MATERIA MEDICA OF THE ANCIENT CHINESE. 489 
This beautiful tree is called 5 f& tsao kio (black horn) 
at Peking. The trunk [of old trees] where the branches 
begin is surrounded with a formidable crown of enormous 
branched thorns. Small, greenish yellow scented flowers, 
and large flat, fleshy, black pods about one foot long. These 
pods are used as soap. 
Lour., Fl. cochin., 801 :—Mimosa fera [very probably 
he means Gleditschia]. Sinice : tsao ke. 
Tavar., Cat., 57 :—¥A ff isao kio, Legumen Gleditschie 
chinensis.—Ibid., 56 :— EL il] tsao ts‘z’. Spine Gleditschie.— 
Ibid., 29 : 3p 3%. Legumen Gleditschia. 
Hans, Sc. pap., 248:—3F 34 ya ts‘ao (tusk pod). 
Legumes of Prosopis! Legumes of the same Chinese 
name which I obtained from the Thibetan drug-shop at 
Peking, consisting of small, curved pods about three inches 
long and one-third inch broad, and which were examined at 
Kew, proved to belong to a Prosopis. 
P. Smrra, 105, 179 :—Gleditschia and Prosopis. 
Comp. also Henry, Chin. pl., 499, 500. 
‘The tree, with leaves, flowers and pods, is figured in 
Hooxer’s Icones, Plant., tab, 1412. 
Cust. Med, p. 296:—Ta (great) tsao exported 1885 
from Amoy 0.55 picul,—p. 294 (291), siao (small) tsao from 
Amoy 0.30 picul.—Ibid., p. 372 (430) :—Tsao seeds exported 
from Canton 19 piculs.— Jbéd., 126 (96):— Tsao thorns 
7 ported from Chin kiang 57.23 piculs,—p. 856 (226), from 
Canton 11.62 piculs,—p. 288 (220), from Amoy 0.55 picul. 
Ibid., p. 62 (61) :—Ya tsao exported from I chang 
28.79 piculs,—p., 80 (196), from Han kow 42 piculs,— 
p- 182 (166), from Chin kiang 7.80 piculs,—p. 166 (389), 
from Shang hai 0.70 picul. 
2 Specimens of ya-tsao from Szechuan sent to Kew, ie flowers, leaves 
and pods, have been described as @leditechia officinalis, 
Kewenses, I, Kew Bulletin, No. 64, p. 82-—A. HENBY. 
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