. PLANTS MENTIONED IN CLASSICAL WORKS. 345 
Fap., 1067, Hedera Helix, L., ie # ig. 
» 1074, Helwingia japonica, Dietr., F HE ¥. 
» 1549, Panan repens, Max., + BR. 
8550, | ,, Ginseng, ©. A. Mey, XK BB. 
512.—H Van. Name of a tree repeatedly mentioned in 
the Shan hai hing. Kuo Po says:—A large tree commonly 
called #4 nan. 
In the passage of the Shi king [197] where tao [see 511] 
is mentioned as growing together with the ff me in the 
Chung nan mountains, Lu Kr in his commentary takes me/ 
as in this place not meaning the plum tree. He thinks that 
the Shi has in view the #4} nan, of which he gives the 
following account :—The nan in its bark and leaves resembles 
the #R & yi chang {camphor tree, v. tnfra, 513]. The 
leaves are as large as an ox-ear, ending in a point and 
with a red heart. The flowers are of a yellowish red colour, 
the fruits are green, not eatable. The leaves are clustered 
three or four together. The wood is more finely veined 
than that of the yi chany. There are varieties of this tree, 
_ one with red fruit, the wood of which is tough. Another 
kind has white fruit, its wood is easily broken. The people — 
: of King chon (Hukuang) report that in the districts of 
i HK Sin ch‘eng and _— jf Shang yung (which corres 
pond to ancient Chung nan) there are plenty of chang 
{camphor trees) and nan trees. The Ih ya [227] gives 
the above character nun as a synonym for mel. 
The nun tree here spoken of (the character is more com-— 
_Monly written #% nan) is a large tree which nowadays is 
found in the Province of Sz‘ch‘uan, and affords the highly 
esteemed xan mu, a tough, incorruptible wood, much used for 
buildings and furniture. peelee 
It ismentioned by Sz ma Stane Ju [v. infra, 514], Ta Set- 
CHR, in P, [XXXLV, 37] describes it as a tree of enormous 
_ $e growing in the Province of Sz‘ch‘uan, with fruit — 
