VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 5I 



he describes is not this species. This is a perennial artemisia, 

 coming up year after year from the same roots and preserving 

 its foliage green during the winter. Hence the name ^ ^ 

 (Yin-ch'en). It is a mountain plant in its natural habitat ; that 

 coming from the peaks near Hochou, in Auhui province being 

 called ^ ■© ii^ Shih-yin-ch'en), or "stone artemisia." The 

 best quality is thought to come from the sacred Tai mountain, 

 in Shantung. There is also a cultivated variety, which the 

 Phitsao distinguishes both as to appearance and medical uses. 

 Under the common method of preparation, the substance of 

 the plant is converted into a downy mass, which is called 

 |(t) "!§ liH (Mien-yin-ch'en). The leaves and stalk are used as 

 a febrifuge, a diuretic, an antispasmodic, aud an antiperiodic. 

 It is recommended in the treatment of jaundice, dysmenorrhoea, 

 ague and ephemeral fevers. 



ARTEMISIA JAPONICA. — {fi % (Mou-hao). Also 

 called ^ Hg -^ (Ch'i-t'ou-hao). Classical name, j^ (Wei). It 

 grows in fields and waste lands. Li Shih-chen says: "Its 

 leaves are flat, narrow at the base, broad and lobed at the end. 

 The young leaves can be eaten. Deer are fond of the plant. 

 In autumn it bears small, yellow flowers. The fruit is as large 

 as that of the Plantago major^ and contains minute seeds, 

 hardly distinguishable ; wherefore the ancients asserted that 

 the plant had no seeds, and called it the male southernwood." 

 It is reputed to promote the digestion of fat, and is therefore 

 used to produce plumpness of figure. But it is advised not to 

 use it very long at a time, as its prolonged use is deleterious. 

 The expressed juice is employed as a local application in 

 vaginitis. In combination with elecampane, it is considered a 

 sure cure for ague. 



ARTEMISIA KEISKIANA.— H j^ (An-lii). Also called 

 ^ ^ (Fu-lii). These names come from the fact that the 

 stalks of this plant are useful for thatching village cottages. 

 The seeds are the part employed in medicine. Their use is 

 supposed to prolong life, and they are administered in cases 

 of impotence, amenorrhoea, post-partum pain, and to remove 

 extravasated blood aud prevent the formation of abscess. 



