MATERIA MEDICA OF THE ANCIENT CHINESE, B07 
agricolis in exanthematibus. In a MS. note [St. Petersburg] 
SIEBOLD says that the root of this plant sometimes weighs 
several pounds, and that starch is extracted from it. 
173.—=E J wang kua. P., XVUlIa, 40. 7, XLV. 
Comp. Rh ya, 84, 152,— Classics, 386. 
Pen king:—Wang kua (royal gourd), - J tu kua. 
Root and fruit officinal. Taste of the root bitter.. Nature 
cold. Non-poisonous. The fruit is sour and bitter. 
Pie lu:—It grows in the country of Lu [Shan tung, 
App. 202] in marshes and fields, near dwellings and on walls. 
The root is dug up in the 8rd month and dried in the shade. 
T‘so Hune-xinc :—The t‘u kua grows on fences and 
walls. The fruit when ripe represents a red ball. 
Su Kone [7th cent.]:—It is a climbing plant. The 
leaves resemble those of the kua lou [ Trichosanthes. See 172] 
but are not lobed. They are hispid. It blossoms in the 5th 
month. Yellow flowers. The fruit is produced beneath the 
flower. It is of a red colour when ripe and of a globular 
shape. The root resembles that of the ko [Pachyrhizus. See 
174] but is smaller and contains much starch. It is called t‘u 
kua root. In that sort which grows in the north the root has 
tubers (=) as large as a jujube with a yellow skin and white 
flesh. The leaves and the fruit are similar [to the southern 
plant] but the root is different. For medical use the southern 
drug is preferable. 
Su Sune [11th cent.] states that in Kiin and in Fang 
[both in Hu pei, App. 172, 35] the plant is called € 5 Ih 
lao ya kua (crow melon), for crows are fond of the fruit. 
Another name is Be I tiu hua. ‘ 
K‘ou Tsune-sut [12th cent.]:—The fruit of the wang kua 
is one inch thick and two inches long, the upper end is round 
the lower end pointed, It ripens in the 7th and 8th months, 
