L. formosa is a frequently used medicinal plant in Southwest China, where it bears the common name
Yi Yao. The Yi (speakers of various
Loloish languages of
Burmese affiliation) are notable for their rich cultural heritage, having retained their ancient
shamanic faith of
Bimoism, which incorporates a traditional body of
ethnomedicinal knowledge. Furthermore the Yi are fortunate in not having to rely solely upon
oral tradition, possessing as they do written records in their own
Yi script, dating back at least to the end of the fifteenth century and – according to tradition – even farther back to the time of the
Tang dynasty. In the context of the
current global pandemic, it is potentially of considerable interest that the Yi may repeatedly have been exposed to coronavirus in the course their history, discovered herbal treatments effective, in some measure, against
viral diseases centuries ago, and incorporated these findings into their system of traditional medicine. In the
Poonch region of
Azad Kashmir (Pakistan) a paste of the leaves (or a leaf extract) of
L. formosa (known locally under the name of
Jummar) is used as a hair tonic to rid the hair of
dandruff and
lice and the same use has been recorded in the
Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary of the
Garhwal Himalaya range of
Uttarakhand province, India. A common name for the plant in 'Chamoli' (=
Garhwali), spoken in Uttarakhand, is
Bhenkew. The
Monpa people of
Mêdog County, Southeast Tibet use unspecified plant parts of
L. formosa (known locally by the common name
pya-min-mon) to stem blood loss in cases of traumatic
bleeding. Shan et al. append to their paper on the ethnobotany of the Monpa a table comparing Monpa plant use for a given species with the reported phytochemical/pharmacological properties of that species as reported in Chinese academic literature and note a good match in the case of
L. formosa, although they note further that the plant has been reported elsewhere in China to be used not only to arrest bleeding but also in the treatment of
bone fractures. Coats This description is curious on two counts, for
Leycesteria formosa – at any rate when grown as an
ornamental shrub in Europe – is neither notably aromatic nor a parasite, lacking as it does
haustoria to tap nutrients from a host plant. The latter point, at least, may be explicable by Toba having observed (or heard described by a Khaling informant)
L. formosa growing
epiphytically upon a tree in a deposit of
humus. The plant is certainly often to be observed growing as a
lithophyte – specifically a chasmophyte – in a minimal
substrate, e.g. from bird droppings deposited in rock crevices or in cracks in the
mortar of old walls.
Traditional Chinese medicine In
Standard Chinese L. formosa is best-known under the common name
鬼吹簫 (Guĭ chuī xiāo) – approximate pronunciation "gwé chwé siaaow" – meaning
ghost flute (literally
ghost-blown flute) / "
xiao of the
spirits", although Zhang et al. list also (in translation only) other common names rendered as "
gun barrel", "hollow wood", "wild
lupine" and the more cryptic "golden chicken lock".),
asthma,
irregular menstruation,
cystitis and bone fracture.
L. formosa is regarded in China as the pre-eminent medicinal species of its genus and has been used there as such for millennia. Nowadays in the city, the street lights are so bright, even late at night, but it wasn't like that in the countryside when I was a lad. Moonlit nights weren't so bad, but, when you were out walking and there was no moon, it'd be pitch black and you'd start to imagine all sorts of things... When I was a child and I and a few friends would be walking along beside these bushes, they'd make the sound of a flute: I would always think that there really was someone playing the flute, but then I'd look around and there'd be no one there. I'd suddenly feel a bit scared and run away. It got to the point where I'd avoid going near the place where those plants grew: If I so much as caught a glimpse of one, I'd beat a hasty retreat. Maybe, in ancient times, people felt the same way and that's why they gave it the name 'ghost flute', although I expect the herb-gatherers at that time were fond of it and didn't let the sound bother them, because they knew that it was such a good medicinal plant. Later, of course, when I grew up and worked out how the plant made the sound, I realised that there was no reason to be afraid of it any more... it's the stems that make the sound, you see - because they're hollow. If the weather's right and you get a good breeze, you'll hear that rich, melodious sound, just like the blowing of a lot of flutes. and – what with all those pretty little bell flowers dancing around in the wind as well – you'd think the ghosts were blowing on them too... In addition to the above,
L. formosa has acquired a wealth of common names in the Chinese language, including: • 风吹箫 (Fēng chuī xiāo): Wind(-blown) flute • 夜吹箫 (Yè chuī xiāo): Night(-blowing) flute • 大追风 (Dà zhuī fēng): Big chase wind • 炮筒花 (Pào tǒng huā): Gun barrel flower • 炮竹筒 (Pào zhútǒng): Firecracker (Pào 'gun' + zhútǒng 'bamboo tube') • 炮仗筒 (Pàozhang tǒng): Firecracker (Pàozhang 'gun battle' + tǒng 'tube') • 火炮花 (Huǒpào huā): Artillery flower • 金鸡一把锁 (Jīnjī yī bǎ suǒ): Golden rooster lock • 空心木 (Kōngxīn mù): Hollow wood • 空心草 (Kōngxīn cǎo): Hollow grass • 大笔杆草 (Dà bǐgǎn cǎo): Big pen grass/Big-stalked grass • 来色木 (Lái shǎi mù): (Come) colour wood • 大木比替力 (Dà mù bǐ tì lì): Big wood that is a substitute for strength • 鬼竹子 (Guǐ zhúzi): Ghost bamboo • 梅叶竹 (Méi yè zhú): Plum-leaved bamboo • 野芦柴 (Yě Lú chái): Wild reed firewood • 磨倮子 (Mó luǒ zi): Grinding naked seed • 猴橘子 (Hóu júzi): Monkey orange These names refer mostly to the tubular (
fistular) form of the stems, their similarity to those of bamboos and their suitability for wind instruments – as suggested by their natural tendency to whistle eerily in the wind. Those referring to (again, tubular) guns and fireworks indicate that the jointed stems of the plant explode (crack / pop) when burnt, like those of bamboo (the popping stems of which the first fireworks were manufactured to mimic). Only one common name (Hóu júzi, 'Monkey orange') references the shrub's edible berries, and does so in a somewhat disparaging manner. The curious name Jīnjī yī bǎ suǒ, translating as 'Golden rooster lock', suggests that the plant was thought to relate in some way to the good luck / wealth-bringing symbol of the golden cockerel. == Other uses ==