VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 1 25 



CONVOLVULUS. — The common representative of the 

 Convolvulacese in China is the ^ ^g (Hsiian-hua), and this is 

 Calystegia sepium (which see). Another is ^ ^ -^ (Ch'ien- 

 niu-tzu), which is IpomcEa^ and will be referred to under that 

 title. At Peking Convolvulus arvensis is found under the 

 name of fi '^'\^ (Ta-wan-hua) and ^2 ^ (Yen-fu). Another, 

 identified by Faber as Convolvulus japonicus is ^ ;^ ^f jij 

 (Ch'en-chih-mou-tan). None of these latter, however, is 

 specially mentioned in the Pentsao^ and they are not considered 

 as differing materially from the principal members of this 

 family. 



COPTIS TEETA. — m 51 (Huang-lien), 516. The 

 different names given for this drug in the Customs lists refer 

 to different qualities and places of origin. The Pentsao gives 

 as additional names 3£ ^ (Wang-lien) and '^ 5^ (Chih-lien). 

 The plant grows extensively throughout China, but the best 

 comes from Szechuan, where it is cultivated. It is a 

 Ranunculaceous plant, and the root has sometimes the 

 appearance of a bird's claw. Two kinds of roots are described 

 in the Chinese books : one being hairy (fine radicle fibers) and 

 the other coarse and knotted, forming a series of united tubers. 

 Large quantities of this drug are shipped from China to India. 

 Siebold identifies it as Coptis an<zmoncsfolia^ and the Japanese 

 describe a three-leaved and a five-leaved variety. Porter 

 Smith wrongly identifies Hiiang-lien as Justicia. The drug, 

 as it appears in the market, is in short branching pieces, one 

 or two inches long, of a yellowish-brown color, and often 

 bristled with radicles. The interior is hard, the cortical part 

 being dark, and the central portion being pierced by a pith of 

 deeper shade. The color of the main portion is a deep, rich 

 yellow. The taste is intensely bitter, but aromatic. The 

 more brittle the root is, the more highly its reputed virtues. 

 It is regarded by Chinese doctors as a sort of a panacea for a 

 great many ills. It is supposed to clear inflamed eyes, to 

 benefit the chest, to combat fever, and to act as an alterative 

 or alexipharmic drug. Its use in all forms of dysentery is 

 specially recommended, and in diabetes to relieve thirst and 

 reduce the quantity of urine. Various poisons, especially that 



