Copper Coin Flower

Copper Coin Flower

Copper Coin Flower is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　The Shuikou Town of Tongliang County in Chongqing applied to the relevant county authorities to designate the traditional Chinese medicinal herb, Copper Coin Flower, as a national geographical indication certification trademark.

　　 According to reports, Copper Coin Flower is a deciduous, climbing shrub belonging to the Combretaceae family, and its fruit is a genuine medicinal herb. Copper Coin Flower is warm in nature and sweet in taste, known for its effects in killing parasites, eliminating food stagnation, and strengthening the spleen. It is a purely natural traditional Chinese medicine used for treating roundworm disease and pediatric malnutrition, and can also be used in industries such as chemical engineering, building materials, food, agriculture, and animal husbandry.

　　 According to records from the Tongliang County Annals and research from the book "The Best of Chongqing" compiled by Chongqing University, Shuikou Town in Tongliang County is the largest production base of Copper Coin Flower in China. As early as the Qing Dynasty during the Qianlong period, residents of this town began cultivating Copper Coin Flower, a practice that has a history of over 200 years.

　　 In recent years, Shuikou Town has identified the Copper Coin Flower industry as a new growth point for increasing farmers’ income. Currently, the total planting area of Copper Coin Flower in the town has reached more than 4,000 mu, with an annual production of over 800 tons of high-quality dried Copper Coin Flower fruits, and the product supply cannot meet the demand.

　　 To effectively protect the intellectual property rights of this characteristic agricultural product and promote rapid development of the rural economy, thereby creating greater social and economic value, Shuikou Town has applied to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce to register the "Copper Coin Flower of Tongliang" as a geographical indication certification trademark. This is based on the town’s long history of cultivating Copper Coin Flower, its rarity nationwide, its leading production volume in the country, and the fact that the industry has already reached a considerable scale.

　　[Description of the Herb] It is oval or ovoid in shape, with five longitudinal ridges, pointed at both ends, spindle-shaped, approximately 3 cm long and 2 cm wide, purplish-black in color, smooth with slight luster. It is lightweight and hard in texture, with a pentagonal cross-section. The center is a nearly round cavity containing one seed. The seed is spindle-shaped, about 2 cm long and 1 cm in diameter, with many longitudinal wrinkles on the surface. The seed coat is gray-black or dark brown, very thin, and easily peeled off. There are two cotyledons, yellow-white in color, soft in texture, oily, with a faint aroma, sweet taste, and a more pronounced fragrance when stir-fried.

　　 Those that are large in size, deep purplish-black in color, with full seeds, yellowish-white in color, oily in texture, are considered superior.

　　 [Components] The seeds contain quisqualic acid potassium, which is the active ingredient for expelling parasites. In addition, they also contain trigonelline, fatty oils, carbohydrates, organic acids, and others.

　　 [Properties and Meridians] Sweet and warm in nature, entering the Spleen and Stomach meridians.

　　 [Functions] Kills parasites and eliminates food stagnation. Used for roundworm and pinworm infections, abdominal pain due to parasitic accumulation, and pediatric malnutrition.