MATERIA MEDICA OF THE ANCIENT CHINESE. 89 
officinal. Taste sweet. Nature cold. Non-poisonous. The 
young sprouts and the flowers are also used in medicine. 
: Pie lu:—The mao ken grows in the country of Ch‘u 
jo, tia Kuang, App. 24], in mountain valleys and fields. The 
— root is dug up in the 6th month. 
T‘ao Hunc-Kine :—It is now called Fy 2 pai mao 
Kien. The root resembles the cha kin (a kind of celery), 
is of a sweet, pleasant taste. 
Su Sune | 11th cent.]:—It is a common plant. Its 
Sprouts, which shoot forth in spring and cover the ground, 
are like needles. The people call them 3¢ ¢f mao chen (mao 
__heedles). These sprouts are edible and good for children. 
In summer the plant bears white, plushy flowers, and withers 
in autumn. The root is very white. It is dug up in the 
6th month. The plant 7 kien is a kind of mao. 
Lit Sat-cuey:—There are several sorts of mao, viz. 
the pai (white) mao, the kien mao, the huang (yellow) mao, 
the hiang (fragrant) mao, the fi [ pa mao. The leaves in 
all these plants are the same (for they are all grasses). 
The pai mao plant is short and small. In the 3rd month 
it bears white flowers in panicles, followed by ‘small fruit 
Bch (seeds). The root is white, very long, flexible like a tendon, 
_ Provided with joints, of a sweet taste. The people call it 
BL sz* mao (floss silk mao). The plant can be used for 
thatching, It is likewise employed for wrapping up things 
offered in sacrifice. This is the drug mao ken, spoken of in 
the Pen king. The dry root, at night, gives out a light, and 
atter decaying changes into glow-worms. 
‘The pai mao is a grass, Imperata. For further 
‘Particulars see Bot. sin., 1, 459. 
‘The Cust. Med. {p. 278 (76)] notices the mao ken as 
xported in a small quantity from Amoy, and [p. 344 (89)] ¢. 
290 Piculs imported from Hong kong into Canton. It is not 
Dy from what Chinese port it was brought to Hong kong. 
