vp:CxETable kingdom. 253 



M. 



MAB A EBENOS.— ,% y\z (Wu-mu). Other names, .% f § TfC 

 (Wu-men-mu) and J^ 3JC /f^ (Wu-wen-mu). This comes from 

 Hainan, Linguan, and the Indian Archipelago. It is also said 

 to be brought in junks from Persia (probably, rather, India). 

 Its heavy, hard texture and black color are mentioned in the 

 Pin/sao, as well as the fact that other heavy woods are some- 

 times stained black to fabricate it. The tree is not a large 

 one, being said to seldom exceed ten feet in height. The wood 

 is pulverized and digested in warm wine, and administered in 

 poisons and cholera morbus. 



MACROCLINIDIUM VERTICILLATUM.— ^ ^ % 

 (Kuei-tu-yu). This is somewhat confounded in Chinese works 

 with Pycnostelma cJiinensis^ an asclepiadaceous plant, and with 

 Gastrodia elata^ an orchidaceous one. But this plant is one 

 of the Compositse. It sends up closely set shoots of one stem, 

 which is surmounted by a whorl of leaves like an umbrella. 

 The root resembles that of Acryanthes bidentata^ but is smaller 

 and without filaments. The flowers, which come out among 

 the leaves, are yellowish-white. The taste of the drug is 

 bitter, and it is somewhat deleterious. It is recommended for 

 the treatment of an evil disposition, vicious effluvia of the 

 heart, and the hundred poisonous essences. It is also used in 

 malaria, to give power to the loins and legs, and to benefit the 

 muscular strength (-^ ;^, Lii-li) generally. 



M^SA DOR^NA.— jrt % ill (Tu-ken-shan). This is a 

 mountain plant, growing to a height of four or five feet, with 

 leaves like those of Sonchus arvensis. It flowers in the autumn, 

 and towards winter it bears a fruit like that of Lycinni chi- 

 nense^ but larger and white in color. It is used for malarial and 

 other fevers, headache, and nausea. Digested in new wine and 

 administered, it will cause vomiting, which clears away the 

 phlegm and relieves the worst symptoms of febrile attacks. 



MAGNOLIA CONSPICUA.— ^ H (Hsin-i), 464. Be- 

 cause the unopened flower is globular, not unlike a young 



