Herb Root (根 gēn)

Xuan Cao Gen

Daylily root · 萱草根

Hemerocallis fulva (L.) L. · Radix Hemerocallis

Also known as: Huang Hua Cai Gen (黄花菜根)

Xuan Cao Gen, also known as daylily root, is used in Chinese medicine to clear heat and dampness, especially for urinary tract infections, jaundice, and heavy menstrual bleeding. It also helps reduce breast inflammation and support lactation. Caution: it is toxic and should only be used under professional guidance.

Category Heat-clearing and damp-draining herbs (清热利湿药) Herbs that clear Heat and resolve Toxicity (清热解毒药) Herbs that cool the Blood and stop bleeding (凉血止血药)
Therapeutic focus Urinary health Women's health Breast health Bleeding disorders

TCM Properties

Temperature

Cool

Taste

Sweet (甘 gān)

Channels entered

Spleen, Liver, Urinary Bladder

Parts used

Root (根 gēn)

Educational content • Consult qualified TCM practitioners for diagnosis and treatment

What This Herb Does

Every herb has a specific set of actions — here's what Xuan Cao Gen does in the body, explained in both everyday and TCM terms

Therapeutic focus

In practical terms, Xuan Cao Gen is primarily used to support these areas of health:

Urinary health Women's health Breast health Bleeding disorders

TCM Actions

In TCM terminology, these are the specific therapeutic actions that Xuan Cao Gen performs to restore balance in the body:

Clears heat and drains dampness Cools the blood and stops bleeding Resolves toxin and reduces swelling Promotes lactation

How these actions work

  • Clears heat and drains dampness: This means the herb helps the body overcome conditions where heat and dampness are stuck together, like jaundice with yellow skin and eyes, urinary tract infections with burning urination, or foul diarrhea.
  • Cools the blood and stops bleeding: For bleeding caused by

Patterns Addressed

In TCM, symptoms cluster into recognizable patterns of disharmony. Xuan Cao Gen is used to help correct these specific patterns.

Why Xuan Cao Gen addresses this pattern

Xuān Cǎo Gēn clears heat and drains dampness, directly targeting the damp-heat accumulation in the Large Intestine that causes diarrhea, dysentery, and hematochezia. Its cooling nature helps purge the pathogenic heat, and its sweet-bland quality promotes urination to drain dampness away from the intestines.

A practitioner would look for one or more of these signs

Blood In Stool

bright red blood in stools with tenesmus

Diarrhea

foul-smelling, urgent diarrhea

Commonly Used For

These are conditions where Xuan Cao Gen is frequently used — but only when they arise from the specific patterns it addresses, not in all cases

Arises from: Toxic-Heat

TCM Interpretation

From a TCM perspective, mastitis arises when Liver Qi stagnation transforms into heat, and Stomach heat rises to the breast channel, causing localized swelling, redness, and pain. Milk stasis can also contribute to heat accumulation.

Why Xuan Cao Gen Helps

Xuān Cǎo Gēn directly clears heat and resolves toxin in the breast area, while its cooling effect on the blood reduces redness and swelling. It also promotes lactation, helping to unblock milk ducts and drain the accumulated heat.

Also commonly used for

Jaundice

Clears damp-heat from the liver and gallbladder to reduce yellowing

Heavy Menstrual Bleeding

Cools blood and stops uterine bleeding due to heat

Epistaxis

Cools the blood to arrest hot, bright-red nosebleeds

Lactation Insufficiency

Promotes milk flow by clearing heat and unblocking the breast channel

Herb Properties

Every herb has an inherent temperature, taste, and affinity for specific channels — these properties determine how it interacts with the body

Temperature

Cool

Taste

Sweet (甘 gān)

Channels Entered

Spleen Liver Urinary Bladder

Parts Used

Root (根 gēn)

Dosage & Preparation

These are general dosage guidelines for Xuan Cao Gen — always follow your practitioner's recommendation, as dosages vary based on the formula and your individual condition

Standard dosage

6–9g (decoction).

Maximum dosage

Do not exceed 15g in decoction. Such doses are reserved for acute, severe conditions and must be used for a very short period under direct professional supervision. Higher doses risk acute poisoning.

Dosage notes

Begin with the lowest effective dose (6g) and monitor closely for adverse reactions. The herb is suitable only for short‑term use. Higher doses (up to 9g) may be considered for acute jaundice or mastitis, but duration must be strictly limited. Reduce the dose in elderly or debilitated patients. Do not continue treatment beyond the resolution of acute symptoms.

Preparation

Must be thoroughly decocted at high temperature (above 60°C) for a sufficient period (at least 20–30 minutes) to reduce its toxicity. Never consume Xuan Cao Gen raw or as a cold infusion. Do not soak in cold water before decocting; add directly to boiling water.

Comparable Ingredients

These ingredients have overlapping uses — here's how to tell them apart

Pu Gong Ying
Xuan Cao Gen vs Pu Gong Ying

Both clear heat and resolve toxin for breast abscesses, but Pu Gong Ying is stronger at dispersing swelling and is often the first choice for mastitis with intense redness and pain. Xuān Cǎo Gēn additionally cools the blood and drains dampness, making it more suitable when there is concomitant bleeding tendency or damp-heat in the lower burner.

Di Yu
Xuan Cao Gen vs Di Yu

Both cool the blood and stop bleeding, but Di Yu is astringent and focuses on lower burner bleeding such as hematochezia and hemorrhoids. Xuān Cǎo Gēn also clears damp-heat and resolves toxin, so it is preferred when bleeding is accompanied by damp-heat signs like jaundice or strangury.

Identity & Adulterants

Related species and common adulterations to be aware of when sourcing Xuan Cao Gen

Xuan Cao Gen is sometimes mis‑called ‘漏芦根’ (Le Lu Root) in regional folk medicine, leading to confusion with the genuine Le Lu (Rhaponticum uniflorum). Though both plants have distinct botanical features and clinical applications. Proper Xuan Cao Gen has characteristic spindle‑shaped tuberous roots with radial fissures on the cut surface. The roots of other Hemerocallis species (H. citrina, H. lilio‑asphodelus, H. minor) are also official sources and are not considered adulterants.

Educational content — always consult a qualified healthcare provider or TCM practitioner before using any herb.

Toxicity Classification

Classical Chinese pharmacopoeia toxicity rating for Xuan Cao Gen

Toxic

Xuan Cao Gen contains colchicine‑like alkaloids and hemerocallin, which are neurotoxic and hepatotoxic. It has a cumulative effect, potentially damaging the white matter of the brain and spinal cord, optic nerve fibres, and liver/kidney cells. Acute poisoning symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, haematuria, oliguria, dizziness, drowsiness, limb weakness, and in severe cases respiratory and circulatory failure. Toxicity is significantly reduced or eliminated by heating above 60 °C during decoction. Huang Lian (Coptis) and Huang Bai (Phellodendron) can partially neutralise the toxicity. Never use the raw or cold‑infused root internally.

Contraindications

Situations where Xuan Cao Gen should not be used or requires extra caution

Avoid

Not to be used during pregnancy — may stimulate uterine contractions and cause fetal harm or miscarriage.

Avoid

Not recommended during breastfeeding — toxic components may pass into breast milk and harm the nursing infant.

Caution

Contraindicated in patients with severe Qi and Blood deficiency or cold deficiency of the Spleen and Stomach.

Caution

Avoid long-term use due to cumulative toxicity and risk of neuropathic and hepatic damage.

Caution

Do not exceed the recommended dose; overdose can cause severe poisoning.

Special Populations

Important considerations for pregnancy, breastfeeding, and pediatric use

Pregnancy

Absolute contraindication. Xuan Cao Gen is toxic and possesses blood‑moving properties that may stimulate uterine contractions and lead to miscarriage or fetal damage. Do not use during any stage of pregnancy.

Breastfeeding

Not recommended. Toxic compounds may be excreted in breast milk and pose a risk to the nursing infant. Safer alternatives should be used during lactation.

Children

Not recommended for children due to its toxic potential and neurotoxic effects. If deemed absolutely necessary, it must be used only under strict professional supervision with reduced dosage and for the shortest possible duration. Prefer safer paediatric alternatives.

Dietary Advice

Foods and dietary considerations when taking Xuan Cao Gen

Avoid alcohol during treatment, as it may potentiate toxicity. Avoid raw, cold, and greasy foods that could further burden the Spleen and Stomach. Maintain a light, easily digestible diet to support the herb’s clearing and diuretic functions.

Botanical Description

Physical characteristics and morphology of the Xuan Cao Gen source plant

Xuan Cao (Hemerocallis fulva) is a perennial herbaceous plant with short rhizomes and fleshy, spindle-shaped tuberous roots. The leaves are basal, arranged in two rows, linear, 40–80 cm long and 1.5–3.5 cm wide, with a keeled underside. The flowering stem is stout, 60–80 cm tall, bearing a compound, scorpioid inflorescence of 6–12 orange-red to orange-yellow flowers. Each flower has a short tube and six petal-like segments, the outer three narrower than the inner three. The fruit is an oblong capsule. The plant favours warm, moist environments, tolerates partial shade, and is widely cultivated across China, especially in the southern regions.

Sourcing & Harvesting

Where Xuan Cao Gen is sourced, when it's harvested or collected, and how to assess quality

Harvesting season

夏、秋季采挖 (summer and autumn).

Primary growing regions

道地产区: 湖南、福建、江西、浙江。 Also produced in Sichuan, Guizhou, and other regions.

Quality indicators

Good quality Xuan Cao Gen has a greyish‑yellow or light greyish‑brown surface with distinct longitudinal wrinkles and some transverse wrinkles. The root is thick, firm, and the cut surface shows a brownish to dark brown colour with numerous radial fissures. It should smell faintly aromatic and taste slightly sweet. Avoid roots that are dark, hollow, or insect‑infested.

Classical Texts

Key passages from the classical Chinese medical texts that describe Xuan Cao Gen and its therapeutic uses

《本草拾遗》
“治砂淋，下水气，主酒疸黄色通身者，捣绞汁服。”
(Treats sandy strangury, drains water‑qi, and masters alcoholic jaundice with yellow body. Pound, strain the juice, and drink.)

《滇南本草》
“治乳结红肿硬痛，乳汁不通，乳痈，乳岩，攻痈疮。滇中产者，其性补阴血，止腰疼，治崩漏，止大肠下血。”
(Treats breast lumps with redness, swelling, hardness and pain, obstructed lactation, breast abscess, and breast cancer. Attacks carbuncles and sores. The type produced in Yunnan supplements Yin‑blood, stops lumbar pain, treats flooding and spotting, and stops large intestinal bleeding.)

《本草蒙筌》
“咀和酒煎，为破脑伤风要药。”
(Chew and decoct with wine; it is an essential remedy for breaking brain‑invading wind.)

Historical Context

The history and evolution of Xuan Cao Gen's use in Chinese medicine over the centuries

Xuan Cao is deeply embedded in Chinese culture. The earliest mention appears in the Shijing (Book of Songs): “焉得谖草？言树之背” — “Where can I find the forgetting‑plant? I will plant it behind the hall.” The plant thus gained the name 忘忧草 (Forget‑Worry Herb) and became a symbol of dispelling sorrow. Ji Kang of the Wei‑Jin period famously wrote “合欢蠲忿，萱草忘忧” — “Albizia removes anger, Xuan Cao forgets worry.” Because ancient homes planted Xuan Cao near the northern hall (北堂), where the mother resided, it also earned the name 母亲花 (Mother Flower) as a token of maternal love.

Medicinally, the root (Xuan Cao Gen) was first recorded in the Tang dynasty Bencao Shiyi. Over centuries its use expanded to include clearing heat‑dampness, cooling blood, stopping bleeding, and dissolving swellings. Its toxicity was also documented early; traditional processing relies on thorough heating to reduce the risk.