Excerpted from Bensky:  Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica, 3rd ed.

• Drains heat and eliminates irritability:  for heat patterns with fever, irritability, restlessness, stifling sensation in the chest, insomnia, or delirious speech.*
• Clears heat and resolves dampness:  for painful urinary dribbling due to damp-heat in the lower burner; damp-heat and constrained Liver and Gallbladder (middle burner) with jaundice; and damp-heat in the Gallbladder and Triple Burner channels of the face, affecting the nose and eyes, or causing sores in the mouth or facial region.*
• Cools the blood and resolves toxicity:  for heat in the blood with such symptoms as nosebleed, or blood in the vomit, stool, or urine.  For this purpose the herb is partially charred.*
• Reduces swelling and moves blood stasis due to trauma:  for this purpose, apply topically as a powder mixed with egg white or vinegar.*