Meet the Herbs: Yu Mi Xu

Chinese: 玉米须
Pin Yin: Yu Mi Xu
Pharmaceutical: Maydis Stigma
English: Cornsilk

According to Bensky's Materia Medica, Yu Mi Xu promotes urination, reduces edema, and unblocks painful urination. It also clears damp heat from the Liver and Gallbladder in connection with hepatitis, cholecystitis, or gallstones.

The Materia Medica of South Yunnan notes:

Eases the Intestines, directs qi downward, treats clumps in women's breasts, blocked lactation with redness, swelling, and pain, chills, and fever, headache, and heaviness in the body.

Records of Picking Herbs in Lingnan notes:

Boiled in soup with pork, it treats diabetes. It also treats dribbling urination with gravel and stones leading to bitter, unbearable pain: boil into a soup and drink frequently.

What we've done in the picture above is simply put raw cornsilk, straight off a fresh ear of corn, into a jug and added filtered drinking water. Leave it overnight, and you've got yourself a cool, refreshing drink for the summertime that will not only drain dampness and clear heat, but also tastes good.

So if you're planning on grilling up some corn-on-the-cob this Labor Day weekend, save the cornsilk and make yourself a jug of cornsilk tea!