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Common Name: Yin Yang Huo

General Information

Epimedium sagittatum is a perennial plant that can grow up to 0.50 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

E. Asia - China.

Habitat

Hillsides in damp shady bamboo groves or in cliff crevices[]. Moist woodlands[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Perennial
Height	0.50 m
Pollinators	Bees
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Succeeds in any fertile humus-rich soil[], preferring a moist but well-drained peaty loam[, ]. Grows best in the light dappled shade of a woodland[, ]. Plants can succeed in the dry shade of trees[]. A shallow-rooting plant, the rhizomes creeping just below the soil and the finer roots occupying the top 30cm of the soil[].
Although the plants are hardy to at least -15°c, the young growth in spring can be killed by frosts[].
Grows well in the rock garden or wild garden[].
Plants are self-sterile and so more than one clone is required for cross-fertilization in order for seed to be produced. Plants will often hybridise with other species growing nearby[].
Cultivated as a medicinal plant in Japan[].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits[].

Edible Uses

Young plant and young leaves - cooked[]. Soaked and then boiled[]. (This suggests that the leaves are bitter and need to be soaked in order to remove the bitterness.)

Medicinal

The whole plant is antirheumatic, aphrodisiac, carminative, expectorant, ophthalmic and vasodilator. Used as a kidney tonic, it also treats sterility and barrenness[, , ]. It is taken internally in the treatment of asthma, bronchitis, cold or numb extremities, arthritis, lumbago, impotence, involuntary and premature ejaculation, high blood pressure and absentmindedness[]. It should be used with some caution since in excess it can cause vomiting, dizziness, thirst and nosebleeds[].
The plant is harvested in the growing season and dried for later use[].

Other Uses

A good ground cover plant[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe in late summer[, ]. Sow stored seed as early as possible in the year in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in light shade in the cold frame or greenhouse for at least their first winter[]. Plant them out in mid to late summer[].
Division in mid summer according to one report, in late spring according to another[]. Larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.
Cuttings in late summer[].