Sichuan Fritillary Bulb / Chuan Bei Mu

OVERVIEW

What This Record Covers

Sichuan Fritillary Bulb, called Chuan Bei Mu, is the dried bulb of Fritillaria cirrhosa and related high-altitude Fritillaria species, herbaceous perennials of the lily family (Liliaceae) that grow on mountain slopes in western China. The medicinal material is the small bulb made of overlapping scales, harvested, cleaned, and dried whole or sliced. In trade it appears as small whole bulbs, scale pieces, powder, granules, and cough preparations, and the species, region, and bulb size are important parts of the record. Because several Fritillaria species are traded and the bulbs are small and similar, the Latin name and the cultivation or wild-harvest source should be confirmed on the label.

English name

Sichuan Fritillary Bulb / Chuan Bei Mu

Latin name

Fritillaria cirrhosa D.Don

Traditional category

Phlegm Transforming

Nature

Slightly Cold

Flavor description

Bitter, Sweet

Record identifier

chuanbeimu

IDENTIFICATION

Identification and Image Notes

The bulb is made of overlapping scales and can be small, white, and easily confused with other Fritillaria species, and species, region, and bulb size are important. The dried bulb is small, white, and cone-shaped, with several overlapping scales around a central axis, and the surface is smooth with a faint chalky texture. The small scale-like bulb is an orientation clue, but the Latin name and source should be confirmed with the label, since closely related Fritillaria species are traded under similar names.

Images are for orientation only, not definitive species authentication; confirm species, part, source, and labeling with a qualified professional or authoritative monograph.

TRADITIONAL CONTEXT

Traditional Use in Context

Traditional records discuss Sichuan Fritillary for lung yin, dry cough, phlegm, and heat-related respiratory language, and it is a classic ingredient in cough formulas for dry and heat-related cough presentations, such as Chuan Bei Pi Pa Gao, a cough syrup-like preparation, and in combinations with moistening roots. Classical texts describe it for a dry cough with little phlegm, always within a pattern-based framework. The phlegm vocabulary is historical and is not a modern respiratory diagnosis, and a persistent or worsening cough, fever, or breathing difficulty requires medical assessment rather than self-treatment.

PROCESSING CONTEXT

Raw Material, Processing, and Product Form

Bulbs are cleaned, dried whole or sliced, and sometimes powdered, and wild and cultivated sources, adulteration, and extract concentration need documentation. The whole bulb and the powder are different records.

The same name can cover a raw material, decoction piece, powder, extract, or finished product, so record the labeled form rather than assuming it; see the safety review for the questions to ask.

COMPARISON

How This Entry Differs

Compare Sichuan Fritillary Bulb with Zhejiang Fritillary for the two bulb species, and with Dwarf Lilyturf Root for the moistening end of the lung vocabulary. Sichuan Fritillary is distinguished by its high-altitude source and its association with dry, heat-related cough.

Use the related-entry links below to compare identity, part, processing, and safety boundaries — similar categories do not make materials interchangeable.

STUDY METHOD

New to these entries?

Read the four-step method in How to Read a Herb Entry before comparing materials.