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TCM Treasures - Bovista
By Zhang Qian |
July 14, 2013, Sunday
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Simplified Chinese: 马勃 Pinyin: mǎ bó
Ma bo, or bovista, is a ball-like fungus that spits spores when disturbed. It is a useful and easy-to-get herb to stop bleeding and relieve inflammations.
Ma Bo was originally a boy's name. When one of his friends got badly scratched, Ma picked the grey fungus and tied it against the boy's wound.
The boy checked the wound days later and found it healing well. Villagers asked Ma how he knew about the grey ball, and he said he cut himself in the mountains and that was all he had to stop the bleeding. All the villagers went to Ma Bo when they got hurt, or searched for the grey ball themselves in the mountains. Over time, ma bo became its name.
The legendary fungus is actually bovista and grows in many regions in China. It looks like a white ball at first, and tastes as tender as tofu. But it turns dark when it gets old and dry.
Bovista is a "neutral" herb in TCM that helps stop bleeding, clear the throat, benefit the lungs, remove blood stagnation and relieve inflammation.
The sponge-like tissue inside bovista can be applied externally to halt bleeding. The spore powder can help relieve boils when applied externally mixed with honey. Bovista is often prescribed orally taken together with qing dai (indigo naturalis) to relieve a sore throat caused by pathogenic heat and toxins.
Prescriptions & Usage:
Bovista congee
Peel 9g bovista and chop into pieces. Boil it down in water and filter it. Cook congee and the filtered soup together with 50g rice.
Eat twice a day and keep it for 2-3 days.
Benefits: Helps relieve sore throat and hoarseness due to pathogenic heat in lungs.
Bovista and xin yi hua tea
Cook 10g bovista and 10g xin yi hua (lily magnolia) with water for 20 minutes.
Drink it as tea.
Benefits: Bovista helps clear the throat while lily magnolia helps clear up stuffy nose.
Bovista and mai dong tea
Cook 10g bovista and 10g mai dong (lilyturf root) with water for 20 minutes.
Drink it as tea.
Benefits: Clears throat and eases inflammation.
Ma bo, or bovista, is a ball-like fungus that spits spores when disturbed. It is a useful and easy-to-get herb to stop bleeding and relieve inflammations.
Ma Bo was originally a boy's name. When one of his friends got badly scratched, Ma picked the grey fungus and tied it against the boy's wound.
The boy checked the wound days later and found it healing well. Villagers asked Ma how he knew about the grey ball, and he said he cut himself in the mountains and that was all he had to stop the bleeding. All the villagers went to Ma Bo when they got hurt, or searched for the grey ball themselves in the mountains. Over time, ma bo became its name.
The legendary fungus is actually bovista and grows in many regions in China. It looks like a white ball at first, and tastes as tender as tofu. But it turns dark when it gets old and dry.
Bovista is a "neutral" herb in TCM that helps stop bleeding, clear the throat, benefit the lungs, remove blood stagnation and relieve inflammation.
The sponge-like tissue inside bovista can be applied externally to halt bleeding. The spore powder can help relieve boils when applied externally mixed with honey. Bovista is often prescribed orally taken together with qing dai (indigo naturalis) to relieve a sore throat caused by pathogenic heat and toxins.
Prescriptions & Usage:
Bovista congee
Peel 9g bovista and chop into pieces. Boil it down in water and filter it. Cook congee and the filtered soup together with 50g rice.
Eat twice a day and keep it for 2-3 days.
Benefits: Helps relieve sore throat and hoarseness due to pathogenic heat in lungs.
Bovista and xin yi hua tea
Cook 10g bovista and 10g xin yi hua (lily magnolia) with water for 20 minutes.
Drink it as tea.
Benefits: Bovista helps clear the throat while lily magnolia helps clear up stuffy nose.
Bovista and mai dong tea
Cook 10g bovista and 10g mai dong (lilyturf root) with water for 20 minutes.
Drink it as tea.
Benefits: Clears throat and eases inflammation.
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