Bait 
MATERIA MEDICA OF THE ANCIENT CHINESE. 269 
Nan yang [in Ho nan, App. 231] in mountain-valleys and 
in fields. The root is dug up on the 3rd day of the 3rd 
month and dried in the shade. 
Wu P‘u [8rd cent.] calls it BE ig huang yaan. 
T‘ao Huna-K1ne :—It has a yellow root, and is frequently 
cultivated. There is one sort with white flowers. It has a 
long stem. This accounts for the name she kan (lance). 
Su Kone [7th cent.]:—The she kan resembles in its 
leaves the yiian wei (Iris. See 154]. 
Haw Pao-suena [10th cent.]:—The she kan grows from 
2 to 3 feet high, has yellow flowers and black fruits. The root 
shows many radical fibres, has a yellowish black skin and 
yellowish red flesh. 
Cu‘en Ts‘ane-Kt [8th cent.]:—The she kan resembles 
the yiian wei. It is also called JB, 3% feng i (pheenix’ wing), 
from the shape of the leaves. It blossoms in autumn. Flowers 
red and dotted. The yiian wei has blue flowers. 
Sune Sune [11th cent. ]:—The she kan is much cultivated. 
It grows from one to two feet high and has long narrow 
leaves which spread out like the wings of a bird. The stem 
rises from the midst of the leaves like that of the sian ts‘ao 
(Hemerocallis), The flowers, which appear in the 6th month, 
are orange coloured and with small spots on the corolla, 
The fruit is a capsule which contains black seeds. 
Li Sui-cuen :—The she kan is also called fig Ff pien chu 
(flat bamboo) and is much cultivated. 
Ch, XXIV, 37:—She kan. The drawing represents 
Pardanthus chinensis, Ait. The genus name Pardanthus 
(leopard flower) refers to the spotted flowers. The pai (white) 
she kan [Ch., XXIV, 40] is Pardanthus dichotomus, Ledeb. 
(Iris dichotomus, Pall.). The first is much cultivated at 
Peking, the second grows wild there in the mountains, The 
above Chinese descriptions agree in a general way. 
