VEGETABLE KINGDOM. II9 



calls it Car dims acaulis. Henry claimed that in Hupeh Cnicus 

 japonicus is :fe DJ (Ta-chi). There is very little difference 

 between the two. Another name for this is || ||] (Mao-chi, 

 *' cat thistle " ). The root, which has a sweetish pleasant taste, 

 is the part used in medicine. Very remarkable virtues are 

 ascribed to it, such as building up the animal spirits and 

 restoring the blood. It is therefore prescribed in hemorrhages, 

 wounds, and bites of poisonous reptiles and insects. It is also 

 said to have tonic and febrifuge properties. The shoots of 

 the plant are also used medicinally, but will be referred to 

 under Cnicus spicaUis. 



CNICUS NIPPONICUS.— =^^ ^ (K'u-yao). This was 

 also called by Maximowicz Cniais sinensis. Other names for 

 it are ^ ^ (Kou-yao) and ^ 1^ (K'u-pan). This is the 

 ordinary thistle found throughout the central provinces. The 

 shoot is the only part used, and edible. It has a bitter, saltish 

 taste, and is thought to promote respiration and to cool the 

 blood. A decoction is highly recommended for washing bleed- 

 ing piles, and the ash is used as an application to wounds. 



CNICUS SPICATUS.— :;c m (Ta-chi), 1216. Other 

 names are J^ UJ (Hu-chi, "tiger-thistle"), ,i^ IJJ (Ma-chi, 

 ♦♦ horse-thistle"), fi] ^\ (Tz'u-chi, *'thorny thistle "), llj '^ H 

 (Shan-niu-p'ang), %, '^^ %. (Chi-hsiang-ts'ao, ''chicken neck 

 grass", from the character of its stalk), ^ '^^ (Yeh-hung- 

 hua, "wild Carthamus)^ and -f- |f :^ (Ch'ien-chen-ts'ao) ; the 

 last being the name by which it is called in the north. The 

 root, which is the part used in medicine, is tuberous, and in 

 the south is called i A # (T'u-jen-shen, "native ginseng"). 

 The plant grows from four to five feet high, and has wrinkled 

 leaves. In the Peking mountains the people apply the name 

 Ta-chi to Cnicus pcndulus^ which grows from five to six feet 

 high, is very spiny, and has enormous purple flower heads. 

 The use of the drug is thought to promote plumpness of the 

 body. It is prescribed in menstrual difficulties, irritable 

 uterus, and in hemorrhages. The leaves are also used for 

 similar purposes, and as a diuretic. Bruised, they are applied 

 in scaly skin diseases. In many cases, little distinction is 



