What it is:
This herb is thestem of Dendrobium nobile Lindl. and many other species of the dendrobium genus (family Orchi-daceae) which grow chiefly in Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces. The stem is dried in the sun,cut into segments, and used unprepared or fresh.

Property:
Sweet in flavour, slightly cold in pro-perty, acting on thestomach and kidney channels.

Effects:
Nouri-shing the stomach topromote the produc-tion of body fluid, nourishing yin and clearing away heat.

Used for:
1. Dry mouth, dire thirst and deep-red and dry tongue due to consumption of the body fluid during febrile di-seases or due to insufficiency of thestomach-yin. It canbe given together with glehnia root, ophiopogon root and fragrant solomonsealrhizome,or used freshand in combination with fresh rehmanniaroot, ophiopogon root, trichosanthes root and other herbs.

2. For deficiencyof yin and consumptionof the body fluid with lingering feverof deficiency type,it can be used withdried rehmannia root,swallowwort root, ophiopogon root and scrophularia root. Besides, this herb also has the effects of improvingacuity of vision andstrengthening the loins and knees and therefore it is oftenused along with chrysanthemum flower,and wolfberry fruitto treat diminutionof vision, and withprepared rehmannia root and achyranthesroot to treat lassi-tude of the loins and knees.

Dosage and admi-nistration: 6- 15g, fresh dendrobium, 15-30g, decocted in waterprior to other herbs.

Precautions:
This herb has the disad-vantage of conservingpathogenic dampness,so it should not beused to treat febrilediseases without symptoms of dryness,and not should it be used in the treatment of damp-warm and damp- heat syndromes.