Silktree albizia bark is the dried bark of the Albizia julibrissin, a plant belonging to the legume family. It can be cultivated or found in the wild and is produced in most regions across the country. The original plant grows on hillsides, favoring warm, moist, and sunny environments. It is cold and drought-resistant and not particularly demanding on soil types, thriving best in sandy loam and clay soils. It has a sweet taste and a neutral nature, belonging to the heart, liver, and spleen meridians. Its effects include calming the mind, relieving depression, promoting blood circulation, and reducing swelling. Clinically, it is used under the names silktree albizia bark and fried silktree albizia bark.
bubble_chart Compendium of Materia Medica
Shennong Bencao Jing: It tastes sweet and is neutral. It primarily calms the five zang-organs, harmonizes the heart and mind, and brings joy and freedom from worry.
Rihuazi Bencao: It kills worms, softens and extracts, reduces abscesses and swelling, and connects bones and tendons.
Yaoxing Lun: It belongs to earth and contains water and metal, having a quick effect in tonifying yin. It promotes muscle growth and connects bones and tendons, as can be generally seen. However, it has not been recorded by surgeons, why is that? Also known as night-closing, it is often planted in courtyards to dispel human anger.
Bencao Gangmu: It harmonizes blood, subdues swelling, and relieves pain.
Bencao Jingshu: Albizia is born from earth qi, hence it tastes sweet and has a neutral qi, being non-toxic. It enters the hand Shaoyin and foot Taiyin meridians. Earth is the mother of all things. It primarily nourishes the five zang-organs, with the heart as the monarch's official, naturally harmonizing. Spleen deficiency leads to the five zang-organs being unsettled, and heart qi agitation leads to encountering matters with depression and much worry. Sweetness mainly benefits the spleen, and spleen excess leads to the five zang-organs being naturally settled. Sweetness can relax, and heart qi relaxation leads to mental activity naturally flowing and joy without worry, with mental activity flowing freely leading to awareness and fulfillment of desires. Ji Kang's "Essay on Nourishing Life" says: Albizia dispels anger, which is exactly what this means. Its primary effects include lightening the body and improving vision. And the main effects of Da Ming include reducing Yongju, relaxing bones and tendons, all of which are due to its ability to tonify the heart and spleen and generate blood vessels.
Bencao Mengquan: It tastes sweet and has a neutral qi. It is non-toxic. It benefits the mind and tonifies yin, calms the five zang-organs and improves vision. It makes people achieve their desires and always be happy and worry-free.《Materia Medica Chenya》: Yang moves and opens, Yin is still and closes, this is ultimate harmony, this is ultimate peace. Moving yet able to be still, opening yet must close, this is the way to ultimate harmony, this is the way to ultimate peace. If moving cannot open, still cannot close, or moving cannot be still, opening cannot close, this is disharmony, this is unease. Albizia opens during the day with Yang's relaxation and closes at night with Yin's union, still when intertwined, moving without being pulled, opening and closing, moving and still, all achieving desires, is obtaining the correctness of yin-yang, both peaceful and harmonious, the human heart like this, what anger cannot be dispelled.
It opens during the day and closes at night, using day and night as its breath. It should calm the Yang of the heart and lungs, the Yin of the kidneys and liver, and also calm the central region, nourishing the postnatal. Harmonizing the heart and mind to bring joy and freedom from worry is because when the organs are calm, the spirit is calm, when the spirit is calm, the will overflows, and when the will overflows, there is no fear or sorrow. It resembles the movement of defense qi, also calming the defense qi's emergence into Yang during the day and entry into Yin at night. Further calming Yingqi as it circulates through the meridians, stabilizing the central region.
Only when the organs are calm and the heart is harmonious, then joy and freedom from worry. Only joy and freedom from worry, over time, naturally lightens the body and brightens the eyes, and desires are fulfilled. For qi depression causes heaviness and stagnation, joy causes soaring and lightness. Liver constraint causes dim vision, joy causes openness and brightness. Heart worry and anxiety lead to inability to have one's way, joy leads to following the heart's desires, all achieved.
Yaoxing Jie: Silktree albizia bark, tastes sweet, nature is neutral, non-toxic, enters the heart meridian. Primarily calms the five zang-organs, benefits the mind and will, kills various worms, reduces abscesses and swelling, connects bones and tendons, brings joy and freedom from anger, lightens the body and improves vision. The flowers primarily treat infantile lockjaw, decocted for washing; for injuries and pain from falls, mixed with hot wine.Note: Why does Albizia, tasting sweet, uniquely enter the heart family? As the classic says, "using sweetness to drain" is the theory. The heart gains element being restricted, and abscesses and sores are naturally released. Its leaves are finely paired, closing at night, also known as night-closing flower, resembling a lovely velvet brush, commonly called black velvet.
Benjing Fengyuan: Albizia belongs to earth and water, and its efficacy in tonifying yin is the most rapid. When used alone in decoction, it treats lung abscess and turbid sputum. When combined with Donkey-hide Gelatin soft extract, it effectively treats lung atrophy and hematemesis. When boiled into a paste with white wax, it is an essential medicine for growing muscles and mending bones and tendons, yet it has not been recorded by surgeons. Why is that? Note: The various diseases that Albizia treats are merely about growing muscles and mending bones and tendons, hence it is used to fill the gaps in the lungs. However, the Benjing mentions calming the five zang-organs and harmonizing the heart and mind, which suggests its benefits are not limited to just these ailments! Ji Kang's "Essay on Nourishing Life" states: "Albizia dispels anger, and the daylily makes one forget sorrow." Is there not a truth in the name when considering its effects?
Bencao Qiuzhen: [Comment] Tonifies spleen yin, soothes heart qi.Albizia specifically enters the spleen and also the heart. Why is it named so? It is said that taking it zang-fu organs are nourished, making people joyful and happy, hence the name "Huan". This herb has a sweet taste and neutral qi, and although taking it can tonify yin in the spleen, Zhu Zhen-heng said: Albizia belongs to earth, its function of tonifying yin, promoting muscle growth, and connecting tendons and bones can be generally seen. It enters the heart to soothe qi, making the five zang-organs peaceful and the spirit naturally relaxed. When used alone in decoction, it treats lung abscess with turbid sputum. Wei Zhou's Duxingfang. When decocted with Donkey-hide Gelatin, it treats lung atrophy with hematemesis, both are effective; when boiled with white wax into a paste, it serves as a medicine for promoting muscle growth and the reunion of broken sinews and fractured bones. However, its qi is soothing and its strength is mild, so using a small amount will not be effective, thus it must be used in large doses and for a long time to achieve the effect of tonifying and making the heart joyful. If one seeks immediate joy from treating acute diseases, can it be achieved?
Depei Bencao: Sweet, neutral. Enters the Taiyin channels of the hands and feet. Calms the five zang-organs, treats lung abscess. Also tonifies the yin of the heart and spleen.
When combined with Donkey-hide Gelatin, it treats lung atrophy with hematemesis. Paired with white wax, it forms a soft extract that promotes muscle growth and connects tendons and bones; paired with white mustard seed, it is used both internally and externally to treat fractures and broken bones.
Bencao Fenjing: Sweet, neutral. Harmonizes blood and tonifies yin, calms the five zang-organs, harmonizes the heart and mind, benefits the heart and spleen. When harmonized, the five zang-organs naturally become peaceful.
bubble_chart Modern Pharmacology
- In vitro experiments show that silktree albizia bark has antibacterial effects.
- Silktree albizia bark has anthelmintic effects, especially against tapeworms.
- Silktree albizia bark has molluscicidal effects.
- Silktree albizia bark has antifertility effects.