What it is:
This herb is the root of Scrophularia ningpoensis Hemsl. (family Scrophulariaceae), produced chiefly in Zhejiang and Sichuan pro- vinces, harvested in winter when the above -ground part has withered. The roots are piled and dried in sunlight alter- nately until the inside becomes black, and then sliced for use.

Property:
Bitter, sweet and salty in flavour, cold in property, acting on the lung, stomach and kidney channels.

Effects:
Clearing away heat, nourishing yin, purging fire and clearing away toxins.

Used for:
1.Epidemic febrile diseases with heat invasion of the yin system marked by fever, thirst, restlessness, unconsciousness and delirium.It is often used with dried rehmannia root, rhinoceros horn and forsythia fruit, as in Decoction for Clearing Heat in the Yin System (Qingying Tang) and Decoction for Remov- ing Heat from the Pericardium (Qinggong Tang). In cases of excessive noxious heat marked by maculas and eruptions, it can be used with gypsum, rhinoceros horn and anemarrhena rhizome, as in Decoction for Relieving Feverish Rash (HuabanTang).

2. Swollen and sore throat,scrofula, subcutaneous nodules and gangrene of fingers or toes. For swollen and sore throat due to affection by exopathogenic wind -heat, it is used with arctium fruit and peppermint; for swollen and sore throat due to ris- ing up of internal heat, it is used with ophiopogon root, platycodon root and liquorice, named Decoction of Scrophularia, Op- hiopogon, Liquorice and Platycodon (Xuan Mai Gan Jie Tang) . For scrofula and subcutaneous nodules, it is used with fritillary bulb and oyster shell, as in Scrofula-eliminating Pill (Xiaoluo Wan). For gangrene of the fingers and toes, it is used with honey- suckle flower and chinese angelica root, as in Decoc-tion of Four Wonder- ful Herbs for Quick Restoration of Health (Simiao Yongan Tang).

Dosage and administration: 10- 15g, decocted in water for an oral dose, or used in bolus and powder.

Precautions:
It is contraindicated for cold syndrome of deficiency type in the spleen and stomach with mani- festations of poor appetite and loose stools. It is in- compatible with he- llebore root (Radix Veratri).