This species is a rampant perennial suffrutescent herb. The stem is tenuous, woody at the base, branchy, fine-ridged, and tinged with red on the nodes where glandular hairs arise. The simple leaves are alternate; the petiole is dilated and amplexicaul at the base; the blade is papery, ovate to ovally elliptical, 4-10cm long, 1.5-5cm wide, pointed apically, broad wedge-shaped at the base, hairless, entire marginally. The spike occurs on top of branch or from leaf axil; the bract is shorter than the calyx, scarious at the margin; the calyx is tubular, green, 5-lobed in the upper part, 5-ridged, scarious between the ridges, and clothed with sticky glandular hairs; the corolla is white or white tinged with blue, hypocrateriform (saucer-shaped), with a long and narrow tube and 5 spread lobes; each flower includes 5 stamens located at the throat of the corolla tube; the superior ovary is 1-celled, the stigma is 5-divided. The fruit is a membranaceous capsule.

This species is distributed in Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan, Fujian, Sichuan and Yunnan in China.

The whole plant can be gathered all year round. After collected, it is cleaned, cut into segments and dried in the sun.

The taproot is slender, cylindrical, branchy, slightly crooked, with a grayish brown or brownish yellow surface. The stem is cylindrical in shape; its surface is yellowish green to light brown and shows conspicuous nodes and longitudinal fine ridges. The stem is hard and easily broken; on its fracture section, the dermal parts are fibrous and light brownish yellow, the middle parts are granular and pale yellowish white, and the pith is white. The leaves are mostly shriveled and broken; when spread, an unbroken blade is ovate or oblong-ovate, 4-9cm long, 3-6cm wide and light green to yellowish green on the upper side. The spike occurs on top of branch or from leaf axil; the calyx is tubular in shape and bears stalked glands; the corolla is white to pale yellow. This crude drug has a weak smell and a pungent taste.

The whole herb contains β-sitosterol, plumbagin, vanillic acid, plumbagic acid^[1].

The roots contains plumbagin, 3-chloroplumbagin, 3,3′-biplumbagin, droserone, elliptinone, isozeylanone, zeylanone, chitranone, maritinone, 2-methylnaphthazarin, methylene-3,3′-biplumbagin, plumbazeylanone, isoshinanolone, 1,2(3)-tetrahydro- 3,3′-biplumbagin, sitosterol.

The aerial part contains lupeol, α-amyrin, β-amyrin, taraxasterol, ψ-taraxasterol)^[1], isoshinanolone, p-hydroxy benzaldehyde, trans-cinnamic acid, vanillic acid, 2,5-dimethyl-7-hydroxyl–chromone, Indole-3-carboxaldehyde^[2].

4. Topical treatment of the phytochemical plumbagin in doses ranging 0.005-5 micrograms prevented oocyte development and affected fecundity and fertility in Musca domestica L^[6]. Plumbagin could inhibit the motility and survival of Haemonchus contortus first-stage larvae (L1). Plumbagin has a biphasic effect on development of the fourth-stage Ascaris suum larvae that caused an increase in growth at low concentrations but was lethal at higher doses. Plumbagin partially inhibits embryonation of A. suum eggs^[7].

5. The water extract of Plumbago zeylanica could reduce the hepatic fibroplasia in the mice with  hepatic fibrosis^[8].

6. Plumbagin can increase the Ca²⁺ level in the blood and accelerate the healing process of experimental rabbit fracture^[9].

7. Plumbagin can inhibit cell proliferation, block cell cycle and induce apoptosis of acute promyelocytic leukemia cell line NB4 cells^[10].

1.Skin and external diseases：206 cases of patients washing with Baihuadang(Whiteflower Leadword Herb) decotion. Results showed that healing time ranged from 1 day to 12 days, the average healing time was 3.5 days. The control group (51cases) was treated with regular switching drugs and antibiotics injection，the average healing time was 12.04 days. Two groups had Statistically significant difference ^[1] .

2. Skin pruritus：30 cases of patients washing with Baihuadang(Whiteflower Leadword Herb) Decotion  soaked with alcohol. Results showed 47 cases of patients had significant effects of antipruritic,the antipruritic time ranged from 2 minutes to 15 minutes ^[2].

3.Tinea corporis and jock itch：62 cases of patients washing with Baihuadang (Whiteflower Leadword Herb )soaked with alcohol. Results showed that 49 cases were cured, accounting for 79.03%；8 cases had significant effect, accounting for 12.9%；5 had effect, accounting for 8.06%. The overall effective rate was 100% ^[3].

4. Joint disease：Baihuadang(Whiteflower Leadword Herb) 30g, Shengcaowu( Radix Aconiti )15g, Tubeichong(Eupolyphaga Steleophaga)10g, Jixingzi(Garden Balsam)5g. Above drugs were made into powder and used as paste in treating 30 cases of Joint disease patients. Results showed that effective time ranged from 2 day to 15 days. Joint swelling and painfulness of 30 cases disappeared completely and function restored. There was no recurrence during the followup 12 months ^[4].

1.       Nebula

2.       Thick psoriasis

3.       Scabies, and Venomous snake bite

4.       Scleroma pain under feet (callus)

5.       Traumatic sprain, snake bites and malignant sore

6.       Sprain and contusion

7.       Fracture

8.       Traumatic injury

9.       Infantile fetus toxin

10.   Hepatosplenomegaly

11.   Rheumatism joint pain, lumbar and leg strain

12.   Rheumatoid arthritis pain, and lumbocrural pain

13.   Scrofula without festering

14.   Amenorrhea due to blood stasis

[1] Lin LC, Yang LL, Chou CJ. Cytotoxic naphthoquinones and plumbagic acid glucosides from Plumbago zeylanica. Phytochemistry. 2003,62(4):619-622.

[2] Srinivas P, Gopinath G, Banerji A, et al. Plumbagin induces reactive oxygen species, which mediate apoptosis in human cervical cancer cells. Mol Carcinog, 2004,40(4):201-211

[3] LIU Yuan, LIU Chao, YAN Xiao-yan, et al. Antitumor activity of different solution extracts from Plumbago zeylanica L. in vitro. Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin, 2007,23(4):557-558.

[4] Devarshi P, Patil S, Kanase A. Effect of Plumbago zeylanica root powder induced preimplantationary loss and abortion on uterine luminal proteins in albino rats. Indian J Exp Biol. 1991,29(6):521-522.

[5] Bopaiah CP, Pradhan N. Central nervous system stimulatory action from the root extract of Plumbago zeylanica in rats. Phytother Res. 2001,15(2):153-156.

[6] Saxena BP,Thappa RK, Tikku K, et al. Effect of plumbagin on gonadotrophic cycle of the housefly, Musca domestica L. Indian J Exp Biol. 1996,34(8):739-744.

[7] Fetterer RH, Fleming MW. Effects of plumbagin on development of the parasitic nematodes Haemonchus contortus and Ascaris suum. Comp Biochem Physiol C, 1991,100(3):539-542.

[8] ZHAO Tie-jian, ZHONG Zhen-guo, FANG Zhuo, et al. Effect of the extract of Plumbago zeylanica on anti-hepatic fibrosis in mice. Guangxi Journal of Tradional Chinese Medicine, 2005,28(4):50-52.

[9] Yang Cheng-fang, Zhang Jun-zhi, Liang Rong-gan. Effects of Plumbago zeylanica Linn on fracture healing in rabbits. Journal of Clinical Rehabilitative Tissue Engineering Research, 2009,13(2):296-299.

[10] ZHAO Yan-Li, LU Dao-Pei. Effects of Plumbagin on the Human Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia Cells In Vitro. Journal of Experimental Hematology, 2006,14(2):208-211.
clinical test:

[1] Zhang Xiu-lan，Shi Rui-feng. Nursing of Baihuadang(Whiteflower Leadword Herb) decotion washing

in treating Skin and external diseases patients in 206 cases . Nursing magazine，1993，8(5)：223.

[2] Su Wei-ren. Efficacy observation on Skin pruritus treated with Baihuadang(Whiteflower Leadword Herb) in 50 cases. Chinese National folk medicine magazine，1996，19：27～28.

[3] Zhao Hui, Chang Xin-jun. Tinea corporis and jock itch treated with Baihuadang (Whiteflower Leadword Herb) in 62 cases. Chinese external treatment magazine，2003，12(3)：47.

[4] Lin Jin-lian，Zhong Exiang. Joint disease treated with Compound Baihuadang (Whiteflower Leadword Herb) powder in 30 cases. Railway medicne，2001，29(5)：344.