Practical
Plants

Dichroa febrifuga

Chinese Quinine

a perennial woody evergreen member of the Dichroa genus in the family Hydrangeaceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Genus
Dichroa
Life cycle
perennial
Foliage
evergreen
Woodiness
woody
Height
2 m
Flower type
hermaphrodite

Uses

Toxicity

Toxicity warning. The historical record reports a hazard for this plant. Do not use it to decide which parts are safe to eat or use medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

One report says that the plant is toxic but gives no more details[4].

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

This plant is commonly used in Chinese herbalism, where it is considered to be one of the 50 fundamental herbs[6]. The leaves are purgative[6]. They are used in the treatment of stomach cancer[6]. The juice of the leaves is used in Nepal to treat coughs, colds and bronchitis[10]. A decoction of the stem bark is used in the treatment of fevers[6]. a decoction of the leaves is used to treat malarial fever[10]. The root is emetic, expectorant, febrifuge and purgative[11][12][3][4][5][6][7][10]. The juice of the root is used in Nepal to treat fevers and indigestion[10]. This plant is 26 times more powerful than quinine in the treatment of malaria but causes vomiting[5]. Substances in the plant are 100 times more powerful than quinine, but they are poisonous[6].

Product or use
Antiperiodic
Product or use
Emetic
Product or use
Expectorant
Product or use
Febrifuge
Product or use
Purgative

Material uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The wood is used as a fuel[10].

Environment

Range
E. Asia - China, Japan, Himalayas.
Habitat
Shrubberies and damp places[11], often gregarious in clearings of oak forests[3], 900 - 2400 metres, from C. Nepal to China[11].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
light shade
Water
moderate
Hardiness
Zone 9+
Soil textures
sandy, loamy, clay
Soil pH
very acid, acid, neutral, alkaline
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed - we have no information on this species but suggest sowing the seed in a greenhouse in spring and only just covering it. Do not allow the compost to dry out. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings. No details are given, we suggest trying in August with almost ripe wood in a frame.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

An easily grown plant, succeeding in an open loamy soil[1]. The flowers vary in colour according to the type of soil they grow in, the best blue colour is formed when plants are in very acid soils[8]. One report says that this plant is probably not hardy outdoors in Britain[2] whilst another says that some provenances tolerate temperatures down to about -5°c[8] and another report says that the forms in cultivation are only fully hardy in southern Cornwall[1]. This same report goes on to say that those forms probably do not belong to D. febrifuga in the strict sense[1]. This plant is cultivated in Russia as an anti-malarial herb[7].

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3

  2. Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981-00-00

    ↩

  3. Gamble. J. S. A Manual of Indian Timbers. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1972-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  4. ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X

    ↩1↩2

  5. Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  6. Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-917256-20-4

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6

  7. Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986-00-00

    ↩1↩2

  8. Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 Pan Books, London. 1998-00-00 ISBN 0-330-37376-5

    ↩1↩2

  9. Flora of China 1994-00-00 http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/

  10. Manandhar. N. P. Plants and People of Nepal Timber Press. Oregon. 2002-00-00 ISBN 0-88192-527-6

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

  11. Polunin. O. and Stainton. A. Flowers of the Himalayas. Oxford Universtiy Press 1984-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3

  12. Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974-00-00 ISBN 0094579202

    ↩

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