Kochia

Intensely itchy, red, weeping skin eruptions with scanty dark urine in a hot, damp constitution

Burning frequent urination together with genital itching or discharge

Overview. Di fu zi is the dried ripe fruit of Bassia scoparia, an annual of the amaranth family long known as Kochia scoparia and grown as an ornamental (summer cypress, burning bush) for its dense form and red autumn color. Native from eastern Europe across temperate Asia, it is now a weed on most continents. The tiny grey-green fruits with their star-shaped winged calyx are gathered in autumn; in Japan the seeds are eaten as tonburi. In Chinese medicine di fu zi clears damp-heat from the bladder and the skin and is one of the main itch-relieving herbs, used internally and as a wash.

Clinical Notes. Think of di fu zi whenever itching and damp-heat travel together: red, wet, itchy eczema, urticaria, genital or perianal itching, or the burning, frequent urination of a bladder damp-heat pattern. It is the itching partner of bai xian pi, and the two are usually prescribed together; add ku shen and cang zhu when the skin is weeping, jing jie and fang feng when wind is prominent, and che qian zi and qu mai when the urinary symptoms dominate.

Chinese Medicine Profile. Temperature: cold. Taste: acrid, bitter. Channels: Kidney, Bladder. Actions: Clears damp-heat and promotes urination; Dispels wind and relieves itching; Clears damp-heat from the skin and the lower burner.