98 CPIINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



which grows plentifully in the central provinces, and is called 

 "j^ ^ (Pan-li) ; a small, round variety known as [Ij ^ (Shan- 

 li), of which there is a pointed kind which is called §| ^ 

 (Chui-li) ; a small one shaped like an acorn called '^ ^ (Hsin- 

 li) ; a still smaller one, like a hazelnut, called ^ ^ (Mao-li), 

 which in the Erhya is called Ijjf (Erh), The Sanscrit name of 

 JH 5|U (Tu-chia) is also given. 



The tree of some varieties is quite large, and some have 

 very large leaves. The smallest varieties are very delicate 

 little shrubs. They grow in all of the provinces except the 

 two south-eastern ones ; there being no chestnuts (^) there 

 except the ^ ^ (Shih-li), Alciirites triloba. The best 

 chestnuts come from Kiangnan and the north. Several parts 

 of the chestnut tree and fruit are used medicinally. The fruits 

 themselves are considered to be saltish and cooling in their 

 nature. Children should not eat them much, either raw or 

 cooked. Their use is thought to hinder the development of 

 the teeth. They are considered to have a beneficial action 

 upon the "breath," stomach, and kidneys, assisting in endur- 

 ing hunger. Masticated into pulp and applied as a poultice, 

 they are recommended in muscular rheumatism and extravasa- 

 ted blood. The crushed fruits are also used as poultices in bites 

 of animals and virulent sores of various kinds. The septa of 

 the involucre, called ^ ;^ (Li-hsiehi, is considered to be 

 especially efficacious in muscular rheumatism and to promote 

 the circulation of the blood. The tegmen of the seed, which 

 is known as ^ -^ (Li-fu), is pulverized and added to honey as 

 a cosmetic application ; it is thought with the effect of improv- 

 ing the completion. Incinerated and powdered, it is used for 

 removing a fish bone from the throat. A decoction of the 

 hulls is recommended in nausea, thirst, and bloody stools. A 

 decoction of the spiny involucre is said to be useful as a wash 

 for inflamed ulcers. The flowers are used in scrofula, a 

 decoction of the bark of the tree as a wash in poisoned wounds, 

 and the root in hernia and hydrocele, between which difficulties 

 the Chinese do not clearly distinguish. 



CATALPA BUNGEL— fft (Ch'iu). Classical name, ^ 

 (TztJj. Catalpa k(zmpferi^ the same Chinese name or H Ht 



