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Dichroa febrifuga

Common name:	Chinese Quinine	Family:	Hydrangeaceae
Author:	Lour.	Botanical references:	11, 51, 266
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	One report says that the plant is toxic but gives no more details[147].
Range:	E. Asia - China, Japan, Himalayas.
Habitat:	Shrubberies and damp places[51], often gregarious in clearings of oak forests[146], 900 - 2400 metres, from C. Nepal to China[51].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Ca'Ang Shan [E], Gigil [E], Tataroeman [E], Zyozan-Azisai [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Hydrangea family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China India Java Vietnam

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 2m. It is hardy to zone 9. It is in leaf all year, in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, By Walls, By South Wall, By West Wall.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiperiodic Emetic Expectorant Febrifuge Purgative.

This plant is commonly used in Chinese herbalism, where it is considered to be one of the 50 fundamental herbs[218].
The leaves are purgative[218]. They are used in the treatment of stomach cancer[218]. The juice of the leaves is used in Nepal to treat coughs, colds and bronchitis[272].
A decoction of the stem bark is used in the treatment of fevers[218]. a decoction of the leaves is used to treat malarial fever[272].
The root is emetic, expectorant, febrifuge and purgative[51, 61, 146, 147, 176, 218, 240, 272]. The juice of the root is used in Nepal to treat fevers and indigestion[272]. This plant is 26 times more powerful than quinine in the treatment of malaria but causes vomiting[176]. Substances in the plant are 100 times more powerful than quinine, but they are poisonous[218].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

Other Uses

The wood is used as a fuel[272].

Cultivation details

An easily grown plant, succeeding in an open loamy soil[1]. The flowers vary in colour according to the type of soil they grow in, the best blue colour is formed when plants are in very acid soils[260].
One report says that this plant is probably not hardy outdoors in Britain[11] whilst another says that some provenances tolerate temperatures down to about -5° c[260] and another report says that the forms in cultivation are only fully hardy in southern &ndndndnd[1]. This same report goes on to say that those forms probably do not belong to D. febrifuga in the strict sense[1].
This plant is cultivated in Russia as an anti-malarial herb[240].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing the seed in a greenhouse in spring and only just covering it. Do not allow the compost to dry out. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings. No details are given, we suggest trying in August with almost ripe wood in a frame.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[51] Polunin. O. and Stainton. A. Flowers of the Himalayas. Oxford Universtiy Press 1984
A very readable and good pocket guide (if you have a very large pocket!) to many of the wild plants in the Himalayas. Gives many examples of plant uses.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[146] Gamble. J. S. A Manual of Indian Timbers. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1972
Written last century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.

[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.

[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[260] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 Pan Books, London. 1998 ISBN 0-330-37376-5
Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.