Corn Silk yù mǐ xū · 玉米须

Stigma Maydis (Zea mays L.)

Nature and flavour. Sweet, bland, neutral. Bladder, Liver and Gallbladder systems.

The drug is the long thread-like style stripped from an ear of maize. It is by far the mildest item in this group and the one most often met as a household infusion rather than as a dispensary herb. Traditional texts describe it as draining water, dispersing swelling, and draining dampness to relieve jaundice; it is the standard classical herb for the pattern called damp-heat jaundice. Because the material is a by-product of a food crop, it is also the item here most examined in human studies — even so, the traditional indications remain only partly tested.