56 CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



give Szecluian as the source of the commercial supply. It is. 

 doubtless fnuud in other parts of China. The tubers are the 

 part used, and they are described as being spindle-shaped, 

 fleshy, translucent, of a reddish or yellowish color, and varying 

 from two to five inches in length. Some are much older and 

 more woody in structure. They are flattened, contorted, 

 furrowed longitudinally, and have a central perforation in 

 many cases, showing that they have been strung on a cord for 

 purposes of drying. They have no decided odor, but the taste 

 is something like that of the squill. They are considered to be 

 expectorant, tonic, stomachic, and nervous stimulant. Their 

 prolonged use is recommended in impotence. The root is pre- 

 served in sugar as a sweet-meat. 



Ivoureiro calls this plant Melanthuini cochinchinense^ and in 

 this he is followed by Tatarinov, Guager, Hanbury, and Porter 

 Smith. But Hance and Henry, wdio studied the plant in its 

 natural habitat, identify it as Asparagus lucidiis^ as do also 

 Miquel, Faber, Bretschneider, and the Japanese. 



ASPIDIUM FALCATUM.— 1; ^ (Kuan-chung\ 647. 

 According to M. Fauvel, this term is so applied in Shantung. 

 According to Henry, in Hupeh Kuan-chung is IJ^oodzvardia 

 radicans (wAnchste), and ^ ;p[ ^ (Mao-kuan-chung) is Onoclea 

 orientalis and A^cphrodiiiin filix mas. In Japan these charac- 

 ters indicate Loinaria japojiica. 



ASTER FASTIGIATUS. — -k '^ (Nii-yiian). Other 

 names are ^ ^ (Pai-yuaii), M ^ $^ (Chien-nii-yiian\ and 

 25c \%. (Nil-fu). This plant grows in the north of China. In 

 the Peking mountains this name is applied to Plectranthiis 

 glaucocalyx. The root is the part used in the treatment of 

 fevers, plague, dysentery, epileptoid conditions, and it is espe- 

 cially recommended to be used to allay the results of overfeast- 

 ing and wine drinking. 



ASTER TATARICUS.— ^ '^(Tzti-yiian), 1422. This is 

 Faber's identification. The plant grows plentifully in Northern 

 and Central China, and resembles the last so much that they 

 are often confounded. Another name for it is :j^ ^ -^ (Ye- 



