It is often the case that mountain honeysuckle is mistaken for honeysuckle in the market. So, how to distinguish honeysuckle and mountain honeysuckle? I'll tell you below.
Techniques for identifying honeysuckle and mountain honeysuckle
Honeysuckle was originally called Lonicera japonica and was first recorded in "Famous Doctors". It is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine because the flowers are white when they first bloom in summer. It turns yellow, and the yellow and white complement each other, so it is called "honeysuckle". Honeysuckle is sweet and cold in nature and returns to the lung, heart and stomach meridians; it has the effects of clearing away heat, detoxifying and dispersing wind-heat; it is used for carbuncles, boils, laryngitis, erysipelas, dysentery due to heat poison, wind-heat cold, febrile fever, etc. disease.
Mountain honeysuckle was once a commercial specification of honeysuckle. It comes from a variety of sources. Its quality is inferior to honeysuckle, and its chemical composition is also different from honeysuckle. The 2010 edition of the "Chinese Pharmacopoeia" lists "Lonicera japonica" separately, and it is two traditional Chinese medicines respectively with honeysuckle. Shan Yinhua is produced in Guangxi, Guangdong, Hunan, Sichuan, Shaanxi and other places. In the past, it was mostly wild, but now it is both wild and cultivated.
The source of mountain honeysuckle is the dried flower buds or first-blooming flowers of Lonicera japonica, Lonicera japonica Lonicera, South China Lonicera, and Lonicera truncatula. It is harvested and dried in early summer before the flowers bloom. The gray felt honeysuckle is rod-shaped and slightly curved, 3 to 4.5 cm long; the diameter of the upper part is about 2 mm, and the diameter of the lower part is about 1 mm; the surface is green-brown to yellow-white, the total pedicels are gathered into clusters, and the corolla lobes are less than the full length of the open ones. Half; slightly hard in texture, slightly elastic when pinched by hand; fragrant and slightly bitter in taste. The price of mountain silver flower is much lower than that of honeysuckle, so you should pay attention to the difference when using it.
The difference between the advantages and disadvantages of honeysuckle
Honeysuckle has wide medicinal value and health care uses, and is in great social demand. Honeysuckle has different colors and different medicinal effects. Here’s how to identify the pros and cons of honeysuckle.
Honeysuckle is the flower bud of Lonicera japonica, a plant of the family Lonicerae, with a sweet and cold nature. Most areas in China produce it equally, with Shandong producing the largest amount, but the quality produced in Henan is the best and is a genuine area. Honeysuckle has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, dispersing wind-heat, cooling blood and stopping dysentery, lowering blood and reducing fire, eliminating pharynx and relieving diaphragm. The honeysuckle produced in Henan is of high quality and low price. There is a big problem in the market with fake origin. It is recommended to buy honeysuckle produced by well-known brands. Treat febrile diseases with fever, heat poison, blood dysentery, carbuncle ulcer, swollen poison, scrofula, hemorrhoids and leakage. The smell is fragrant, the taste is light and slightly bitter. Because the honeysuckle flower first blooms white and then turns yellow, it is named honeysuckle.
The better the quality of honeysuckle, the better the medicinal effect and the higher the value. Therefore, you need to learn to distinguish it. Let’s take a look at how to identify honeysuckle of different colors.
The national standard for honeysuckle products is divided into four grades:
First grade: dry goods, the buds are in the shape of a handful, thick at the top and thin at the bottom, slightly curved, with a green-white surface, and a thick and slightly hard corolla. , it feels like a top when held; the smell is fragrant and the taste is sweet and slightly bitter. Open flowers, broken buds and yellow bars should not exceed 5%. No black bars, blackheads, branches and leaves, impurities, insects, or mildew;
Second grade: basically the same as first grade, except that the number of open flowers does not exceed 5%. Broken flower buds and yellow strips do not exceed 10%;
Third grade: dry goods, the flower buds are rod-shaped, thick at the top and thin at the bottom, slightly curved, with a green-white or yellow-white surface, thick and hard corolla, and can be held easily Excellent feel. The gas is fragrant and the taste is sweet and slightly bitter. Open flowers and blackheads do not exceed 30%. No branches, leaves, impurities, insects, or mildew;
Fourth grade: dry goods. There are both buds and open flowers, regardless of color. The branches and leaves do not exceed 3%, and there are no impurities, insects, or mildew. Only by knowing how to identify honeysuckle can you ensure that you buy good honeysuckle, so that you can better treat diseases.