Introduction of Fu Pen Zi: Palmleaf Raspberry Fruit
✵The article records the herb Palmleaf Raspberry Fruit, including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, property and flavor; its botanical sources as defined in classical herbal texts—namely, (1) Rubus chingii Hu. and (2) Rubus coreanus Miq.; and provides a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environments of these two plant species; as well as the characteristics, pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines of the herb Palmleaf Raspberry Fruit.
Fructus Rubi (Palmleaf Raspberry Fruit)
Pinyin Name: Fù Pén Zi
English Name: Palmleaf Raspberry Fruit
Latin Name:Fructus Rubi Property and Flavor: Warm; sweet and sour.
Brief Introduction: Fructus Rubi is the steamed and dried fruit of Rubus chingii Hu., used as an astringent to treat frequent urination, enuresis, and seminal emission. It is commonly known as Fructus Rubi, Palmleaf Raspberry Fruit, or Fù Pén Zi.
Botanical source: Classical herbal works define Fructus Rubi (Fù Pén Zi) or Palmleaf Raspberry Fruit (Fù Pén Zi) as the dried fruit of Rubus chingii Hu. (Rosaceae family, genus Rubus L.). Other authoritative works also accept the unripe fruit of Rubus chingii Hu. or Rubus coreanus Miq. (Rosaceae family) as valid sources. These two commonly used species are described below:
(1) Rubus chingii Hu.
Botanical Description:Rubus chingii Hu. is a deciduous shrub of the Rosaceae family (rose family), genus Rubus L. It is commonly known as Dōng Huá Fù Pén Zi (East China Raspberry) or Zhǎng Yè Fù Pén Zi (Palmleaf Raspberry). Plants grow up to 2–3 meters tall. Young shoots (twigs) are green, glaucous (covered with a whitish bloom), and bear few antrorse (forward-pointing) thorns.
Simple leaves are alternate; petioles measure 3–4.5 cm in length; stipules (perphylls) are linear-lanceolate; leaf blades are orbicular (nearly round), 5–9 cm in diameter, palmately 5-lobed; the central lobe is rhomboid-ovate; the base is subcordate (nearly cordate); margins are biserrate; leaf veins on both surfaces bear white pubescence; basal pentacostal veins are prominent.
Flowers are hermaphroditic, solitary, and grow at the tips of short branches. The calyx consists of 5 persistent, ovate-oblong sepals, pubescent on both surfaces. There are 5 white petals, elliptic or ovate-oblong, with obtuse apices. The flower measures 2.5–3.5 cm in diameter. Pedicels are 2–3.5 cm long. Stamens are numerous; filaments are broad and flattened; anthers are T-shaped, bilocular, and dorsifixed. Pistils are numerous, pubescent, and inserted on a raised receptacle.[I]
Aggregate fruits (composite fruits) are globular (spherical shape), 1.5-2 cm in diameter, red, and pendulous; small drupes (small drupe fruits) have dense ash gray pilose. Its flowering period is from March to April, and the fruiting period is from May to August.
Ecological Environment: The roots of Rubus chingii Hu are distributed shallowly and grow in moist, water-free soil. In the wild, it is mostly distributed in forest edges or sparse forests and where there are more moist soils in the ditches, canals, roadsides, on hillsides or mountain slopes, or bushes in shaded places. It grows in areas of lower altitudes to middle elevation areas.
Growth Characteristics: The plant prefers cold and cool climates, avoids hot, and prefers lights but should avoid insolation. It can be cultivated in general soils, but it is appropriate to choose a field with loose, humus-rich, acid yellow loam with good drainage for cultivation.
Characteristics of the Herb: The herb is an aggregate fruit, which is composed of many small drupes (drupe fruits), slightly conical or near-spherical, the upper tip is blunt, the bottom is flat, 0.6~1.3 cm high, and 0.5~1.2 cm in diameter. The surface is celadon (sage green) or hazel (pale brown), densely covered with ash gray (grayish-white) or celadon short fluff, the persistent calyx is brown, 5-lobed, the front end is mostly broken, there are many remaining filaments on the top, and there are carpopodium marks (marks of fruit stalks) or connect with fine carpopodium on the bottom. The small drupes (small drupe fruits) are semi-lune (half-moon shape), the back is protuberant, and the ventral surface has protruding ridge lines; The surface is brown, with grayish-white hairs on the back and front tip, and reticulated concave lines on both sides of the ventral surface. The herb is light, the texture of the herb is hard, and it contains one grain of brown seed. The herb has a delicate fragrance, it tastes slightly sour and puckery. The herb of a better grade is complete, full, yellow-green, and has a sour taste.
Main value: The Rubus genus is full of treasure. The bark contains tannins, fibers, leaves can be used for tea, sweeteners, medicinal, tannins. The flower is an important source of honey plants, fruit is edible, medicinal, processed beverages, jams, brewing, sugar, vinegar, juice, etc. Seeds can be used medicinally, pressed oil, roots can be uses as herb medicine, root bark contains tannins, the whole plant can be used as a herb medicine, green ornamental trees and so on. The folks use their fruit to brew wine, make jams, squeeze juice to prepare drinks.
Medicinal value: The Rubus chingii Hu., or Palmleaf Raspberry is the only one of 194 species of Raspberry that was selected and defined as the official botanical origin in the official herbal classics.
Pharmacological Actions: (1) antioxidant capacity; (2) antibacterial:inhibitory effect on staphylococcus, Vibrio cholerae; (3) estrogenlike effect, etc.
Medicinal Efficacy: Tonifying the kidney, supporting Yang, astringent and controlling nocturnal emission, nourishing the liver, improve eyesight (improving acuity of vision). It is indicated for spermatorrhea (nocturnal emission), night emission, asynodia (impotentia, sexual impotence), prospermia (premature ejaculation, ejaculatio praecox), anischuria (enuresis, bedwetting), frequent urination, cold of uterus and infertility, clear and dilute morbid leukorrhea, consumption (consumptive disease), dim eyesight, dim-sighted (blurred vision), premature greying bear and hair, etc.
Administration of Fructus Rubi (Fù Pén Zi):
Reference:
Administration Guide for Fructus Rubi (Fù Pén Zi)
TCM Books:
(1) Internally:6~12 grams; (2) Internally:water decoction, 1.5~2 qian (about 4.5~6 grams);infusing in wine, prepare an ointment, or prepare to pill, powder; (3) Internally:water decoction, 5~10 grams;or prepared to pill, powder, or infusing in wine, or prepare an ointment.
(2) Rubus coreanus Miq.
Botanical Description: The plant, Rubus coreanus Miq is a plant of the Rosaceae family (rose family) Rubus L. genus, it is commonly known as Rubus coreanus Miq., or Cha Tian Pao. A shrub, the plant grows up to 1~3 meters tall; stems are upright or curved to arch-shape, reddish-brown, and have uncinate flat prickles. Imparipinnate compound leaves, 5–7 lobules (leaflets), oval (egg-shaped), elliptic or rhomboid ovate, 3-6 cm long, 1.5-4 cm wide, the front end is sharp-pointed, the base is broadly cuneate (broadly wedge-shaped) or orbicular (subrotund), edges have orderless subulate sharp serrate, the under surface is celadon (sage green), has pilose or fluff along leaf veins; petioles are 2-4 cm long, small prickles scatter along rachis; stipules (peraphyllum) are strip-shaped.
Corymbals are apical or axillary, grow on the tip of lateral branches, has several to over 30 flowers, peduncles and pedicels are both covered with ash gray pubescence; pedicels are 5-10 mm long; bracts are linear(filate), have pubescence; flowers are 7~10 mm in diameter, calyx is grayish pubescent outside; sepals are ovate-oblong to ovate-lanceolate, 4~6 mm long, front tip is acuminate, edges have fluff, expanded in flowering period, and reflexed in fruiting period; flower petals are obovate, faint red to crimson (deep red), nearly equal length as or slightly shorter than sepals; stamens are shorter or nearly equal length as petals, filaments are pinkish; many pistils; styles are glabrous, ovary is sparsely pubescent.
Fruits are subsphaeroidal (near-spherical), 5~8 mm in diameter, dark red to atropurpureus (purple-black), glabrous or glabrate; stone (nut) has wrinkles. Its flowering period is from April to June, and the fruiting is from June to August.
The hairs on the leaf under surface of this species vary greatly, on the same plant or the same shoots, the under surface of most leaves is glabrous or only has pilose along leaf veins, but the undersurface of fewer leaves is densely tomentose.
Ecological Environment: The plant grows on hillside shrubs or valleys, rivers, and roadsides, in areas at altitudes of 100~1,700 meters above sea level.
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1.Introduction of Fu Pen Zi: Palmleaf Raspberry Fruit
✵The article records the herb Palmleaf Raspberry Fruit, including its English name, Latin name, Pinyin name, property and flavor; its botanical sources as defined in classical herbal texts—namely, (1) Rubus chingii Hu. and (2) Rubus coreanus Miq.; and provides a detailed introduction to the botanical features, growth characteristics, and ecological environments of these two plant species; as well as the characteristics, pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guidelines of the herb Palmleaf Raspberry Fruit.
Pinyin Name: Fù Pén Zi
Botanical Description: Rubus chingii Hu. is a deciduous shrub of the Rosaceae family (rose family), genus Rubus L. It is commonly known as Dōng Huá Fù Pén Zi (East China Raspberry) or Zhǎng Yè Fù Pén Zi (Palmleaf Raspberry). Plants grow up to 2–3 meters tall. Young shoots (twigs) are green, glaucous (covered with a whitish bloom), and bear few antrorse (forward-pointing) thorns.
Flowers are hermaphroditic, solitary, and grow at the tips of short branches. The calyx consists of 5 persistent, ovate-oblong sepals, pubescent on both surfaces. There are 5 white petals, elliptic or ovate-oblong, with obtuse apices. The flower measures 2.5–3.5 cm in diameter. Pedicels are 2–3.5 cm long. Stamens are numerous; filaments are broad and flattened; anthers are T-shaped, bilocular, and dorsifixed. Pistils are numerous, pubescent, and inserted on a raised receptacle.[I]
Ecological Environment: The roots of Rubus chingii Hu are distributed shallowly and grow in moist, water-free soil. In the wild, it is mostly distributed in forest edges or sparse forests and where there are more moist soils in the ditches, canals, roadsides, on hillsides or mountain slopes, or bushes in shaded places. It grows in areas of lower altitudes to middle elevation areas.
Characteristics of the Herb: The herb is an aggregate fruit, which is composed of many small drupes (drupe fruits), slightly conical or near-spherical, the upper tip is blunt, the bottom is flat, 0.6~1.3 cm high, and 0.5~1.2 cm in diameter. The surface is celadon (sage green) or hazel (pale brown), densely covered with ash gray (grayish-white) or celadon short fluff, the persistent calyx is brown, 5-lobed, the front end is mostly broken, there are many remaining filaments on the top, and there are carpopodium marks (marks of fruit stalks) or connect with fine carpopodium on the bottom. The small drupes (small drupe fruits) are semi-lune (half-moon shape), the back is protuberant, and the ventral surface has protruding ridge lines; The surface is brown, with grayish-white hairs on the back and front tip, and reticulated concave lines on both sides of the ventral surface. The herb is light, the texture of the herb is hard, and it contains one grain of brown seed. The herb has a delicate fragrance, it tastes slightly sour and puckery. The herb of a better grade is complete, full, yellow-green, and has a sour taste.
Main value: The Rubus genus is full of treasure. The bark contains tannins, fibers, leaves can be used for tea, sweeteners, medicinal, tannins. The flower is an important source of honey plants, fruit is edible, medicinal, processed beverages, jams, brewing, sugar, vinegar, juice, etc. Seeds can be used medicinally, pressed oil, roots can be uses as herb medicine, root bark contains tannins, the whole plant can be used as a herb medicine, green ornamental trees and so on. The folks use their fruit to brew wine, make jams, squeeze juice to prepare drinks.
Botanical Description: The plant, Rubus coreanus Miq is a plant of the Rosaceae family (rose family) Rubus L. genus, it is commonly known as Rubus coreanus Miq., or Cha Tian Pao. A shrub, the plant grows up to 1~3 meters tall; stems are upright or curved to arch-shape, reddish-brown, and have uncinate flat prickles. Imparipinnate compound leaves, 5–7 lobules (leaflets), oval (egg-shaped), elliptic or rhomboid ovate, 3-6 cm long, 1.5-4 cm wide, the front end is sharp-pointed, the base is broadly cuneate (broadly wedge-shaped) or orbicular (subrotund), edges have orderless subulate sharp serrate, the under surface is celadon (sage green), has pilose or fluff along leaf veins; petioles are 2-4 cm long, small prickles scatter along rachis; stipules (peraphyllum) are strip-shaped.
Fruits are subsphaeroidal (near-spherical), 5~8 mm in diameter, dark red to atropurpureus (purple-black), glabrous or glabrate; stone (nut) has wrinkles. Its flowering period is from April to June, and the fruiting is from June to August.
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