140 CniNKSE MATERIA MEDICA. 



fouud iu various districts in western Kuangsi, it comes from 

 the countries of ^ ^ (Ch'i-pin) and -j^ ^ (Cb'ieh-p'i, Kapila- 

 vastu). It has leaves like the Ophiopugon spicatus and flowers 

 like those of the Hibiscus mutabilis. The flowers are very 

 fragrant, and can be smelled for a long distance. An empress 

 of the Chin (^) dynasty wrote a poem in praise of this plant, 

 in which she extols its sweetness. Medicinally, it is used to 

 correct foul odors and bad breath. It is also used as a perfume. 

 The plant is not yet identified, but is probably not Curcuma. 



CUSCUTA.— Faber identifies |g % (T'u-ssti) as Oiscuta 

 cJn}ie?isis and -^ ^ (Nli-lo) as Ciiscuta japonica. According 

 to the Pentsao the latter is the same as |^ ^ (Sung-lo), which 

 is Viscum. It is possible that those species growing upon 

 herbaceous plants are also sometimes indifferently called Nil-lo. 

 Under the heading of T^ic-ssu the Pentsao gives a number of 

 alternative names : -% ^g (T'u-lil), ^ ^ (T'u-lei), % ^ (T'u- 

 lu), %, % (T'u-chiu), % m (Ch'ih-wang), ^ ^ (Yii-nii), ^ ^ 

 (T'ang-meng), >AC^ i^ (Huo-yen-ts'ao), ^ ^ i^ ( Yeh-hu-ssu), 

 and ^ ^ ^ (Chin-hsien-ts'ao). It will be probably found that 

 some of these names refer to. different varieties, if not to 

 different species, of the dodder. The seeds ^ i^. -^ (T'u-ssit- 

 tzu), 1382, are the parts used in medicine, and these are also 

 found in commerce in the form of cakes, known as ^ i^ ^ 

 (T'u-ssu-ping), 1383. They are met with as roundish bodies 

 of the size of black mustard-seed, and of a brown color, with 

 little or no taste or smell. Diaphoretic, demulcent, tonic, and 

 aphrodisiac properties are ascribed to these seeds, and they are 

 administered in gonorrhoea, incontinence of urine, leucorrhoea, 

 and as a nostrum in cases of cross birth. If taken for a long 

 time, they are thought to brighten the eye, enliven the body, 

 and prolong life. The young shoots of the plant are used 

 externally in cosmetic washes, for favus, and for sore eyes. 

 Hanbury says that the plant was formerly officinal in Europe 

 as a purgative, under the name of Herba cuscutcB majoris. 



CYCAS REVOLUTA.— ^ Ci ^ (Wu-lou-tzH). This is 

 Faber' s identification. In the Pentsao the following names 

 are given for this product : =f- :^ ^ 'Ch'ien-nien-tsao), ^ ^ 



