PLANTS MENTIONED IN CLASSICAL WORKS. = 275 
synonyms, Finally, in the Rh ya [170] it is plainly stated 
that the ¢‘ao chi is a kind of bamboo. 
V. supra, 193. 
457.—% T*ai (now written %). Lace says a kind of rush. 
Shi king, 272 :—In the hills of the south (of Chou) is the 
tai, 409 :—Hats (17) of the leaves of the t‘ai (# *). 
In the Rh ya [73] it is called fu su (poor man’s need). 
It has also been identified, but incorrectly, with the plant 
described in the Rh ya [97, qv |. 
Liu K1:—Its old name is fu si. It is also called j} # 
so ts‘ao. The plant can be made into rain-cloaks (# so) and 
hats (4 Ui). Some say that it was used for the black silken 
caps of the officers. The soft smooth skin of the plant is fit 
for making umbrellas impervious to rain. In the southern 
mountains it is a common plant. 
The Rh ya 2, after having noticed the ¢‘ai or so plant used - 
for making rain-cloaks and hats, speaks of another so plant in 
the following terms :—The stalks and leaves of the so are like 
those of the = #€ san leny the three-cornered grass). [The 
Senera Cyperus and Scirpus and other Cyperaceous plants — 
have generally triangular stems]. The roots resemble the 
Bt F fu tsz* (small tubers of Aconite) are very hairy, and 
known ‘under the name of & BOF Mang fu tsz* (fragrant 
fu tee’), 
These tubers are generally of the size of an apricot kernel, 
but sometimes as large as a jujube. This is the Cyperus 
_ Potundus [v. supra, 97]. . 
As to the other so plant, the ¢‘a’ of the Shi king, used for 
__ by Japanese botanists to various Cyperaceous plants. : 
 Stezorp, Syn.4plant. econ. jap., 10 :-—Seirpus macrostachyus 
_ ‘ameras Se, maritimus, L.) $% $€ BH] (rain-cloak grass) or 
 & Japonice suge. Pro pileis aliisque utensilibus. 
making hats and rain-cloaks, these names haye been referred 
