Rank Species | Genus Leonurus Higher classification Leonurus | |
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Similar Female ginseng, Ligusticum striatum, Achyranthes bidentata, Red sage, Nut grass | ||
Leonurus japonicus chinese motherwort
Leonurus japonicus, commonly called Oriental motherwort or Chinese motherwort, is a herbaceous flowering plant native to Asia, including Korea and Japan, and China to Cambodia.
Contents
Description
Plants are annual or biennial, growing from taproots. The stems are upright growing to a height of 30 to 120 cm. The flowers are sessile and produced in verticillasters. The calyx is tubular-campanulate shaped and 6–8 mm long with broad triangle shaped teeth. The corolla is white or reddish to purplish red in color. Plants bloom from June to September.
It has escaped cultivation and become naturalized in other parts of the world including South and North America, Europe and Africa.
Uses
It is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is called yìmǔcǎo (Chinese: 益母草), literally "beneficial herb for mothers".
In China, Leonurus heterophyllus injection has been studied for its potential to prevent postpartum hemorrhage after caesarian section.
