lyo CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



aceons seeds are i\sed as food. The popular name is '|f g^ (Chi- 

 t'ou), from the resemblance of the flower to a cock's head. A 

 number of similar names, having reference to the shape of the 

 flower, are given in the P^ntsao. The whole plant is covered 

 ■with prickles, and has large leaves, with prominent, spiny 

 veins. It is much cultivated for the sake of its stems, rhizomes, 

 and seeds, all of which contain much starch and are used as 

 food. A kind of dry biscuit is often prepared from the meal of 

 the kernels. The large, pear-shaped, indehiscent fruits are 

 many celled and filled with the oval seeds, which are compared 

 by the Chinese to the eyes of fish. These seeds are of a 

 reddish color, mottled and veined with a whitish marbling, 

 and are pale at the hilum. The interior is white, hard, and 

 starchy, and has a roughish taste. All parts of the plant are 

 used in medicine, and are considered to be tonic, astringent, 

 and deobstruent in their action. They are recommended in 

 polyuria, spermatorrhoea, and gonorrhoea. The biscuit are 

 fed to children suffering from the kan (^j disease. 



EVODIA RUT^CARPA. See Boymia riitcecarpa. 



EXIDIA AURICULA JUD^.— /f; 5 (Mu-erh). This 

 is the same as Hii'iieola polytricha and Peziza auricula^ and 

 is a common mushroom, or lichen, growing upon trees. The 

 Chinese choose those which grow upon five kinds of trees — the 

 mulberry, the Sophera, the paper mulberry, the elm, and the 

 willow — of which that growing upon the mulberry is considered 

 to be poisonous. The other four are used as food. Their 

 action upon the system is considered to be very beneficial, 

 giving lightness and strength to the body and strengthening 

 the will. They are thought to aid in the cure of hemorrhoids 

 and to prevent other hemorrhages. The mulberry epiphytes 

 are considered to be especially useful for this purpose, and 

 are prescribed in all sorts of hemorrhages. Those growing 

 upon other trees are thought to have medical virtues some- 

 what similar to those of the tree upon which they are found, 

 but these will be mentioned under the appropriate article in 

 each case. 



