Jin Lian Hua

Jin Lian Hua (金蓮花) is the dried flower of Trollius chinensis Bunge (Ranunculaceae), a perennial herb native to the cool grasslands and forest margins of northern China, including Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, and Liaoning. The plant grows 30–70 cm tall with palmately divided basal leaves and showy solitary golden-yellow to orange flowers 3–5 cm across, blooming in summer. The fully opened flowers are harvested and dried in the shade. In TCM, Jin Lian Hua is classified as bitter and cool, entering the Lung and Stomach channels, and is used to clear heat, detoxify fire poison, and benefit the throat. Classical and modern indications include acute tonsillitis, pharyngitis, otitis media, conjunctivitis, and upper respiratory infections; the flower is widely consumed as a medicinal tea in northern China.