Guangdong money grass

A small stone in the lower ureter with intermittent flank pain, blood in the urine, and a damp-heat tongue, where the aim is to flush it through

A patient who forms calcium oxalate stones every few years and wants a daily tea to lower the risk

Yellowing of the skin and eyes with dark urine and a sticky yellow tongue coat in an acute hepatitis picture, used alongside yin chen hao

Overview. Grona styracifolia, long known as Desmodium styracifolium, is a low, spreading legume of southern China and Southeast Asia with round, leathery leaves shaped like old coins, hence the Chinese name money grass. The dried aerial parts are guang jin qian cao, the Guangdong money grass and the official stone-expelling species. It is sweet, bland, and cool, one of the herbs that drain damp-heat from the bladder and gallbladder, and it is the base of several modern Chinese stone formulas.

Clinical Notes. This is the first herb to consider for urinary stones in a damp-heat presentation: flank or lower abdominal pain, blood in the urine, and burning or dribbling urination. Use it at the top of its range, 30 g a day, as a decoction or a daily tea, and keep the patient drinking water.

Chinese Medicine Profile. Temperature: cool. Taste: sweet, bland. Channels: Liver, Kidney, Bladder. Actions: Clears damp-heat from the lower burner and relieves painful urination; Promotes urination and expels urinary stones; Drains dampness and relieves jaundice; Reduces edema by moving water.