312 BOTANICON SINICUM. 
Comp. Rh ya, 92, 108, and above, 104. 
Pen king:—Tien men tung, Ny tien le. The root 
(tubers) is officinal. Taste bitter. Nature uniform. Non- 
poisonous. 
Pie lu:—The tien men tuny grows in F eng kao [in Shan 
tung, App. 41] in mountain-valleys. The root is gathered in 
the 2nd, 8rd, 7th and 8th months, and dried in the sun. 
T‘ao Hune-xina:—Feng kao is the name of a Mien 
(district) near the T‘ai shan mountain [in Shan tung]. Now 
the ten men tung is found everywhere on elevated places. 
That with a large root and of a sweet taste is the best. The | 
ancient Ts‘ai yao lu says that it is a creeping plant with — 
prickly leaves. It blossoms in the 5th month. White flowers. — 
In the 10th month it bears black fruits. The root consists of : 
twenty and more pieces (tubers). The Po wu chi [8rd cent.) 
sys :—The t‘’en men tung has prickles on its stem, and smooth : 
leaves. It is also called $5 HE ch? ¢% and HR if tien ki. The 
root, when steeped in hot water, yields very white textile 
fibres like those of the ch‘n (Behmeria). The people of Yue — 
[Che kiang, App. 418] call it 2 #X Anan ts‘ao (clean herb). 
But it is dubious whether this is the ¢¢en men tung. Voy 
Su Kune [7th cent.]:—There are two sorts of ¢‘’en men 
tung. One is prickly and rough, the other has no prickles and 
is smooth (glabrous). The plant has many names. Huan 
ts‘ao is the name for the root when cleaned [for the use of the — 
textile fibres]. 
Su Sune [11th cent.]:—It is a common creeping pi 
more than 10 feet high (long). The stem is as thick as a hait- 
pin. The leaves resemble those of the hui hiang [ Funiculun], 
are linear and glabrous, Sometimes the plant is provided “e - 
prickles, or it has no prickles but is rough. It blossoms 1 
the summer. Small white flowers, in some varieties they wad 
yellow or purple coloured. In the autumn it produces black 
