VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 69 



It is the same as Teconia grandiflora and Loureiro's Camps is 

 adrepens. The flowers, leaves, stalk and root are all used medici- 

 nally; the first named having the preference. It is most largely 

 prescribed for the menstrual diseases of women, and the ansemia 

 and marasmus which often attend these. Prolonged post- 

 partum discharge also conies into this list. It is also used 

 in fevers, and in combination with Gardenia florida for the 

 treatment of " wine nose." 



BLETIA HYACINTHINA.— 1^ ^ (Pai-chi), 935. This 

 is an orchid with violet flowers, cultivated at Peking under 

 the name of ^ f^ (Lan-hua). The bulb is quite mucil- 

 laginous, and a thin paste made of it is sometimes mixed with 

 India iuk to give a gloss to writing or drawings done with it. 

 It is also used in the preparation of a secret ink ; the paper 

 which has been written upon being afterwards dipped into 

 water and held up to the light. It is also used by the manu- 

 facturers of china and of "cloisonnes." The rhizome is 

 met with in the shape of flattish, irregularly oval, hollow 

 disks, umbilicated on one surface, and having projecting rays at 

 the circumference. The lower convex surface is pointed by a 

 central tubercle and marked with rings. A great variety of 

 irregular, tri-radiated, and other shapes of these tubers are met 

 with in some samples. The interior is amylaceous, translucent, 

 Lard, and white in color, and has a gummy, bitterish taste. 

 It is considered demulcent, and is used in the diseases of chil- 

 dren, especially those of a dyspeptic character, as well as in 

 dysentery, hemorrhoids, and ague. It has much repute in the 

 treatment of burns, wounds, and other injuries, and also in 

 various kinds of skin diseases. 



BLUMEA BALSAMIFERA.—^ i^ ^ (Ai-na-hsiang\ 

 This is the identification of Faber, although the account given 

 in the P^nisao is not clear in many particulars. The plant is 

 not described, and what is said evidently refers to the steareop- 

 ten. It is recommended in the treatment of fevers and as a 

 corrective of miasmatic vapors. Anthelmintic qualities are also 

 ascribed to it. 



