Skip to content
Cura x Cura

Lu Gen芦根

Phragmitis Rhizoma · Reed Rhizome

Herbs that Clear Heat 清热药《神农本草经》

Overview

The juicy underground rhizome of the common reed — sweet and cold, but light and thin rather than rich, so it clears heat and restores fluids without the heaviness of a yin tonic. Its territory is heat in the Lung and Stomach: a thick, hot cough, a thirst that water does not settle, and nausea that comes from Stomach heat rather than from cold. Fresh reed rhizome is preferred where it can be had and is the stronger fluid-generator; the dried, sliced rhizome is what most dispensaries stock and what a prescription assumes.

Nature & Flavor

Sweet · Cold

Channels

Lung · Stomach

Typical Dosage

15–30 g in decoction
芦根Photography for this entry is on its way.

Actions

4 core actions

  • Clears heat, generates fluidsFebrile illness with high fever, restlessness and a dry mouth; the thirst of a body whose fluids have been burned off.
  • Clears Lung heat, expels phlegmHot cough with thick yellow sputum; classically part of the Lung-abscess approach with Dong Gua Ren and Yi Yi Ren 薏苡仁.
  • Clears Stomach heat, stops vomitingNausea, retching and hiccup arising from heat in the Stomach, often with a bad taste in the mouth.
  • Promotes urinationScanty, dark, burning urine — a second door for heat to leave by.

In Formulas

Formulas containing Lu Gen

Indications & Clinical Uses

  • Febrile illness with thirst, restlessness and a dry mouth
    - Hot cough with thick yellow sputum
    - Nausea and retching from Stomach heat
    - Scanty, dark, burning urination

Western Medical Keywords

Searchable condition terms

FeverBronchitisDry mouthNausea

Contraindications

Cautions

Cold and fluid-generating: not for a cold, weak Spleen and Stomach with loose stools, and not for a wind-cold cough with thin, clear, white sputum, where it will prolong things. Our dispensary data flags no toxicity and no allergy risk. Reed rhizome is bulky and low in potency by weight — an underweighed dose simply does nothing, so keep to the range rather than trimming it.

Contraindicated in pregnancy: No specific restriction — practitioner judgment applies

For licensed practitioners’ reference only

References

  1. Ming Yi Bie Lu《名医别录》 (classical source, public domain).
    2. Bensky, Clavey & Stöger. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd ed.
    3. 《中华人民共和国药典》.

Professional reference notice. Entries are scholarly references for licensed TCM practitioners and students — not medical advice, and not a recommendation to self-prescribe. Chinese herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Content is an original editorial compilation by Cura x Cura, cross-checked against the cited references.