Qian Ri Hong

Qian Ri Hong is Gomphrena globosa L. (Amaranthaceae), globe amaranth or 'thousand-day red,' an erect, branching annual herb 20-60 cm tall, native to Central and South America and now widely naturalized and cultivated as an ornamental across southern China. Stems are slender, hairy, and often reddish at the nodes; the opposite, oblong-elliptic to obovate leaves are 3-10 cm long, entire, and pubescent. At each branch tip stands a single globose to ovoid inflorescence 1.5-3 cm across, composed of densely packed papery bracts in vivid magenta, purple, pink, or white, each subtending a small inconspicuous true flower; the bracts retain their color long after drying, hence the Chinese name. The dried flower heads are used in folk Chinese medicine for chronic cough, asthma, whooping cough, sore eyes, headache, and dysentery, and are commonly brewed as a tisane. The species shows mild bronchodilatory and antitussive activity in pharmacological studies.