VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 2^3 



flowers, but the portions recommended to be used by the 

 Pintsao are the bark and wood. On account of the auspicious 

 character of this tree, its use in medicine is also thought to be 

 attended with the happiest results : " promoting joy, assuaging 

 sorrow, brightening the eye, and giving the desires of the 

 heart." In the treatment of disease, it is regarded as tonic, 

 vulnerary, sedative, anthelmintic, and discutient. A gummy 

 extract is prepared and used as a plaster for carbuncles, swell- 

 ings, and as a retentive in fractures and sprains. 



ALEURITES TRILOBA.— :& ^ (Shih-li). This eu- 

 phorbiaceous tree is either closely allied to, or identical 

 with, the Aleiirites riwluccaiia^ or Candle Nut tree of India 

 and the Pacific Islands. It is also closely related to the 

 Excoecm-ia sebi/era (,^ 1^ 7fC, Wu-chiu-mu), or Tallow tree. 

 It bears an acorn-like fruit, called by the Chinese "stone 

 chestnuts," which is the meaning of the term given above. 

 It is a native of Annam, or Cochin China, and was known to 

 Loureiro as a species of walnut, just as it is called in India 

 Belg2ia77i^ or Indian walnut. It is incidentally mentioned in 

 the Pentsao under the head of "chestnut," as growing 

 commonly in the south of China, but it is not considered to be 

 a chestnut. A fixed oil is expressed from the kernels, which 

 is reported by Dr. O'Rorke to be superior to linseed-oil as an 

 economic substance. He finds its medicinal action to be 

 similar to that of castor-oil, but it does not cause nausea or 

 pain, and is free from any unpleasant smell or taste. Neither 

 the fruits nor the oil appear in the Customs Report, which 

 seems a surprising fact when their reputed usefulness is 

 considered. The tree abounds in the Moluccas, where the 

 fruit is eaten as an aphrodisiac, and is met with in the island 

 of Tahiti ; a gummy substance which exudes from the bark 

 being chewed by the natives. The name Shih-li (^ ^) has 

 been incorrectly given to the fruit of Qiierais cornea. 



KLiQf]^. — \% "%. (Hai-tsao), 355. The character ^ is used 

 for all sorts of aquatic plants, and the name above given could 

 almost be limited to marine algse. ^- '% (Hai-ts'ai) is also 

 used for the same purpose. Several kinds of algse are used 

 by the Chinese both as dietetic articles and as medicinal agen^g^ 



