Chinese Schizonepeta / Fineleaf Schizonepeta

OVERVIEW

What This Record Covers

Chinese Schizonepeta, called Jing Jie, is the dried aerial parts or flowering spikes of Schizonepeta tenuifolia, an aromatic annual herb of the mint family (Lamiaceae) cultivated across northern China. The plant has square stems, serrated leaves, and slender flowering spikes, and the above-ground material is harvested, dried, and cut for use. In trade it appears as cut herb, spike-only products, powders, and combined formulas. Because the aerial herb and the spike-only product differ in aroma and composition, the plant part and the harvest stage should be stated on the label.

English name

Chinese Schizonepeta / Fineleaf Schizonepeta

Latin name

Schizonepeta tenuifolia (Benth.) Briq.

Traditional category

Exterior Releasing

Nature

Slightly Warm

Flavor description

Pungent

Record identifier

jingjie

IDENTIFICATION

Identification and Image Notes

The herb has square stems, serrated leaves, and slender flowering spikes, and aerial herb and spike-only products should be identified separately. The dried material is green-gray with a mild aromatic smell that fades with storage, and the spike form is harvested at a different stage from the leaf material. The aromatic smell is an orientation clue, but the species and the stated plant part should be confirmed with the label, and the carbonized form is a separate record from the raw herb.

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 Chinese Schizonepeta for light exterior release, itching, sore throat, and bleeding-related historical combinations, and it appears in formulas aimed at early-stage wind presentations and skin itching, such as Jing Fang Bai Du San and Yin Qiao San with Honeysuckle and Forsythia, and it is carbonized in some bleeding-related records. Classical texts describe it for dispersing exterior wind lightly and for historical bleeding combinations, always within a pattern-based framework. The exterior and bleeding vocabulary is historical and does not replace examination or product-specific advice for a rash, sore throat, or bleeding symptom. A worsening rash, high fever, or heavy bleeding requires medical care rather than a formula-based label.

PROCESSING CONTEXT

Raw Material, Processing, and Product Form

Raw herb, stir-fried herb, and charcoal-treated herb appear in different records, and charcoal processing is a specific form, not a visual synonym for any darkened material. Each processed form carries a different traditional emphasis.

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 Chinese Schizonepeta with Saposhnikovia Root for the herb-versus-root pair, and with Peppermint for the cooling aromatic alternative. Schizonepeta is distinguished by its spike identity and its historical bleeding-related combinations.

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.