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Puhuang (Typhae Pollen)

Sweet in flavor, neutral in nature, non-toxic. It primarily treats cold and heat conditions in the heart, abdomen, and bladder; promotes urination; stops bleeding; and resolves blood stasis. Long-term consumption lightens the body, enhances qi and strength, prolongs life, and is akin to becoming an immortal. It grows in ponds and marshes in Hedong, and is harvested in April.

Tao Hongjing states: This is the yellow pollen from the flower of Typha orientalis (Cattail). When the pollen is present, it is brushed off and collected. It is highly effective for treating hemorrhage, and is also used in the *Xian Jing* (Scripture of Immortals).

Minister Yuxi et al., according to *Yao Xing Lun* (Treatise on Medicinal Properties), state: Puhuang serves as the sovereign herb. It unblocks meridians and collaterals, stops metrorrhagia and metrostaxis in women, treats bloody dysentery, stops epistaxis, treats hematuria, and promotes the flow of water passages.

Rihua Zi states: Puhuang treats traumatic blood stagnation causing chest oppression, expels pus, treats carbuncles and sores, leukorrhea in women, irregular menstruation, abdominal pain caused by blood and qi stagnation, vaginal bleeding leading to threatened miscarriage or abortion in pregnant women, syncope due to blood loss, blood disorders, acute pain from obstetric masses (Ezhen), urinary retention, intestinal wind with bloody diarrhea, wandering wind with swelling and toxicity, severe epistaxis, hematemesis, lactation suppression, seminal emission, and bloody dysentery. This refers to the yellow flowers of Typha. For medicinal use, if the goal is to break blood stasis and reduce swelling, it should be used raw; if the goal is to tonify blood and stop bleeding, it should be stir-fried. The red residue remaining after sifting Puhuang is called "E". When stir-fried, it has a strong astringent effect on the intestines, stopping diarrheal bleeding and bloody dysentery.

*TU JING* states: Puhuang grows in ponds and marshes in Hedong. Typha orientalis is the plant source of Puhuang. It grows in ponds and marshes in Nanhai, and is now found everywhere, but the variety from Taizhou is considered superior.

In early spring, the tender leaves emerge. Before breaking through the water surface, they are reddish-white and downy. In the *Zhou Li* (Rites of Zhou), it is referred to as "Zu" (pickled vegetables), referring to its initial growth stage. The part entering the ground is taken, about the size of a spoon handle, white in color, and can be eaten raw with a sweet and crisp taste. Soaked in vinegar, it tastes like bamboo shoots, very delicious, and can also be made into food, though few people eat it nowadays. By summer, flower stalks shoot up among the leaf clusters. The flowers cluster at the tip of the stalk, resembling a warrior holding a pestle, hence the folk name "Pu Chui" (Cattail Pestle), also known as "Pu Li". The flowers are yellow, which is the dust from the stamens. Fine as gold powder, it is collected when the flowers are about to open. It is also harvested in markets. Mixed with honey and sold as confectionery, it is very beneficial for children. Physicians also take its pollen; the red residue after sifting is called "Pu E". Used medicinally to astringe the intestines and stop diarrhea, it is exceptionally effective.

Lei Gong states: When using Puhuang, do not use Song Huang (Pinus pollen) or Huang Hao (Artemisia annua). These two look identical but differ in taste and can induce vomiting. To prepare Puhuang, it must be baked between three layers of paper until yellow, steamed for half a day, then dried again. This method is excellent.

*Qian Jin Fang*: Treats macroglossia (heavy tongue) with ulcers on the tongue and salivation. Apply Puhuang externally; recovery occurs within three applications. Another prescription: Treats dampness and itching in the male genitalia. Apply Puhuang powder; three to four applications are effective. *Zhou Hou Bei Ji Fang*: Treats intestinal hemorrhoids with bloody stool. Take one cubic inch of Puhuang orally, three times daily. *Ge Shi Fang*: Treats urinary retention caused by holding urine too long (bladder torsion). Wrap the waist and kidneys with Puhuang, invert the head downwards, and repeat three times to restore urination. Another prescription: For internal bleeding. Take two liang of Puhuang with water, one cubic inch dose, to stop bleeding immediately. *Mei Shi Fang*: Treats postpartum lochia retention. Take three liang of Puhuang boiled in three sheng of water, reduced to one sheng, taken in one dose. Sun Simiao's *Dietary Taboos*: Treats sudden hematemesis. Take one sheng of Puhuang with water. *Jian Yao Ji Zhong Fang*: Treats hematemesis and spitting blood. Take one liang of Puhuang, powdered. Mix three qian with warm wine or cold water and ingest. Another prescription: Treats persistent hematemesis in infants. Finely grind Puhuang, take half a qian mixed with juice of Sheng Di Huang (Rehmanniae Radix), adjusting dosage based on the child's age. Sai Shang Fang: Treats rat-nipple hemorrhoids. Take Puhuang powder with warm wine on an empty stomach, one cubic inch, three times daily. Another prescription: Treats trauma and contusions with internal blood stasis and restlessness. Take Puhuang powder mixed with hot wine on an empty stomach, three qian. *Zi Mu Mi Lu*: Treats premature labor before full term. Take a date-sized amount of Puhuang with well water. Another prescription: Treats rectal prolapse. Mix Puhuang with lard and apply externally, three to five times daily. *Yang Shi Chan Ru*: Treats maternal exhaustion fever, fetal movement with bleeding, and irritability of hands and feet. Juice of Puhuang root, one to two sheng. *Chan Bao*: Treats postpartum bleeding with extreme weakness nearing death. Take two liang of Puhuang boiled in two sheng of water, reduced to eight ge, taken in one dose. Another prescription: Treats engorged breasts and abscesses postpartum. Cook and pound Puhuang grass, apply to the swelling twice daily. Drinking the decocted leaf juice is also good, and eating it is acceptable; both lead to recovery. Labor-inducing formula: Equal parts Puhuang, Dilong (Earthworm), and Chen Ju Pi (Aged Tangerine Peel). Wash Dilong to remove soil, bake on a new tile until slightly yellow, powder each, and apply to three acupoints. If delivery does not occur after a day, take one qian of each mixed with fresh water, inducing immediate delivery. I have personally used this with great success.

*Yan Yi* states: Puhuang is found everywhere; it is the yellow pollen inside the cattail spike. In the capital, the spike is called "Pu Bang". Freshly obtained pollen is sifted finely, and the residue ("E") is stored separately for other uses. Puhuang mixed with water into a paste, broken into blocks, is widely consumed to clear deficiency-heat in the heart. Children especially enjoy it. After months, it dries out, losing color and flavor, requiring mixing with honey water. However, excessive consumption causes spontaneous diarrhea and is not beneficial for those with extreme deficiency.