Whole herbsHeat-clearingDuchesneae Indicae Herba

She Mei (Indian Mockstrawberry Herb)

Q: What is the composition and traditional use of She Mei?

She Mei is pharmacopoeially named She Mei, Latin Duchesnea indica. It is sweet and bitter, cold, enters the Liver, Lung and Large Intestine channels, and is slightly toxic. Its traditional actions are to clear heat and detoxify, cool the blood and stop bleeding, and disperse stasis and reduce swelling; it is used for febrile diseases, dysentery, jaundice, red eyes, mouth sores, sore throat, mumps, boils, snakebite, hematemesis, flooding and spotting, irregular menstruation, burns, and traumatic swelling and pain.

Q: How do you choose raw versus prepared? Can Pu Gong Ying replace it?

She Mei is cut into sections and used raw or fresh. Pu Gong Ying leans to detoxifying without specialized blood-cooling, so it cannot replace the formula by equal weight. Commercial products follow regulated processing, and you should not self-modify.

Q: What is the usual dosage? Can it be drunk daily as a heat-clearing tea?

The usual dose is 9–15 g when decocted, or 30–60 g fresh. Modern use requires a practitioner to name the dose. It is not a four-season “mock strawberry tea,” and people with Spleen-Stomach deficiency cold may be further harmed. Heat-toxin use should be short-course and practitioner-guided.

Q: What are the contraindications? Can it be used in pregnancy?

She Mei is not suitable for Spleen-Stomach deficiency cold and is slightly toxic. Pregnancy requires practitioner assessment. Stop if loose stool or abdominal pain appears, and seek immediate medical care for high fever or hematemesis.

Q: Can She Mei clear heat and detoxify, cool the blood and stop bleeding?

It can help with febrile diseases, dysentery, jaundice, red eyes, mouth sores, sore throat, boils, hematemesis, flooding and spotting, and trauma. It does clear heat and detoxify, cool the blood and stop bleeding, and disperse stasis and reduce swelling, but it is not a specific cure for every heat-toxin condition or every bleeding condition.

Q: Can She Mei be drunk daily as a heat-clearing or detoxifying tea?

No. Heat-toxin use may be handled in a short formula, but Spleen-Stomach deficiency cold may be worsened. The herb’s heat-clearing, detoxifying, blood-cooling, and bleeding-stopping use should be determined by a practitioner with the proper form and dose.

Q: How do you choose among She Mei, Pu Gong Ying, Bai Hua She She Cao, Jin Yin Hua and Zi Hua Di Ding?

She Mei clears heat and detoxifies while cooling the blood, stopping bleeding, and dispersing stasis and reducing swelling, so it leans to heat-toxin, bleeding, and swelling. Pu Gong Ying leans to abscesses; Bai Hua She She Cao to heat-toxin; Jin Yin Hua to wind-heat; and Zi Hua Di Ding to sores. They should be chosen after pattern differentiation, and Spleen-Stomach deficiency cold forbids large amounts of She Mei.

A practical guide to She Mei: what it is, how Traditional Chinese Medicine uses it, the classical formulas it appears in, and who should be careful with it.

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Last reviewed Oct 29, 2026

Quick Facts

Latin Name	Duchesneae Indicae Herba
Chinese Name & Pinyin	蛇莓 · She Mei
Medicinal Part	Whole herbs
The item	She Mei is the dried or fresh whole herb of Duchesnea indica. Di Jin Cao (spotted euphorbia) is a look-alike cousin, not this herb. It usually goes into light cooling teas or external washes.
Nature and channels	Cold. Sweet, bitter. Enters the Lung, Liver, and Large Intestine. Cold sweet bitter clears and resolves heat toxin, astringes the skin, and stops itching.
Pharmacopoeia line	Clears heat toxin, astringes, and stops itching. Traditionally used for superficial heat-toxin sores, eczema itching, and minor burns and scalds.
Pattern cues	Small red painful sores. Mild sore throat with dry mouth. Itchy eczema rash. Mild burn redness.
In this article	She Mei versus Di Jin Cao. Clearing surface heat toxin versus cooling blood for bleeding. Why it is mostly an external wash. Why spleen-stomach deficiency-cold must skip it. Why swelling after snake encounters needs a clinic. Who should skip it.

What Is She Mei?

She Mei (蛇莓; Shé Méi; Latin: Duchesneae Indicae Herba; English: indian strawberry herb) in the current pharmacopoeia is the dried or fresh whole plant of Duchesnea indica of the Rosaceae family — a slender creeping herb with yellow flowers and small red berry-like fruits, harvestable all year, with the summer flowering-fruiting period holding the more concentrated effects, usually washed, cut, and dried for raw use. It is cold, sweet, and bitter, enters the Lung, Liver, and Large Intestine channels, and its core actions are to clear and resolve heat toxin, and to astringe the skin and stop itching. It usually goes into light cooling teas, or is decocted for external washing. The usual amount is 10–15 g by mouth in a decoction; dried slices soak ten minutes first, then simmer ten to fifteen minutes, with no pre-decocting or late addition needed. External use is a suitable amount — 30–60 g decocted, cooled to warm, and washed over the itchy or mildly burnt spot.

It is not Di Jin Cao. Di Jin Cao (Spotted Euphorbia Herb) is bitter-acrid and heavier cold, leaning to cooling blood and stopping bleeding for bloody stool and blood in the urine; this indian strawberry is a milder cold that leans to astringing the skin and stopping itching. Spleen-stomach deficiency-cold, with cold limbs and loose stool, is a poor match. Broken, discharging sores should not be washed with it on your own. Swelling after snake encounters needs emergency care first. Anyone allergic to Rosaceae plants should skip it. Do not brew it daily for more than a few days.

It is used most often for three patterns:

Heat-toxin sores — small red, swollen, painful skin sores, mild sore throat, dry mouth, yellow urine
Damp-heat skin itching — eczema rashes, stubborn itch, mild local swelling after insect irritation
Minor burns and scalds — mild local redness without broken skin

Cold, sweet, and bitter, it is not a daily “cooling grass tea” to keep brewing. Cold herbs with no heat toxin present chill a weak stomach and bring loose stool.

When heat toxin gathers on the body surface, or damp-heat steams the skin, red sores, itching rashes, and mild throat swelling are common. She Mei is cold, sweet, and bitter. It clears and resolves heat toxin, astringes, and stops itching, which is why it appears in She Mei Jian (Indian Strawberry Decoction)–type formulas. It clears the surface more than it enters deep. A deficiency-cold spleen and stomach, with loose stool and no heat toxin, get worse if more is added.

She Mei is not a catch-all cooling herb for every skin mark. In deficiency-cold, with no heat toxin, or on broken, discharging skin, using it alone is a poor match. Fresh or dried, and whether it belongs in a formula, should be decided by a licensed Chinese medicine practitioner after pattern diagnosis.

She Mei: Materia Medica Profile

Identification & Quality Standard

Duchesneae Indicae Herba

Botanical Origin

The dried whole herb of Duchesnea indica (Andr.) Focke (Rosaceae).

Production Regions

Produced in most regions of China.

Quality Requirements

Superior material is green, leafy and with fruits.

Macroscopic Features

Stems slender, cylindrical, 1~5 mm diameter, surface yellowish-green or brownish-red, with scattered reflexed hairs; leaves alternate, trifoliate; leaflets ovate or rhomboid-obovate, 1.5~4 cm long, margin coarsely serrate; fruits small, aggregate, red, receptacle spongy; texture soft and fragile; faint odor; slightly bitter taste.

Main Regions and Quality Identification

Traditional materia medica and industry experience value the East and Central China producing regions — Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan, and nearby — though actual quality also depends on variety, harvest time, processing, and storage. In appearance, the dried whole herb is usually wrinkled, with slender stems in brown-green or dark purple, brittle leaves, a faint green-grass scent, and a slightly astringent taste. Common look-alikes are other creeping herbs of the same genus, or wild strawberries of similar form: the wild strawberry's receptacle is fleshy and directly edible, while She Mei's aggregate fruit is drier and puckery-sour, without the wild strawberry's sweetness.

Traditional Properties & Historical Lineage

Nature, Flavour & Channel Tropism

Sweet, Bitter; Cold; Slightly toxicLungLiverLarge Intestine

1. Records in Classic Materia Medica

Ming Yi Bie Lu: records that it treats "great heat in the chest and abdomen."
Xin Xiu Ben Cao: adds that it can "treat foul sores."
Ben Cao Gang Mu: records that it can "be applied to scalds and burns."
De Pei Ben Cao: makes its action clear as clearing and resolving heat toxin.

These records all circle around its clearing-draining action, with no mention of a tonifying effect.

2. How Views of Its Nature Changed

Different physicians saw it differently. Some early materia medica stressed its cold nature — that it can clear excess heat in the organs, used internally for heat patterns. Later physicians emphasized its external use — that its clear-transparent nature, unlike some bitter-cold herbs, does not irritate the skin, suiting surface sores and ulcers. Still others pointed out its scope: it suits light, shallow heat patterns only, not severe deficiency heat or cold patterns — to avoid misuse causing stomach and spleen discomfort.

Core Efficacies & Traditional Applications

Traditional Functions

Clears heat and resolves toxin, dissipates stasis and reduces swelling, cools blood and stops bleeding.

1. First Direction: Clearing and Resolving Heat Toxin

Traditional action: clear heat toxin from the body — used mostly for light shallow heat on the surface or inside: skin sores, throat swelling and pain, or minor damp-heat troubles.
Typical signs: small red, swollen, painful sores on the skin, or mild throat swelling, with a dry mouth and slightly yellow urine — without marked deficiency signs like chills or fatigue.
Usual combinations: often paired with other clearing herbs — Jin Yin Hua and Lian Qiao to strengthen the heat-toxin-clearing effect, or Bai Xian Pi for skin heat sores.
Who should not self-use: those with spleen-stomach cold deficiency — who usually have bloating and loose stools — should not self-use, because the cold nature of She Mei may worsen the discomfort.

2. Second Direction: Astringing to Stop Itching

Traditional action: astringe the skin and relieve itching — for surface damp-heat or heat-toxin itching, eczema, mild burns, or skin discomfort after mosquito bites.
Typical signs: small red rashes with unbearable itching, or local redness from a mild burn — without marked broken skin with pus.
Usual combinations: mostly used externally — with itching-relieving herbs such as Ku Shen and Di Fu Zi, boiled into a wash for the affected area.
Who should not self-use: those with clearly broken, discharging skin should not self-use, to avoid irritating the wound and worsening infection.

3. Classic Pairing: She Mei With Pu Gong Ying

The classic herb pair is She Mei with Pu Gong Ying. Both clear and resolve heat toxin; She Mei leans toward astringing and stopping itching, while Pu Gong Ying leans toward dispersing swelling sores. Together they can simultaneously clear skin heat toxin and relieve itching — suiting eczema and small sores from skin damp-heat. This pairing needs a practitioner's pattern diagnosis — don't combine herbs on your own; in particular, people with spleen-stomach cold need dose adjustment.

Modern Research

Modern research offers useful context, but Traditional Chinese Medicine prescribes on whole-pattern diagnosis rather than isolated compounds.

1. Main Chemical Constituents

Detected constituents include flavonoids, triterpenoids, and phenolic acids, plus small amounts of polysaccharides and volatile oils. In vitro tests show some components inhibit some pathogenic bacteria — but this effect is produced at specific laboratory concentrations. Animal studies suggest the extract may regulate inflammatory responses — but this cannot be directly equated with effects in humans. There is not yet sufficient human clinical research to reach clear conclusions.

2. Current Research Directions

Current work centers on component analysis and preliminary in vitro antibacterial and anti-inflammatory tests; some animal experiments are also observing potential effects on immune regulation. The effects observed are mostly produced at specific extract doses; research is currently at the basic-pharmacology stage — more human studies are still needed to verify the actual effects.

3. Limitations of Current Research

Lab results are not clinical efficacy — the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects seen in the lab do not directly prove that taking She Mei slices will achieve the same results.
Extracts and monomers are not the same as traditional decoction pieces — the high-concentration extracts used in experiments differ completely in dose from the slices used daily.
Methods and doses vary between studies — some experiments use pure components, others water extracts, so the results differ considerably.
A single component does not define the whole herb — the plant's effects come from many components working together; one component's action cannot represent the whole.

Comparing Similar Herbs

1. What They Share

She Mei and Di Jin Cao share three main points:

Both have clearing and resolving heat toxin as a main action — mostly for everyday light shallow heat patterns.
Both are used for traditional surface patterns — skin sores, damp-heat minor troubles.
Both may appear in folk cooling teas or external washes — and both need constitution and dose care.

2. The Key Differences: She Mei vs. Di Jin Cao

Nature and flavors: She Mei is cold with sweet-bitter flavors — its coldness is relatively gentle and won't over-injure the spleen and stomach; Di Jin Cao is also cold but leans bitter-pungent — its coldness is stronger and its clearing-draining action fiercer.
Focus: She Mei excels at astringing and stopping itching — for skin itching and mild burns (surface problems); Di Jin Cao excels at cooling the blood and stopping bleeding — for internal bleeding such as stool blood and urine blood. Their core strengths point in different directions.
Qi tendency: She Mei leans toward clearing-draining and astringing — aimed at surface heat toxin and damp toxin, without affecting the internal qi; Di Jin Cao leans toward clearing-draining and cooling the blood — regulating the blood-heat state inside, with some qi-moving, aimed at internal stasis-heat problems.
Best fit: She Mei suits skin rashes, itching, and mild burns — the shallow surface heat pattern; Di Jin Cao suits stool blood, urine blood, and dysentery — internal blood-heat or damp-heat bleeding.
Not suitable: She Mei is not for spleen-stomach cold deficiency or broken discharging skin; Di Jin Cao is not for spleen-stomach cold deficiency or deficiency-cold bleeding. Both are unsuitable for cold-pattern patients, but Di Jin Cao's restriction leans more toward internal deficiency-cold.
Use scenes: She Mei appears more in external washes and light cooling teas — for everyday skin problems; Di Jin Cao appears more in internal formulas — for internal bleeding or dysentery.

3. One-Sentence Summary

Simply put, She Mei leans toward clearing surface heat toxin and astringing to stop itching, whereas Di Jin Cao leans toward clearing blood heat and stopping bleeding. Both can be used for the light shallow heat of heat-toxin clearing, but they are not interchangeable.

Classical Formulas Containing She Mei

Classic Formula 1: She Mei Jian (Indian Strawberry Decoction)

Combination logic: She Mei is the lord here — used alone or with Jin Yin Hua and Ye Ju Hua — mainly addressing surface heat-toxin sores. She Mei's astringing-and-itching-relief assists the skin discomfort, and Jin Yin Hua and Ye Ju Hua strengthen the heat-toxin-clearing effect. The formula does not use She Mei alone: a single herb's power is limited, and combining herbs produces better synergy.

Traditional use: traditionally used for surface heat-toxin sores, eczema itching, and mild throat swelling — the regulation of light shallow heat patterns.

Modern note: modern clinical use requires a doctor's pattern diagnosis and standard care; do not self-apply just because the formula name relates to a skin condition — especially with serious skin problems, follow the doctor's treatment.

Classic Formula 2: She Mei Di Fu Zi Tang (Indian Strawberry-Kochia Decoction)

Combination logic: She Mei is the minister here, combined with Di Fu Zi and Ku Shen — addressing skin damp-heat itching. She Mei's astringing-and-itching-relief works with Di Fu Zi and Ku Shen's heat-clearing, damp-resolving effect, strengthening the relief of skin discomfort. Again, the formula does not use She Mei alone — a single herb cannot cover both the heat-clearing and the itching-relief needs.

Traditional use: traditionally used for skin eczema and itching from damp-heat moving downward, and red swollen discomfort after mosquito bites.

Modern note: modern clinical use requires a doctor's pattern diagnosis — patients with chronic skin disease especially need the formula adjusted to their individual situation; do not self-use.

Formulas vs. Single Herbs

A formula works through many herbs together — the lord, minister, assistant, and courier combination forms an overall effect. A single herb cannot simply replicate a full formula's effect: the formula's doses and combinations are holistic, and every herb's amount and pairing is designed. Don't build your own formula from online articles. And be clear: that a herb works inside a formula does not mean taking it alone will work the same way — a single herb's components and dose differ from those in the formula.

Diet & Daily Home Use

1. Home Tea and External Wash

Tea — She Mei Zhi Yang Cha: dried She Mei 5 g, Jin Yin Hua 3 g. Put both in a cup, steep in boiling water for 10 minutes, and drink. Suited to mild throat swelling or skin itching as daily regulation. Not for those with spleen-stomach cold — they may get bloating and loose stools. Suggested: no more than 2 cups a week, 1 cup each time.

External wash — She Mei Wai Yong Xi Ji: fresh She Mei 30 g (or dried She Mei 10 g), Ku Shen 15 g. Boil both in 1000 mL of water for 15 minutes, take the liquid, let it cool to warm, and wash the affected area. Suited to eczema and mosquito-bite itching. Not for those with clearly broken, discharging skin. Suggested: no more than 3 times a week, 10 minutes each wash.

2. Decoction and Processing Differences

The raw and processed forms differ little; raw use dominates on the market today, and no special processing is needed. At home, fresh herb can be washed and used directly; dried herb should be washed and soaked for 10 minutes before decocting. No pre-boiling, late addition, bagging, or flush-taking is needed. The basic home method: add water until it covers the herbs by about 2 cm, bring to a boil on high heat, then simmer 10–15 minutes. Different forms cannot be converted directly — the dose in a formula and the dose in food therapy differ considerably, so do not swap them at will.

3. Dosage and Course

The common dose in traditional prescriptions is 10–15 g of dried She Mei per dose internally, and 30–60 g externally. Food-therapy doses are about one-third of the medicinal dose, to avoid overuse. Long-term continuous use is not advised — She Mei's nature is cold, and prolonged use may injure the spleen and stomach. Special groups should consult a doctor or pharmacist: pregnant and breastfeeding women need dose adjustment, and children and the elderly should use reduced amounts.

Contraindications & Safety Warnings

1. Who Should Avoid It

Cold constitutions — people who are usually cold in the hands and feet or have loose stools should not use She Mei.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding — use under a doctor's guidance.
Children and the elderly — weaker spleen-stomach function; adjust the dose.
Liver or kidney impairment — consult a doctor before use.
Allergy to Rosaceae (rose-family) plants — may be allergic to She Mei; use cautiously.
Those in special treatment — such as chemotherapy or immunotherapy patients — consult a doctor before use.

2. Interactions and Diet Notes

She Mei's cold nature may affect the metabolism of anticoagulants, blood-pressure medications, and blood-sugar medications — anyone on such drugs should use it under a doctor's guidance. There is no sufficient evidence for a general "food clash" between ordinary foods, but certain herbs can interact with specific drugs — anyone on medication should consult a doctor or pharmacist first and avoid self-pairing.

3. Adverse Reactions and Overdose Risk

Taking She Mei may bring mild gastrointestinal discomfort — bloating, nausea; external use may bring skin redness or worsened itching. If marked discomfort, allergy signs, persistent vomiting, breathing difficulty, altered consciousness, or rapidly worsening symptoms appear, stop at once and seek medical care.

Frequently Asked Questions About She Mei

What is She Mei? Are Pu Gong Ying and Bai Hua She She Cao the same?

She Mei (蛇莓) is the whole herb of Duchesnea indica (Duchesneae Indicae Herba), a common Chinese herb centered on clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling the blood and stopping bleeding, and dispersing stasis and reducing swelling. Pu Gong Ying clears heat and detoxifies, leaning to abscesses. Bai Hua She She Cao clears heat and detoxifies, leaning to heat-toxin. The three cannot be interchanged by equal weight. Write She Mei. Use caution in Spleen-Stomach deficiency cold.

What is the composition and traditional use of She Mei?

Pharmacopoeial name She Mei, Latin Duchesnea indica. Sweet and bitter, cold; enters the Liver, Lung and Large Intestine channels. Slightly toxic. It acts to clear heat and detoxify, cool the blood and stop bleeding, and disperse stasis and reduce swelling. It is used for febrile diseases, fright epilepsy, common cold, dysentery, jaundice, red eyes, mouth sores, sore throat, mumps, boils, snakebite, hematemesis, flooding and spotting, irregular menstruation, burns and traumatic swelling and pain. Clears heat, detoxifies and cools the blood.

How do you choose raw versus prepared? Can Pu Gong Ying replace it?

Cut into sections and used raw or fresh. Pu Gong Ying leans to detoxifying without specialized blood-cooling; it cannot replace the formula by equal weight. Commercial products follow regulated processing; do not self-modify.

What is the usual dosage? Can it be drunk daily as a heat-clearing tea?

Decocted, 9-15 g, fresh 30-60 g. Modern use requires a practitioner to name the dose. It is not a four-season “mock strawberry tea.” Spleen-Stomach deficiency cold only injures further. Heat-toxin needs a practitioner to name a short course; it does not replace assessment.

What are the contraindications? Can it be used in pregnancy?

Not suitable for Spleen-Stomach deficiency cold. Slightly toxic. Pregnancy requires practitioner assessment. Stop if loose stool or abdominal pain appears. High fever or hematemesis need immediate medical care.

Can She Mei clear heat and detoxify, cool the blood and stop bleeding?

It can help febrile diseases, dysentery, jaundice, red eyes, mouth sores, sore throat, boils, hematemesis, flooding and spotting, and trauma. It clears heat and detoxifies, cools the blood and stops bleeding, and disperses stasis and reduces swelling—not a specific for every heat-toxin or every bleeding.

Can She Mei be drunk daily as a heat-clearing or detoxifying tea?

Heat-toxin may enter a short formula; Spleen-Stomach deficiency cold only injures further. “Mock strawberry must clear heat” does not replace assessment. Clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling the blood and stopping bleeding should be named by a practitioner with form and dose.

How do you choose among She Mei, Pu Gong Ying, Bai Hua She She Cao, Jin Yin Hua and Zi Hua Di Ding?

She Mei clears heat and detoxifies while cooling the blood and stopping bleeding and dispersing stasis and reducing swelling, leaning to heat-toxin, bleeding and swelling. Pu Gong Ying clears heat and detoxifies, leaning to abscesses. Bai Hua She She Cao clears heat and detoxifies, leaning to heat-toxin. Jin Yin Hua clears heat and detoxifies, leaning to wind-heat. Zi Hua Di Ding clears heat and detoxifies, leaning to sores. Heat-toxin and bleeding favor She Mei; abscesses favor Pu Gong Ying; heat-toxin favors Bai Hua She She Cao; wind-heat favors Jin Yin Hua; sores favor Zi Hua Di Ding. They may be referenced after pattern differentiation; Spleen-Stomach deficiency cold forbids large She Mei.

How is She Mei commonly modified? What is the representative use?

Depends on the pattern. Heat-toxin may add Jin Yin Hua; bleeding may add Ce Bai Ye. Write She Mei; do not replace the blood-cooling action with an equal weight of Pu Gong Ying.

How do you choose and store She Mei?

Choose regulated Chinese medicinal materials with intact whole herb. Moldy, damp, or abnormal-smelling lots are discarded. Store cool and dry. Buy “She Mei”; do not replace clearing heat and detoxifying, cooling the blood and stopping bleeding with an equal weight of Pu Gong Ying or Bai Hua She She Cao.

Related Products

Nong's She Mei (Indian Strawberry) Single Herb 5:1 Concentrated Granules $77.53

Medical Disclaimer — This article is provided for educational purposes only and describes traditional Chinese medicine concepts. It is not medical advice, and it is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Always consult a qualified practitioner before using any herb, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication or managing a diagnosed condition.