MATERIA MEDICA OF THE ANCIENT CHINESE. 121 
It Sut-cuen :—The ts‘ao tou kou and the EE 3 ts‘ao 
kuo are not the same, as some believe. There are differences. 
Now the tou Kou produced in Kien ning [in Fu kien, App. 
138] has a fruit as large as the lung yen, but a little longer. 
It (the capsule) has a yellowish white thin rind with 
prominent ridges. The seeds are as large as the su sha 
(Amomum villosum, Lour.), pungent and fragrant. But the 
fs‘ao kuo which grows in Tien [Yiin nan, App. 838] and 
in Kuang [Kuang tung and Kuang si, App. 160] has a 
large oblong fruit resembling the ho tsz‘ (Terminalia chebula). 
The rind (of the capsule) is black and thick, the ridges 
are close together. The seed is coarse, pungent and of an 
unpleasant odour recalling that of Cantharides. The people 
use it as tea or in various other ways as a spice. The 
people of Kuang take the fresh ts‘ao kuo and steep it in the 
juice of the me fruit (Prunus mume) mixed with salt. After 
it has become red it is dried in the sun and offered with 
Wine. This is called hung yen (red salt) ts‘ao kuo. The 
small unripe fruit is called M8 ¥¢ 7 ying ko she (parrot’s 
tongue). In the time of the Mongol dynasty the ts‘ao kuo 
Was much valued as a spice. 
Lt Sut-cuEn quotes from Buddhist books the Sanscrit 
name of the tou kou, being B & PK MM su-ki-mi-lo-st.— 
Sukmil is the Tibetan name for Cardamom (see further on]. 
Ch, XXV, 30:—Tou Kou. Representation of an 
Amomum with large leaves and small, wrinkled capsules. 
Lour., Fl. cochin., 6 :—Amomum globosum. Sinice tsao 
keu (ts‘ao tow k‘ou). Corolla supera, albo-rubra...- - 
P ericarpium globosum .. . . cortice tenui fragili. 
Tatar., Cat., 5 :—T's‘ao tou k‘ou, Cardamomum. 
This is the Large Round Chinese Cardamom figured and 
described sub ts‘ao (tou) k‘ou in Hans., Se. pap. 95, 96, 
tee Smirg, 14. | 
