Woolly Grass Rhizome

Name: Woolly Grass Rhizome

Other Names: Rhizoma Imperatae Cylindricae(Latin), Bai Mao Gen, Alang alang, Rhizoma Imperatae Cylindricae, Blady Grass, Speargrass, Yakha, Kunai, Cogon Grass, Silver Spike

Description: Alang-alang (Imperata cylindrica) is a perennial rhizomatous grass native to east and southeast Asia, India, Micronesia and Australia. It grows from 0.6-3 m (2-10 feet) tall. The leaves are about 2 cm wide near the base of the plant and narrow to a sharp point at the top; the margins are finely toothed and are embedded with sharp silica crystals. The main vein is a lighter colour than the rest of the leaf and tends to be nearer to one side of the leaf. The upper surface is hairy near the base of the plant while the underside is usually hairless. Roots are up to 1.2 meters deep, but 0.4 m is typical in sandy soil. The common name of woolly grass rhizome is imperata, rhizome of wooly grass(Bai Mao Gen). The Latin Name of Woolly Grass Rhizome is Rhizoma Imperatae Cylindrica. Common names include speargrass (Nigeria), blady grass (Australia), alang-alang, lalang (Malaysia), alang-alang (Indonesia), gi (Fiji), ngi, paille de dys, paillotte, impérata cylindrique, impérate, satintail, kasoring (Palau), cotton wool grass, cotranh (Viet Nam), illuk (Sri Lanka), yakha (Laos), kunai (New Guinea), silver spike (southern Africa) and Cogon Grass (United States). Woolly Grass Rhizome is sweet and cold. The woolly grass rhizome cools the blood and stops bleeding, for heat in the blood and bleeding with symptoms such as hemoptysis, epistaxis, or hematemesis, clear heat and promotes urination, for painful and hot urination (Re Ling), urinary difficulty (can be used alone for this purpose), edema, and Damp-Heat Jaundice, clears heat from the lungs and stomach and for stomach and lung heat with symptoms such as irritability, nausea, vomiting, thirst, and coughing and wheezing.