Hua Shi Cao – Cat’s Whiskers – Herba Orthosiphon Aristatus

Hua Shi Cao

English Name: orthosiphon, cat’s whiskers

Literal Translation: “dissolve stone herb”

Pharmaceutical Name: Herba Orthosiphon Aristatus

Medica Category: Water-Regulating and Damp-Resolving Herbs

Properties: Hua Shi Cao enters the Liver, Kidney, and Urinary Bladder channels; it is bitter in nature and cold in temperature.

What is Hua Shi Cao?:

The Chinese Herb Hua Shi Cao is the dried aerial parts of a medicinal plant in the mint family that is widely dispersed throughout the tropics of Southeast Asia (Australia through Malaysia and into India) known by the common name of cat’s whiskers (Orthosiphon aristatus). It gets this common name because it blooms with racemes of flowers whose stamens and pistils extend out like cat’s whiskers. It is used in several traditional Asian medicinal systems; its TCM actions are discussed below.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Therapeutic Actions of Hua Shi Cao:

Hua Shi Cao promotes diuresis, clears heat, reduces inflammation, and dissolves stones to treat lin zheng (dysuria syndrome) w/urinary calculi, gallstones, and nephritis with edema.

Hua Shi Cao lowers blood pressure to address hypertension.