So, folks are always chattin’ about Euphorbia humifusa, right? You know, that little plant they call ‘creeping spurge’ or ‘地锦草’ if you’re into the traditional names. They say it’s a bit of a wonder herb, good for a whole bunch of stuff. I’d heard the tales, seen it mentioned here and there.
My Own Little Encounter with the Green Stuff
My actual hands-on time with it wasn’t some grand experiment where I unlocked ancient secrets. Nah, it was way more down-to-earth than that. It started a few summers back. My kid got a nasty scrape on his knee playing outside, and my mother-in-law, who was visiting, immediately said, “Oh, we need some Di Jin Cao for that! It stops bleeding and helps it heal, quick quick!”
Now, I’m generally open to these things, but my first thought was, “Okay, where on earth am I gonna find that in suburban London?” She was convinced it grew everywhere back in her village. So, we actually went on a bit of a hunt in the local park. Me, trying to match blurry phone pictures to every tiny weed pushing through the pavement cracks, while she’s giving a running commentary on how her grandmother used to just pluck it fresh.
Talk about a wild goose chase. We spent a good hour, probably looked like a couple of weirdos inspecting the ground with intense focus. Did we find it? Nope. Not a single sprig that matched the description she was sure of. I ended up just cleaning the scrape with regular antiseptic and putting a plaster on it, you know, the usual drill.
Later, I did a bit more reading, just out of curiosity. And yeah, the books and websites list all sorts of purported benefits: good for dysentery, helps with jaundice, stops itching from eczema, clears heat, detoxifies… the list goes on. Apparently, it’s a staple in traditional medicine for these kinds of things.
My “practice” with it, if you can call it that, was more about the idea of it. The belief. My mother-in-law was so certain of its powers. For her, the knowledge itself was comforting. The act of wanting to use it, of believing in its traditional role, that was pretty powerful to see.
What I really took away from that little episode was how disconnected some of us are from these natural remedies. Even if Euphorbia humifusa did grow around here, would I confidently identify it? Probably not. I’d be too worried I was picking something else entirely. There’s a whole layer of knowledge there that’s not as common as it used to be.
So, the efficacy and作用 (functions)? I can tell you what the old texts say. They say it’s good for cooling the blood, stopping bleeding, clearing dampness. Sounds impressive. But my direct experience? It was a sunny afternoon in the park, a hopeful mother-in-law, and a grazed knee that healed just fine with a good old-fashioned plaster. It made me think more about the stories we tell about plants than the plants themselves, if that makes any sense. Maybe the real ‘function’ I observed was how it connects people to tradition and to nature, even if it’s just in the searching.
