Reed Rhizome
芦根 · Lú Gēn
Quenches feverish thirst and calms a hot, queasy stomach
Properties
CoolingCooling botanicalSweet
Concerns
What it does
Reed rhizome calms the parched-but-thirsty feeling of a fever, plus the hot kind of nausea that comes when your stomach is overheated. In TCM, it cools heat in the lung and stomach while replenishing fluids those organs lose to fever. It's a gentle herb, mild enough to drink as a tea during recovery from a flu. Classical texts also use it for lung infections with thick yellow phlegm.
How to take it
Decoct 15–30g of dried reed rhizome (or 30–60g fresh) in water for 20 minutes. Drink 1 cup, 2x daily during fevers with thirst or hot nausea.
Brew a cup during the thirsty, feverish phase of a flu
Safety
- Cooling. Skip in cold-pattern digestion with loose stools or chills
- Skip if you have a weak stomach without heat signs
- Best as a short-term remedy during fevers. Not a daily tonic
- Talk to your doctor before starting medicinal use, especially if you take medication
Where it comes from
Reed rhizome (Phragmites communis, lú gēn) comes from the common reed that grows along rivers and marsh edges across the Northern Hemisphere. The white underground stem is dug fresh or dried for medicinal use. The fresh form is considered more cooling and is preferred for high fevers. The dried form goes into cold-and-flu formulas like Yin Qiao San. One ongoing systematic review covers reed rhizome's role in acute respiratory infections.