MATERIA MEDICA OF THE ANCIENT CHINESE. 141 
‘much eaten. This is the pseudo ki called also @f # ku 
(bitter) *, The leaves in both are about the same. The ki 
grows plentifully in Li hien, in the prefecture of Nan yang 
[in Ho nan, App. 183, 231] and is also common in other 
Places. It is much cultivated. There is also a variety called 
pai kit with white flowers. 
Su Sune [11th cent.]:—The kw is a common plant. 
That produced in Nan yang [v. supra] is the best. It flowers 
in autumn and bears seed in winter. There are many varie- 
ties, with large and small flowers. Some have flowers with 
a yellow disk and white ray flowers, others are entirely 
yellow. 
Wu Sxur [Mongol period]:—That with large, fragrant 
flowers is the +f Ay kan (sweet) ki, that with small yellow 
flowers is the % | huang ki, that with small flowers of 
‘n unpleasant odour is the BF | ye (wild) ku. 
Lt Sut-cuen :—There are a hundred varieties of the hi. 
The flowers are of various colours, single or double. The 
kan (sweet) ki is used in medicine. It is much cultivated, 
and grows also wild in the mountains. Its leaves are eaten. 
Kis a general name for many plants of the order 
Composite : Chrysanthemum, Aster, ete.—but the ka par 
¢xcellence, and which the ancient Chinese authors above quoted 
call the true or sweet kit, is the Chrysanthemum sinense, Sab., 
the favourite winter-flower of the Chinese, who have cultivated 
it from time immemorial, it seems, in numerous varieties. 
It is also common in a wild state in the mountains of North 
China and also in other parts of the empire. The wild 
Plant is about one foot high, and blossoms late in autumn. 
Small flower-heads. Florets of the disk yellow, those of the 
circumference rose coloured. I suspect that the huang 
(yellow) kit of the ancient authors is the Chrysanthemum 
indicum, L., likewise a common wild plant all over China, 
