Or 
MATERIA MEDICA OF THE ANCIENT CHINESE. 5 
Su Kune [7th cent.]:—The plant is commonly called 
fill BE FEE sten Ling p%. The leaves resemble pea-leaves, but 
are round and thin. Stem slender but hard. 
Su Sune :—It is a common plant in North and Mid 
China. The stem like that of millet. The leaves like apricot- 
leaves, provided with prickles (on the margin). The root 
is of a purple colour, beset with radical fibres. In the 
4th month it bears small white or purple flowers. In the 
oth month the leaves are gathered and dried in the sun. One 
kind, which is produced in Hu and Siang [Hu nan, App. 83, 
307] has leaves like the pea on slender petioles, which do 
not fade in winter. The root resembles that of the huang lien 
[Coptis. See 26]. In Kuan chung [Shen si, App. 158] 
the plant (another kind) is called = #¥ Jy BE san chi hin ye 
(three twigs—common petioles—nine leaves). It grows 
from one to two feet high. The root and the leaves much 
used in medicine. The Shu pen ts‘ao says, the best for use 
is that plant which grows where the sound of water is not 
heard. 
I Sar-cuen:—The plant grows in high mountainous 
regions. Several coarse stems like thread issue from the 
same root and grow one or two feet high. Hach stem 
divides into two branches, each branch (common petiole) 
bears three leaves. The leaves are from two to three inches 
long, resemble apricot-leaves or pea-leaves. They are very 
thin, dentated, with small prickles, glabrous on the upper 
side, glaucous beneath. 
Ch. (VIII, i]:—YVin yang huo. The drawing seems to 
represent Lpimedium sagittatum, Bak. [ Aceranthus sagittatus, 
8. & Z.], which agrees with the above Chinese description. 
Taran. [Cat. 30]:—Vin yang huo, Folia Populi (an 
erroneous identification).—P. Smurru [176] identifies the same 
Chinese name with Populus spinosa. This name is purely 
