VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 249 



structure of the pepo renders it useful as a sponge for washing 

 vessels. For this reason villagers call it 5£ fi| ^ JfJi (Hsi-kuo- 

 lo-kua). The flowers, buds, and young leaves can also be used 

 as food. The ripe pepo is incinerated and pulverized, under 

 which circumtances the medicinal virtues ascribed to it are 

 something extraordinary. It is reputed to be carminative, 

 pectoral, cooling to the blood, antiseptic, anthelmintic, emme- 

 nagogue, quickening to the circulation, galactagogue, and is 

 also used in the treatment of hemorrhage from bowels or 

 bladder, hemorrhoids, menorrhagia, jaundice, hernia, orchitis, 

 cancerous swellings, toothache, smallpox, and scarlet fever. 

 Mixed with vermillion, it is nsed to dry up smallpox pustules. 

 The fresh pepo is considered to be cooling and beneficial to the 

 intestines, warming to the stomach, and tonic to the genital 

 organs. The leaves are prescribed in skin diseases and orchitis, 

 the vine and root in decayed teeth, ozoena, and parasitic affec- 

 tions. The fibres of this gourd are found in commerce under 

 the names of |$ JlEL ^ (SsS-kua-lo), 1190, and i^ S 'ilj (Ssii- 

 kua-pu), 1 191. 



LUISIA TERES.— .IX ■? 35 (Ch'ai-tzu-ku). Also called 

 ^ I'X WC (Chin-ch'ai-ku), but it must not be confounded with 

 Dendrobhun nobile, which is ^ |)( 1^]^ (Chin-ch'ai-hua). This 

 orchidaceous plant grows in the south and resembles Asanitn. 

 It is a much vaunted counter-poison, especially against the 

 ^ (Ku) infection. It is also prescribed for carcinoma, malaria, 

 and to counteract all sorts of medicinal poisons. 



LYCHNIS.— IJ % (Chien-ts'ao), 112, ^ ^ ^ (Chien- 

 ch*un-lo), H ^lH (Chien-hung-lo), ^ ^^ (Chien-ch'iu-lo), 

 M^-VL (Chien-lo-hua), ^ ^ ^ (Chien-chin-lo;, ^ ^^ %^ 

 (Chien-hung-sha), These all seem to be species and varieties 

 of this genus. Faber also gives i^ H A (Yii-mei-jen), but 

 this is not given in the Pentsao^ and according to other 

 observers is identified as Papaver rhceas, with which identifica- 

 tion the description in the Ktiang-chiln-fang-pu agrees very 

 well. The only terms mentioned in the Pentsao are the first 

 two, with the third as a synonym of the second. The descrip- 

 tion of the first is not at all clear, and as Faber makes it 



