Ji Xue Cao (积雪草; Jī Xuě Cǎo; Latin: Centellae Herba; English: centella herb, gotu kola) is the low creeping ground-cover of damp field edges — round kidney-shaped leaves with shallow teeth, fine roots at the nodes — gathered whole in summer, the herb village grandmothers once boiled into bath water for heat rashes and summer boils. It is neutral, bitter and acrid, enters the Liver, Spleen, and Kidney channels, and its core actions are to clear damp-heat, and to dispel toxin and disperse swelling. It is the quiet drain for damp-heat and the cool hand for hot red sores. The usual amount is 10–15 g in a decoction. It soaks 30 minutes and boils about 20 minutes with the other herbs — no special first, last, or wrapped step. It is not plucked wild and eaten as a vegetable.
It is not Che Qian Cao. Plantain is cold and sweet — it clears heat and frees the urine, and eases lung-heat cough; this centella herb is neutral, bitter and acrid — it clears damp-heat and disperses toxin-swelling, better for hot sores and stasis-typed blocks. It is not a strong herb; it drains gently. In deficiency-cold — cold hands and feet, loose stools — or with an open, draining sore, using it on your own is a poor match. Sores that have broken open, or fever with confusion, need a clinic first. Do not take it yourself for a long time.
It is used most often for three patterns:
- Damp-heat inside — belly fullness and pain, scanty dark urine, dysenteric stools, a bitter sticky mouth, a yellow greasy coat
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Hot red boils and sores that hurt on pressure, swelling and pain from a fall or knock — seek care if broken open
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Deficiency-cold — cold hands and feet, loose stools — or pregnancy — seek care / skip it
Neutral, bitter, and acrid, it is not a daily "summer-damp tea" to keep drinking. Draining when there is no damp-heat, or in a cold body, injures the spleen instead of helping.
When late nights, rich food, and damp surroundings pile heat and damp inside — the belly feels full, the urine runs dark and scanty, the skin breaks into hot sores — the body needs a gentle clear-and-drain. Ji Xue Cao is neutral, bitter, and acrid. It clears the damp-heat and disperses the toxin-swelling, which is why it appears in Huo Xue Jie Du Tang (Blood-Moving Toxin-Clearing Decoction)–type formulas. It drains more than it holds. In deficiency-cold, or without damp-heat, more makes it worse.
Ji Xue Cao is not a catch-all damp or sore herb. In deficiency-cold, in pregnancy, with an open sore, or without damp-heat, using it alone is a poor match. Whether it belongs in a formula, and at what dose, should be decided by a licensed Chinese medicine practitioner after pattern diagnosis.
