马勃

马勃因外形浑圆如球，成熟后一触即破，喷出细如烟尘的孢子粉，古人见状以为是马蹄踏地扬起的尘土所化，故得'马勃'之名。

民间又称其'灰包菌''马屁包'，形象地描绘出它成熟后一碰即'放烟'的有趣特性，是乡野孩童嬬戏时常摘来把玩的野趣之物。

Puffball is named for its round, ball-like shape; once mature, the slightest touch causes it to burst, releasing a fine, smoke-like cloud of spores. The ancients, witnessing this, imagined it born of dust kicked up by a horse's hoof — hence the name 'horse-puff.'

Folk names such as 'ash-sac fungus' or 'horse-fart puff' vividly capture its amusing habit of 'puffing smoke' at the slightest touch when ripe — a wild curiosity that country children have long delighted in plucking and playing with.

马勃味辛性平，自古便是治疗咽喉肿痛、失音的要药，《本草纲目》称其'清肺、散热、解毒'，常研末吹喉或含化，以缓急切之症。

民间郎中出诊常随身携带马勃粉，遇喉痛失音的急症患者，即刻取用，因其起效迅捷，故有'急救喉科良药'之誉。

Pungent and neutral, puffball has long been a key remedy for swollen, painful throats and loss of voice. The Bencao Gangmu describes it as 'clearing the lungs, dispersing heat, and resolving toxins,' often ground into powder and blown onto the throat or held in the mouth to relieve acute distress.

Itinerant folk healers traditionally carried puffball powder with them; when encountering a patient with sudden throat pain or loss of voice, they would apply it at once, and because of its rapid effect it earned the reputation of an 'emergency remedy for throat ailments.'

马勃孢子粉质地细腻，具有良好的止血敛创之效，古人常将其直接敷于外伤出血处，借其吸附收敛之性令伤口速凝止血。

这一外用止血的经验在乡野行医中代代相传，至今偏远山区仍有以马勃粉应急处理跌打创伤出血的习俗流传。

The fine texture of puffball spore powder gives it excellent hemostatic and astringent properties. The ancients often applied it directly to bleeding wounds, relying on its absorbent, astringent nature to hasten clotting and stop the bleeding.

This tradition of external hemostatic use has been passed down through generations of rural folk healing, and even today in remote mountain areas the custom of using puffball powder as an emergency treatment for cuts and bruises persists.

马勃多生于夏秋雨后的草地、林缘，须在其尚未完全成熟、孔顶未破之时采摘，过熟则孢子飞散，药材尽失。

采得后剖开晾晒，去除外皮，取内部灰褐色孢丝体入药，炮制得当者色泽均匀、质地轻松如絮，方堪入药之用。

Puffball typically fruits on grasslands and forest edges after summer and autumn rains, and must be harvested before it fully matures and its apical pore ruptures — once overripe, the spores scatter and the medicinal substance is lost.

Once harvested, the fungus is split open and sun-dried, the outer skin removed, leaving the internal grayish-brown spore mass for medicinal use. Properly processed puffball has an even color and a light, cotton-like texture — only then is it fit for use as medicine.

现代研究发现马勃所含成分具有一定抗菌消炎作用，与古人'清肺解毒'之说相互印证，也让这味山野小物在现代临床上仍有一席之地。

其止血性能亦得到现代医学的部分验证，如今马勃粉仍被用于配制咽喉含片及外用止血敷料的传统制剂之中。

Modern research has found that compounds in puffball possess certain antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, corroborating the ancient claim of 'clearing the lungs and resolving toxins,' and securing this humble wildland fungus a place in modern clinical practice.

Its hemostatic properties have likewise been partly validated by modern medicine, and puffball powder is still used today in traditional preparations of throat lozenges and external hemostatic dressings.