Lophatherum
淡竹叶 · Dàn Zhú Yè
Cools mouth sores, hot rashes, and dark, burning urine
Properties
CoolingCooling botanicalSweet
Concerns
What it does
Lophatherum tames the kind of internal heat that rises into the mouth and tongue as canker sores, or that turns urine dark and burning. In TCM, it's a light, cool herb that clears heat from the heart and small intestine, the systems linked to mouth ulcers and urinary irritation. It's gentle enough to use as a daily summer tea during heat-pattern flushes and thirst.
How to take it
Decoct 6–9g of dried lophatherum in water for 15 minutes. Drink 1 cup, 1–2x daily during heat-pattern flushes, mouth sores, or dark urine.
Brew a cup as a summer tea when you're flushed, thirsty, or have a canker sore
Safety
- Cooling. Skip if you have cold-pattern symptoms like loose stools or feeling chilled
- Skip during pregnancy. It moves fluid out and can be too cooling
- Don't use long-term in weak digestion patterns
- Talk to your doctor before starting medicinal use, especially if you take medication
Where it comes from
Lophatherum (Lophatherum gracile, dàn zhú yè) is a shade-loving grass that grows in southern Chinese forests. The aerial parts are cut, dried, and used as a cooling tea. Despite the Chinese name meaning 'bland bamboo leaf,' it's not bamboo at all. Real bamboo leaves (zhú yè) are a separate herb. Lophatherum shows up in summer-heat formulas and in Yin Qiao San, where it carries heat downward and out through urine.