MATERIA MEDICA OF THE ANCIENT CHINESE. 305 
lobed. The root penetrates from 6 to 7 feet into the ground, 
grows very large, and is used for food. The fruit is employed 
in the preparation of ointments. 
The P*ao chi lun [5th cent.] states that the round sort 
[apparently the root is referred to] is called #§ kua, the long 
one is BE lou. They ave also distinguished as female and 
male [root]. 
Su Kune [7th cent.]:—That which is produced in Shen 
chou [in Ho nan, App. 283] and has a white fruit is con- 
sidered the best. ; , 
Su Sune [11th cent.]:—It is a climbing plant. Leaves 
like those of the tien kua (melon), but narrower, lobed, and 
covered with fine hair. In the 7th month it blossoms. The 
flowers resemble the hu lu flowers {Lagenaria| and are of a 
pale yellow colour. The fruit is produced beneath the flower. 
It is as large as a fist, at first green but in the 9th month it 
ripens and then assumes an orange colour. It is globular in 
shape, sometimes also pointed or oblong. The medical virtues 
in all sorts are the same. The root is known under the name 
of EY 3% pai yao (white drug). It has a yellow skin and 
white flesh. 
Lt Sut-cuen :—The name is also written JX BE hua lou. 
The root penetrates perpendicularly into the ground, and after 
Some years it is several feet long. When dug up after 
‘utumn, when the plant bears fruit, the root contains a white 
flour like snow. This is called FE FE HP tien hua fen 
(heavenly flower starch), also Hi} S} shui sie. In the summer 
no starch is found in the root, it then shows only tendons 
(coarse fibres). The fruit is globular or oblong, resembles a 
gourd ‘or a persimmon, and is of a yellow colour. In the 
mountains children eat it. It contains flat seeds as large as 
the seeds of the sz‘ hua (Luffa). The outer skin of these 
seeds is of a grayish colour; the kernel is green and contains 
much oil, which is expressed and can be used as lamp-oil. 
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