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Inula britannica chinensis

Common name:	Xuan Fu Hua	Family:	Compositae
Author:	(Rupr.)Regel.	Botanical references:	58
Synonyms:	Inula japonica (Thunb.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - China and Japan.
Habitat:	Wet places in lowlands, especially by rivers, all over Japan[58].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	I. britannica[B,DUTCH,G,H,HORTIPLEX,L,P] I. britannica var. chinensis[E]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	British Yellowhead [P,B], Engelse Alant [D], Meadow Fleabane [L], Oguruma [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.6m. It is hardy to zone 7. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 1/5 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. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Leaves - cooked[179]. An emergency food, it is only used when better foods are not available[177].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Alterative Carminative Cholagogue Deobstruent Expectorant Laxative Nervine Stomachic Tonic Vulnerary.

Xuan Fu Hua is used in Chinese herbalism as a mildly warming expectorant remedy and it is especially suitable where phlegm has accumulated in the chest[254]. It has been used as an adulterant of arnica (Arnica montana)[4]. The flowers are more commonly used, but the leaves are also used, generally for less serious conditions[254].
The leaf is discutient and vulnerary[218].
The flowers are alterative, antibacterial, carminative, cholagogue, deobstruent, depurative, diuretic, expectorant, laxative, nervine, stomachic, tonic and vulnerary[147, 176, 178, 218, 279]. They are used internally in the treatment of bronchial complaints with profuse phlegm, nausea and vomiting, hiccups and flatulence[176, 238]. The flowers have an antibacterial action, but this can be destroyed by proteins in the body[176]. The plant is harvested when in flower and can be dried for later use[254].
The root is discutient, resolvent and vulnerary[218].
The plant has been mentioned as a possible treatment for cancer of the oesophagus[218].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Succeeds in a sunny position in any moderately fertile well-drained soil[200]. Grows well in heavy clay soils.
Plants are hardy to at least -15° c[238].
This sub-species is the form that is most used medicinally, it is cultivated as a medicinal plant in China[178].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring or autumn in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.
If you have sufficient seed, it is worthwhile trying a sowing in situ in the spring or the autumn.
Division in spring or autumn[111].

Suppliers

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

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]

References for Inula britannica (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Inula britannica var. chinensis (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for Inula japonica (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany 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

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[58] Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965
The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.

[111] Sanders. T. W. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge 1926
A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.

[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.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[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.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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