PLANTS MENTIONED IN CLASSICAL WORKS. 259 
442.—3§ Fu. Lecce, relying on the Japanese plates, 
identifies the fu of the Shi king with pokeweed, Phytolacca 
 decandra, but that is a mistake. Pokeweed (Ph. acinosa) 
is 7 PE shang lu. [See the Rh ya, 112]. 
Shi king, 303 :—I travelled through the country gathering 
the pokeweed. Mao explains fu by #& 3€ (bad vegetable). 
_ The fu is mentioned in the Rh ya [51]. 
Lu xt:—Fu. In Yu chou (Chili) it is called #8 % yen fu. 
It has a white root. The people eat it baked in hot ashes, 
_ especially in years of scarcity, when it appeases hunger. 
In the time of the Han dynasty it was used in certain 
_ sacrifices. ‘There are two kinds. One of them, with small 
leaves and red flowers, has an offensive smell. 
P., XVIIla, 27, He ZE sian hua, also He BH stan fu, a 
_ creeping plant with an edible root ; root and flowers used in 
medicine. Kiwu huang, LI, 10, Ch., XXII, 18, sian hua, also 
HES yen fu, § F Hk fu tse ken (fu root). The plants 
figured are Convolvulus or Calystegia. HENRY, l. ¢.5 479 :-— 
The character sian means to wind about, Convolvulus, At 
Peking it is Calystegia sepium, R. Br. (Convolvulus 
septum, L.) 
So moku, IV, 22, He HE Calystegia japonica, Miq. — 
Jap -» 662, Convolvulus japonicus, Thbg., tie HE. 
43. — ge Yao. Lage calls it the small grass or Polygala 
Japonica. , 
_ Shi king, 229 [ Life in Pin” ] :—In the fourth month the 
small grass (yao) is in seed. | ree 3 
Mao explains yao by a plant. Rh ya, 194, yao yao Or 
2 Lecce says :—It is described as like hemp, with flowers of a 
Yellowish red, and a sharp pointed leaf. Among other 
names given to it is that of si ts‘ao (small grass). Leaer 
‘translates evidently Kuo Po’s commentary on the Rh ya, 
