Euryale Seed (Fox Nut) qiàn shí · 芡实

Euryale ferox Salisb. (seed)

Nature and flavour. Sweet and astringent, neutral; Spleen and Kidney systems.

Classed as securing the Kidney and holding essence, as supplementing the Spleen and stopping diarrhoea, and as removing damp and stopping discharge. In the classical framework it sits beside 莲子 and is often paired with it: the traditional distinction is that 芡实 is the one described for discharge and for damp that has settled in the lower body, while 莲子 is the one that also carries the Heart-calming action. Holding and removing damp together is its character — the chronic loose stool and the discharge of the classical descriptions.