Cogongrass

A feverish child or adult with nosebleeds, dark scanty urine and a dry mouth, who will happily drink a sweet, cold grass-root tea by the cupful

Acute glomerulonephritis after a sore throat, with puffy face, tea-colored urine and a red tongue, where a cooling diuretic hemostatic is wanted alongside medical care

Overview. Bai mao gen is the long, white, jointed rhizome of cogongrass, an aggressive rhizomatous grass found across Asia, Africa, Australia and the Mediterranean and now an invasive weed in the southern United States. The rhizomes are dug in spring or autumn, washed and used fresh or dried; the silky flower spike is kept separately as a styptic. In Chinese medicine it is a sweet, cold, mild herb that cools the blood, stops bleeding and clears heat through the urine, and because it tastes pleasant and is nearly food-like it is given freely, especially to children and in febrile disease.

Clinical Notes. Think of bai mao gen for bleeding with heat that is not severe: nosebleeds, blood-streaked sputum and hematuria in a patient who is warm, thirsty and passing dark urine. It combines with xiao ji, ce bai ye and ou jie for hematuria, with sheng di huang for nosebleed, and with lu gen for the thirst, nausea and hiccup of stomach heat in the simple two-root decoction that is a standard children's fever drink.

Chinese Medicine Profile. Temperature: cold. Taste: sweet. Channels: Lung, Stomach, Bladder. Actions: Cools the blood and stops bleeding; Clears heat and promotes urination; Generates fluids and relieves thirst in febrile disease; Clears stomach heat to settle nausea and vomiting; Clears damp-heat and relieves jaundice.