176 CHINKSR MATERIA MKDICA. 



for which purpose they are mixed with salt, thoroughly dried 

 and powdered, and applied to the decayed or aching tooth. 

 They are considered to be a sovereign remedy. 



FICUS STIPULATA.— ^ ^ ^ (Ai-yii-tzu), 9. The 

 ^ (Ai) is a delicate climbing plant of Formosa and the south- 

 eastern provinces, which bears a fig-like fruit. The plant is 

 not mentioned in the Pentsao^ nor in any other medical work 

 examined. Kanghsi's Dictionary mentions it, but is very 

 indefinite in its description. That mentioned in the Customs 

 lists came from Formosa and was exported to Java, Porter 

 Smith describes the exported article as hard, dried, woody, 

 immature, tasteless fruits, generally attached to their stalks, 

 or sometimes separated, and cut into two, showing the charac- 

 teristic fructification of the genus. The fruits are also called 

 11 M ^ (Man-t'ou-lo) and /JC ^ 5f (Mu-man-t'ou). To what 

 use they are put does not appear, but it has been suggested that 

 they may be employed in decoction as a fomentation for painful 

 piles and ulcers. 



FCENICULUM VULGARE.— -^ M. ^Shih-lo), % fl fj 

 (Tzu-mo-lo , >J> "^ ^ (Hsiao-hui-hsiang), 438. The first of 

 the names is from the Persian sila^ or zira. The second is also 

 of foreign origin, but from what language is not known. The 

 third refers to the origin of the drug from a Mohammedan 

 country. The stalks and leaves of the plant are eaten in 

 China, and the seeds are in frequent demand as a condiment. 

 The fennel is sometimes confounded with star-anise. The 

 fruits, commonly called seeds, are greyish-brown, slightly 

 curved, beaked, with five prominent ridges, and have the 

 characteristic aroma of the fennel. The shoots of the young 

 plant are considered to be carminative and respiratory. The 

 fruits are prescribed influxes, dyspepsia, colic, and other abdom- 

 inal disorders of children. Made into a Spirit of Fennel., it is 

 used locally for backache and toothache. The leaves and stems 

 may be similarly employed. A number of other fennel-like 

 plants are mentioned in the Pentsao under this article. Some 

 of these are used for food in their natural habitat, and the me- 

 dicinal virtues of all are regarded as similar to those of fennel. 



