it as a tonic. Minister Yuxi et al., according to the *Lüshi Chunqiu*, noted: Some say Cuscuta has no roots. Its root does not attach to the ground; it is Polyporus (Fuling). Baopuzi stated: The Cuscuta plant has the root of Fu Tu (subterranean Cuscuta) beneath it; without this root, the silk cannot grow above, yet the fruit does not belong to it. Furthermore, the *Inner Chapters* state: The initial root of newly sprouted Cuscuta resembles a rabbit. Dig it up, cut it to extract its "blood," and mix it with cinnabar; taking it induces immediate transformation. *Xing Ming Lun* states: Cuscutae Semen is the sovereign herb. It treats deficiency-cold in men and women, replenishes essence and marrow, and alleviates lower back pain and cold knees. Long-term use prolongs life and maintains a youthful complexion. It also treats Xiao Ke (wasting-thirst syndrome) and Heat in the Middle Jiao. Ri Huazi stated: It tonifies the five excesses and seven injuries, treats nocturnal emissions caused by "ghost intercourse," hematuria, and moistens the lungs and heart. The vines resemble yellow hemp threads and have no roots; the plants often attach to field grasses and are strangled to death, or grow in clumps as wide as a mat. The flowers and fruits are indistinct, resembling crushed millet grains. Harvest before August or September.

*Tujing* stated: Cuscutae Semen grows in the rivers, marshes, fields, and wilds of Korea, and is now also found near the capital, with those from Yuanju being superior. Sprouts in summer, creeping like silk threads over grasses and trees. Some say it has no roots and lives by absorbing qi. It bears fruit in June and July, extremely fine, resembling silkworm eggs, earth-yellow in color. Harvest in September and dry in the sun. Processing with wine is beneficial. There are two types of fruit: those that are yellow and fine are named Chiwang; those that are pale and large are named Tulei. Their functions are identical. According to *Erya*: Tangmeng is Nuoluo. Nuoluo is Cuscuta. Explanation: Tang, Meng, Nuoluo, and Cuscuta are four names for one substance. However, *Ben Jing* lists Tangmeng as one name. Also, *Shi Jing* says: Nia and Nuoluo. *Mao Zhuan* says: Nuoluo is Cuscuta. Lu Ji said: This is the Cuscuta used in medicine today, yet *Ben Jing* does not list Nuoluo as a name for Cuscuta. There is another herb, Songluo, also named Nuoluo, which is a woody parasite growing on pines, similar to how Cuscuta parasitizes grasses. Could these be two different substances sharing a name, with an omission in *Ben Jing*? Also, *Shu Zhuan* often states that Cuscuta has no roots and its roots do not touch the ground. Observing its seedlings now, when first born they are thread-like and cannot stand on their own; upon contacting other grass stems, they wrap around and grow upwards. Their roots gradually detach from the ground and exist suspended in the air, confirming that the statement in *Shu Zhuan* is correct. However, the claim that where there is Cuscuta above there is Polyporus below, and if Polyporus is extracted Cuscuta dies, is questionable. Also, the claim that the initial root of Cuscuta resembles a rabbit and its "blood" can be mixed with cinnabar for alchemical purposes is something not seen by modern practitioners; could they be from the same category? Immortal prescriptions often use it alone: take the fruit, soak in wine, dry, soak again, dry again, until the wine is exhausted, grind into powder, and take with wine. The longer, the better; it also brightens the eyes. Fresh vines ground into juice applied to the face effectively removes freckles.

Lei Gong said: Do not use Tianbi Cao Zi (seeds of *Speranskia tuberculata*), which looks very similar, but has a sour, astringent, and sticky taste, and is not used medicinally. Cuscutae Semen receives neutral qi and condenses righteous yang qi, preferentially tonifying the body's Wei Qi (defensive qi) and assisting the sinews and vessels. One stem forms by sensing branches from trees, and it bears fruit in mid-spring under rising yang qi. Its total qi capacity is seven yi and two liang. After full harvest, remove coarse thin shells, soak in vinegar for two days, drain, then soak in fresh juice of Polygonati Rhizoma (Huangjing) overnight. Until dawn, gently simmer until dry, place in a mortar, and pound with a heated iron pestle for over three thousand strokes to make powder. Use vinegar and fresh Huangjing juice in proportion to the Cuscutae Semen. *Zhou Hou Fang*: Treats sudden edema with massive swelling of the whole body and face. Take one sheng of Cuscutae Semen and five sheng of wine, soak for two to three nights. Take one sheng per dose, three times daily. Another prescription: Treats hemorrhoids flare-ups with pain like insect bites. Fry Cuscutae Semen until yellow-black, grind to powder, mix with egg yolk, and apply. It also treats red pain in the anus. Another prescription: Treats acne on the face. Crush Cuscutae Semen, squeeze out the juice, and apply. *Jing Yan Hou Fang*: Treats accumulated cold pain in the waist and knees of men, or numbness and weakness. Wash and weigh one liang of Cuscutae Semen and one liang of Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix (Niuxi), soak together in a silver vessel with wine covering the herbs by one cun. Dry in the sun for five days, grind to powder. Add a little strong wine to the original soaking liquid to make a paste, knead into pills the size of Sophora Seeds (Wutongzi). Take twenty pills with wine on an empty stomach. Another prescription: Guyang Dan (Solidify Yang Pill): Two liang of Cuscutae Semen, soaked in wine for ten days, washed with water, dried, and ground to powder. Add one liang of Eucommiae Cortex (Duzhong), honey-fried and pounded. Use Dioscoreae Rhizoma (Shuyu) powder boiled in wine to make a paste, form pills the size of Sophora Seeds. Take fifty pills with wine on an empty stomach. *Zimu Milu* treats infant head sores and women's facial sores with Cuscuta decoction wash. *Chanshu*: Treats breech presentation. Grind Cuscutae Semen to powder, mix with wine and take one qianbi, or mix with rice drink. *Xiuzhen Fang · Shenxian Fang*: One dou of Cuscutae Semen, one dou of wine. Soak for a long time, drain, dry, soak again, until the wine is exhausted. Take two qian per dose with warm wine, twice daily. Follow with three to five spoons of rice porridge to settle it. By the third to seventh day, increase to three qianbi. Taking it gives luster to the skin; three years of aging reversed to youth. This herb treats wind in the waist and knees and prolongs life with long-term use.

*Yanyi* stated: Cuscutae Semen attaches to shrubs and trees, spreading rapidly, flowering and fruiting without green leaves, making it unique among herbs. The saying that where there is Cuscuta above there is Polyporus below is likely incorrect. This has been fully discussed in the entry for Polyporus.