Zhejiang Fritillary Bulb

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Clears Lung heat, transforms phlegm, and stops forceful cough - the stronger Bei Mu for acute cough with thick yellow sputum, Lung fire, wind-heat phlegm, or obstructed downward Lung Qi.
• Clears heat and disperses nodules - especially valued for scrofula, goiter, thyroid masses, breast lumps, and hard phlegm-fire swellings where a colder, more dispersing fritillary is needed.
• Resolves toxin and reduces swelling - extended to sore throat, abscesses, mastitis, and phlegm-heat sores when heat, phlegm, and local swelling combine.
• Drains downward more strongly than Chuan Bei Mu - making it the preferred fritillary for excess, acute, and more palpable phlegm-heat accumulations rather than chronic deficiency-dryness cough.

Secondary Actions

• Historically, generic Bei Mu was only later divided into Chuan and Zhe forms; modern Zhe Bei Mu inherited the reputation for being larger, more bitter, colder, and more focused on toxins and nodules.
• Older aliases such as Xiang Bei and Tu Bei can create sourcing confusion, so this record keeps Zhe Bei Mu clearly distinct from both Chuan Bei Mu and the unrelated modern Tu Bei Mu (Bolbostemma).

Classic Formulas

• Hai Zao Yu Hu Tang (海藻玉壶汤) - classic formula for goiter and thyroid nodules in which Zhe Bei Mu helps dissolve phlegm masses in the neck alongside seaweed, kelp, and Qi-regulating herbs.
• Xiao Luo Wan (消瘰丸) - the hallmark scrofula and lymph-node formula pairing Zhe Bei Mu with Xuan Shen and Mu Li to clear heat, nourish Yin, soften hardness, and dissolve phlegm nodules.
• Sang Xing Tang (桑杏汤) - uses Zhe Bei Mu in warm-dryness cough to cool and transform Lung phlegm while protecting fluids, showing its role in acute heat-related respiratory conditions.
• Er Mu pairings with Zhi Mu - although not always a standalone formula title, the classical 'Two Mothers' combination highlights Zhe Bei Mu's strength for Lung heat with phlegm and fluid damage.

Classical References

• Me & Qi and Sacred Lotus agree that Zhe Bei Mu is bitter and cold, enters the Heart and Lung, transforms phlegm-heat, stops cough, and disperses nodules while remaining distinctly stronger and colder than Chuan Bei Mu.
• Me & Qi's historical review explains that the formal Chuan/Zhe split emerged in the Ming and Qing periods, after older texts had simply recorded Bei Mu without modern species distinction.
• Traditional Zhejiang materia medica regards Zhe Bei Mu as one of the celebrated 'Zhe Ba Wei' herbs and emphasizes its role in hard nodules, toxic swellings, and acute phlegm-heat rather than purely deficiency cough.