PLANTS MENTIONED IN CLASSICAL WORKS. 363 
leaves) ; it is somewhat bitter. In its stem it resembles the 
he mei (raspberry). The fruit ripens in autumn and then 
becomes red. Leaves, stem and fruit have medical virtues. 
P., XXXVI, 47, hou ki. Many synonyms given. The 
Pie lu [5th century] calls it 3 FL yang ju (goat’s teat), from 
the share of the fruit. Su Suna [11th century] says that 
the kon kis a common plant. The young leaves, when they 
first appear in spring, are like those of the pomegranate tree, 
but softer and thinner. They are eaten, and known by the 
name of tien ts‘a/ (sweet vegetable). The plant grows in a 
bushy manner to the height of three or four feet. In the 
6th or 7th morth it puts forth small purplish flowers and 
afterwards produces a red, oblong fruit like a jujube. Its root 
is called fy FF ti ku (earth bone). Other ancient authors say 
that the kon ki is provided with thorns, but they are wanting 
when it grows hich. The fruit also varies in shape, being 
sometimes globular. 
Li Sut-cuen states that the best sorts of hou Mi are found 
in the Provinces of Shensi and Kansu, where it grows to the 
height of a tree. The fruit, which resembles a cherry, is 
mae. It tastes like tho grape. ‘The fruit and root are used 
as medicines, 
The plants figured in the Kiu huang [LV], 1] and Ch. 
(XXXII, 25] under hou ki are Lycium. What I received 
under the same Chinese name from the Belgian missionaries 
in the Ordos were the dried berries of a Lycium. _KRgITNER 
States [in the Oestr. Monatsschr. f. d. Orient, 1888, p- 73-76] 
that in Kansu the red berries of a wild-growing ‘shrub are 
ried and exported to all the provinces of China under the 
Tame of kou chi. They are said to have an intoxicating ? 
effect. Several species of Lycium have been gathered canal : 
‘Tegions by Russian travellers (PREZEWALSKY, PIASSETSKY, — 
Poranin), L. chinense, L, turcomanicum, L, ruthenieum, 
