VEGETABLE KINGDOM. ZSg 



o. 



OCIMUM BASIUCUM.— ^ ^ (Lo-le), ^ ^ (Hsiang- 

 ts'ai), 426. The common name at Peking is ^ f§ (Ai-k'ang). 

 Because it is used in the treatment of opacity of the cornea it 

 is called ^ ^ ^ (I-tzu-ts'ao). The plant is found every- 

 where. The P^itsao distinguishes three varieties : one resem- 

 bling Perilla ocytJtoides^ and one has large leaves and is very 

 fragrant, its perfume carrying to a distance of twenty paces, 

 and the third can be used as a vegetable. The plant is recom- 

 mended to be extensively sown in gardens to overcome the 

 bad odors due to the use of fertilizers. Peptic and carminative 

 properties are ascribed to it, and the decoction is used as a wash 

 for ulcers. It is prescribed in vomiting, hiccough, and polypus 

 of the nose. The seeds are specially prescribed in diseases of 

 the eyes, are said to remove films and opacities, and to soothe 

 pain and inflammation. They are also recommended for rodent 

 ulcer (^ J|| ^ ^, Tsou-ma-ya-kan). The Customs Lists give 

 % ^ i^ (Chiu-ts'eng-t'a) as a term for Ocimum^ but this has 

 not been found in the Chinese books. 



CECCeOCLADES FAECATA.— Jt H (Feng-lan), ^ || 

 (Tiao-lan). This orchidaceous plant grows suspended from 

 rocks in mountain gorges of the southern provinces. It 

 resembles Dendrobium^ and has been confounded with it. 

 Faber calls it Angr(^cum falcatimi. It has a drooping stem 

 and leaves, and the latter are flat and two or more inches in 

 length. When once rolled up they do not open again. Thfe 

 people place the plant in bamboo baskets and suspend these 

 from the eaves of the house, where it grows and blossoms, 

 drawing its nourishment from the air. It is said that if this is 

 suspended in the room in which a woman is going through 

 parturition, the labor will be hastened. 



CEN ANTHP: STOLONIFERA. — tIc M (Shui-chin). The 

 name is commonly written 7]C '^ (Shui-ch'in). It is described 

 in the Phitsao under the title ^ Hf (K'u-chin). Other names 

 are j^ % (Ch'in-ts'ai), -^ % (Shui-ying), aud % ^ (Ch'u- 



