Can pregnant women eat chrysanthemums?

　　Chrysanthemum is the flower head of the chrysanthemum plant of the Asteraceae family. Chrysanthemum is a perennial herb, a cultivated species, with variable flower heads and different shapes and colors. It is cultivated throughout the country. Medicinal chrysanthemums are most cultivated in Henan, Anhui, Zhejiang and Shandong.

　　When they bloom in early November, harvest them in batches on a sunny day after the dew has dried or in the afternoon. Do not stack the picked flowers. They need to be dried in time or spread thinly in a ventilated place. Due to the different varieties of medicinal materials produced in different places, they are divided into shade drying and sun drying.

　　Chrysanthemums mainly produced in Bo County, Anhui Province are called "Bo Ju", those produced in Chu County are called "Chu Ju", and those produced in She County are called "Gong Ju"; those produced mainly in Haining and Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province are called "Hang Ju"; those produced mainly in Henan are called "Huai Ju"; and those produced in Shandong are called "Ji Ju".

　　1. The inflorescence head of chrysanthemum is obconical, 1.5 to 3 cm in diameter, with 3 to 4 layers of involucral bracts, oval, herbaceous yellow-green, outer coat, and hemispherical receptacle. There are several layers of tongue-shaped flowers, female, located on the periphery, off-white, straight, with scattered golden glands; there are many tubular flowers, bisexual, located in the center, yellow, light in body, moist in texture, and crispy when dry. The smell is fragrant, sweet and slightly bitter.

　　2. Chuju has an irregular spherical shape with a diameter of 1.5 to 2.5 cm. The tongue-shaped flowers are white, irregularly twisted, and sometimes have light brown spots; the tubular flowers are mostly hidden.

　　3. Gongju is the same as Chuju, but the ligular flowers usually have no glandular points and the tubular flowers are few and exposed.

　　4. Hangzhou chrysanthemum is saucer-shaped or oblate spherical, 2.5 to 4 cm in diameter. The tongue-shaped flowers are white or yellow, usually without glandular points, and most of the tubular flowers are exposed.

　　The flowers are better if they have intact petals, white (yellow) color, strong fragrance and no impurities.

　　Edible effect

　　Chrysanthemum tastes sweet, slightly bitter, slightly cold in nature, and returns to the lung and liver meridians;

　　The fragrance spreads, rising and falling; it has the effects of dispelling wind-heat, clearing the liver and improving eyesight, clearing away heat and detoxifying;

　　It is mainly used to treat exogenous wind-heat or the initial onset of wind-warm, fever, headache, dizziness, red and swollen eyes, and swollen boils.

　　Applicable people

　　Chrysanthemum is cool in nature and should be taken with caution by those with qi deficiency, stomach cold, lack of food and diarrhea.