6o CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



also known as p^ ^jfe (Yang-t'ao), variously written q^ ^ 

 (Yang-t'ao). On this account, Legge has erroneously identi- 

 fied the carambola with the ^ ^ (Ch'ang-ch'u) of the classics. 

 This latter is Actinidia^ and Chinese writers have not con- 

 founded the two, although there has been some local confound- 

 ing of the colloquial names. The fruit, when ripe, is three or 

 four inches long, yellow, marked by five prominent longitudinal 

 ridges, very juicy, and rather sharp to the taste. The odor is 

 aromatic, but rather disagreeable to some persons. Its action 

 is to quench thirst, to increase the salivary secretion, and hence 

 to allay fever. 



