Bark of Silktree Albizzia

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Calms the spirit and relieves emotional constraint - the signature bark herb for depression, anxiety, insomnia, irritability, grief, and constrained Liver-Heart disharmony when the Shen cannot rest.
• Invigorates Blood and reduces swelling - used for traumatic injury, pain from bruising or fracture, and localized swelling where emotional trauma and physical trauma may coexist.
• Unblocks the collaterals and promotes healing - later tradition extends He Huan Pi to sinew and bone recovery when tenderness, pain, and constrained circulation slow repair.
• Relieves constraint gently rather than heavily sedating - especially valued when emotional symptoms are driven by stagnation, rumination, or sadness rather than strong heat or phlegm-fire excess.

Secondary Actions

• May be used for Lung abscess and suppurative chest conditions in later formula traditions, reflecting its ability to relieve constraint while moving Blood and reducing swelling.
• Because it is sweet and neutral, it is often integrated into longer emotional-support formulas more easily than strongly bitter sedative herbs.

Classic Formulas

• Huang Hun Tang (黄昏汤) - a classical single-herb or bark-centered use of He Huan Pi recorded in Qian Jin Fang for Lung abscess and internal suppurative heat.
• Modified Xiao Yao San-type prescriptions (逍遥散加减) - later clinical tradition often adds He Huan Pi when Liver constraint presents with depression, insomnia, or persistent emotional agitation.
• Trauma and swelling formulas may combine He Huan Pi with Ru Xiang, Mo Yao, and other blood-moving herbs when emotional upset accompanies bruising or injury.

Classical References

• Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing records He Huan Pi as bringing joy and easing constraint, the classical root of its enduring use for sadness, worry, and disturbed sleep.
• Ben Cao Yan Yi Bu Yi and related later texts describe He Huan Pi as treating injury from falls, reconnecting sinews and bones, and reducing swelling after trauma.
• Modern Me & Qi teaching materials preserve both sides of the tradition: He Huan Pi for emotional disorders and for physical injury with swelling or pain.