VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 269 



ready at hand, or very easily prepared. The Chinese literary 

 man usually depends upon a few grains of cooked rice left 

 over from his last meal, for sticking together paper surfaces. 



MUCUNA CAPITATA.— ^ ^ (Li-tou), |i ^ (Li-tou), 

 J^ ^ (Hu-tou). This is a Japanese identification, and it is not 

 quite certain that this is the plant mentioned in the Pentsao. 

 What is there described is a leguminous plant bearing a hairy 

 pod, having a purple flower which resembles that of Dolichos 

 umbellatus^ while the leaves resemble those of Dolichos lablab. 

 The beans are of the size of those of Cmiivallia eiisiformis^ 

 and are mottled with black. They are very good eating 

 when cooked with pork or chicken. They are considered 

 to be slightly deleterious, and medicinally are warming and 

 respiratory. 



MULGEDIUM SIBIRIACUM.— "g'® (Chii-sheng). This 

 is confounded with Sesamiun by Chinese botanists, and is 

 mentioned in the Pentsao under that article. However, this 

 present identification is very uncertain, although the seeds 

 (H ^ ^) Chii-sheng-tzn), 234, answer tolerably well to this 

 description. Strange to say, the Customs Lists identify them 

 with the seeds of Impatiens balsanima. As described by 

 Braun, they are yellowish brown in color, oblong, and have all 

 the appearance of fennel seeds. Those found in the shops of 

 Peking are of two kinds, black and yellowish-white. What 

 the black are is very uncertain. The others were regarded 

 by Maximowics as seeds of Ixeris or Mtdgedium. The med- 

 ical action of these seeds is said to be tonic to the viscera, 

 respiratory, and strengthening to the sinews and bones. The 

 drug will also dissolve cinnabar. 



MURRAYA EXOTICA.— :fL M 1= if (Chiu-li-hsiang- 

 ts'ao). No description of this plant is given in the books. It 

 is prescribed for abdominal abscess. 



MUSA SAPIENTUM. — t % (Kan-chiao), "g; % (Pa- 

 chiao). Also commonly called ^ -^ (Hsiang-chiao). A good 

 description of this plant is given in the Pentsao^ but no dis- 



