Dongping Spine Date Seed

Dongping Spine Date Seed

　　Spine date trees are common plants growing in the mountainous and hilly areas of our county. In the vast mountainous regions north of the Daqing River, almost every hill is covered with spine date trees, making the area rich in spine date seeds with reserves exceeding 20,000 kilograms. It serves as an excellent source for supplying medicinal spine date seeds to society.

　　Spine date seed, also known as jujube seed, wild jujube, or spine date kernel. The spine date tree is a plant of the Rhamnaceae family, Ziziphus genus. China’s earliest pharmacopoeia, the “Shennong Bencao Jing” (The Divine Farmer’s Materia Medica), states: “It supplements the middle, benefits the liver, strengthens tendons and bones, and nourishes yin—all are the merits of the spine date seed.” Li Shizhen’s “Compendium of Materia Medica” from the Ming Dynasty mentions that spine date seed “when roasted, treats insomnia due to gallbladder deficiency, irritability, thirst, and night sweats; when used raw, treats excessive sleepiness caused by gallbladder heat—all are herbs for the Foot Jueyin and Shaoyang meridians.” Thus, spine date seed has multiple functions such as nourishing the liver, calming the mind, and regulating sweating. In fact, the entire spine date plant is valuable: the seed is a precious medicinal material; the pulp can be made into a cooling drink; the shell can be used to make activated carbon; the flowers are an excellent source of nectar; and the branches and trunk are hard and wear-resistant, making them ideal for crafting farming tools.

　　The spine date is a deciduous shrub with thorny branches and long elliptical leaves. It blooms in early summer, and its fruit is about the size of a grape, with a sour taste. Wild spine dates often grow in thickets. The plant is drought-resistant, thrives in poor soil, and adapts well to various environments. Whether in mountains, hills, or plains, as long as there is ground to take root, it can sprout, bloom, and bear fruit. The roots of the spine date tree continuously produce shoots and propagate rapidly, making it a pioneer species for natural greening in arid hills and mountains. Spine date seeds have high economic value, with a purchase price of [unit price] per kilogram, earning them the nickname “pearls of the mountains” among local residents.

　　Remedy: 1. For neurasthenia, palpitations, and insomnia: decoct 24 grams of roasted spine date seed, 15 grams of tuber fleeceflower stem, 15 grams of Albizia bark, 9 grams of polygala root, 12 grams of platycladi seed, and 12 grams of Poria cocos, then take as a tea. Alternatively, grind roasted spine date seed into a fine powder and take 9 grams before bedtime.