Lily Bulb

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Nourishes Lung Yin and moistens dryness - the classic lily-bulb medicinal for chronic dry cough, scanty sputum, sore throat, or blood-streaked expectoration when Lung Yin has been depleted by heat, long illness, or overstrain.
• Clears Heart heat and calms the spirit - used for post-febrile restlessness, insomnia, palpitations, vague agitation, and the classical Bai He Bing ('Lily Disease') presentations where residual heat and Yin injury disturb the Shen.
• Stops cough gently without trapping pathogens - especially useful when chronic dryness and deficiency predominate rather than thick phlegm or acute exterior invasion.
• Nourishes Yin and lightly harmonizes the middle - sweet, moistening, and food-grade enough to appear in soups and congees for weakness after illness, dry throat, or poor recovery of fluids.

Secondary Actions

• Modern pharmacopoeial and trade sources differ on the exact botanical source: current medicinal Bai He usually centers on Lilium brownii var. viridulum, while older and market usage also includes Lilium lancifolium and Lilium pumilum.
• Honey-processed Bai He is traditionally preferred when the goal is stronger Lung-moistening and cough-stopping support, while the raw form is emphasized for lingering heat, restlessness, and Bai He Bing.

Classic Formulas

• Bai He Gu Jin Tang (百合固金汤) - the signature Lung-Yin formula pairing Bai He with Sheng Di Huang, Shu Di Huang, Mai Men Dong, and Chuan Bei Mu for chronic dry cough, blood-streaked sputum, and dry sore throat.
• Bai He Di Huang Tang (百合地黄汤) - from Jin Gui Yao Lue, using Bai He with fresh Sheng Di Huang juice for Bai He Bing with restlessness, emotional instability, and lingering heat after febrile illness.
• Bai He Zhi Mu Tang (百合知母汤) - classical Bai He Bing formula in which Bai He nourishes Yin while Zhi Mu clears residual deficiency heat and vexation.
• Bai He Hua Shi San (百合滑石散) - for Bai He Bing with irritability and dark difficult urination, showing Bai He's classical role extends beyond cough into post-febrile Shen disturbance.

Classical References

• Sacred Lotus and Me & Qi both describe Bai He as a sweet, slightly bitter, slightly cool Yin tonic entering the Heart and Lung, used for dry cough, restlessness, and post-febrile depletion.
• Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing records Bai He for pathogenic Qi, abdominal distention, heart pain, facilitating urination and bowel movements, and supplementing the center, showing its older profile was broader than the later dry-cough emphasis.
• Jin Gui Yao Lue devotes a full cluster of formulas to Bai He Bing, cementing Bai He's classical identity as a spirit-settling and heat-after-illness medicinal rather than only a respiratory herb.