MATERIA MEDICA OF THE ANCIENT CHINESE. ‘123 
Ii Sut-cuen :-—The fruit (capsule) of the pai tou k‘ou 
is globular, as large as that of the ken niu [Pharbitis. 
See 168]. Its outer skin is thick and of a white colour. 
The seeds are like the sw sha [v. supra]. To prepare it for 
medical use the skin is taken off and the seeds are roasted. 
Ch., XXV, 64:—Pai tou k‘ou. Rude drawing. The 
Cardamom plant seems to be intended. 
Lour., Fl. cochin., 4:—Amomum Cardamomum, L. 
Sinice pe teu keu. Flores albo-lutei. Capsula 3 gona rotunda. 
Semina cortice laevi, albicante. 
The Amomum Cardamomum of Linneeus is the Round or 
Cluster Cardamom, a native of Cambodja, Siam, Java. The 
pai tou kow is still much imported into China from Cochin- 
china, Siam and Malabar. It seems that the Malabar Carda- 
mom, Elettaria Cardamomum, the seeds of which are very 
similar in odour and taste to those of the Cluster Cardamom, go 
also under the name of pai tou k‘ou. The pat tou k‘ou which 
I obtained from a Tibetan apothecary’s shop at Peking was 
Malabar Cardamom. The Tibetans call it sukmil [comp. 
above the Sanscrit name su-ki-mi-lo-s?]. 
Raeepe [ Malab., XI, p. 10], in describing the Elettaria, 
Says:—In aprico fructus exsiccatur solo, ubi cortex, qui 
Primo crassus, viridisque, extenuatur et ex ruffo albescit. 
The country Kakulo, mentioned in the above Chinese 
ccount as producing the pai tou k‘ou, is unknown to me. 
I may however observe, that kakula is the Arabic name for 
Cardamom [Roxpa., Fl. ind., 1874, p. 24]: 
The Round or Cluster Cardamom is also known under 
the name of He ye | | Tung p‘o tou k‘ou, probably after 
the celebrated poet Su Tuna-p‘o, who, towards the end of 
the 11th century, lived for some years in the island of Hai.nan 
