Sweet, slightly acrid, and cold, Cremastrae/Pleiones Pseudobulbus (shan ci gu) enters the Liver and Stomach channels. Its acrid property enables it to scatter and disperse while its cold nature enables it to clear heat. It is best at resolving toxicity and dispersing clumps. It is used in the treatment of heat from excess leading to sores and swollen nodes, and it is particularly appropriate for toxic sores, for which it is used both internally and topically. The Grand Materia Medica states that it "primarily treats swellings, attacks toxins which have broken the skin, resolves all toxins, and treats the bites of snakes, insects ..." In New Compilation of Materia Medica, Chen Shi-Duo notes that it 'can treat strange illnesses. In general, all strange illnesses usually arise from phlegm; Cremastrae/Pleiones Pseudobulbus (shan ci gu) is an herb that actually eliminates phlegm, and by treating phlegm, the strange illness eliminates itself. Some doubt that Cremastrae/Pleiones Pseudobulbus (shan ci gu) is a phlegm-eliminating herb instead of a toxin-dispersing herb, but they do not know that toxins that have not yet formed are all phlegm, while phlegm that has already clumped is actually toxin.' --Bensky: Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica, 3rd ed.