300 CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



P^ONIA ALBIFIvORA.— ^- ^ (Shao-yao), 143, 11 12, 

 959. Properly speaking this Chinese name is generic ; there 

 being two kinds described in the Pentsao: one with white 

 flowers called ^ ^ |^ (Chin-shao-yao), which is Pisonia albi- 

 flora and the other with red flowers called Tfc Sj ^ (Mii-shao- 

 yao), which may be Pceonia officinalis in some cases, while in 

 others it is confounded with PiBonia niotctan. The plant is 

 found growing wild in Anhui and Honan, as well as in Sze- 

 chuan. It is also cultivated in Kiangsu for its root, which is 

 used in medicine. It is a drug much prized by Chinese doctors, 

 who use it as a tonic, alterative, astringent, and general remedy 

 in diseases of women. As found in the shops, it is in hard, 

 heavy pieces, tapering, of the size of the thumb or middle 

 finger, and from four to six inches long. It is of a pinkish- 

 white color on the outside, and marked with scars and tuber- 

 cles, and is whitish, or brownish, and semitranslucent in the 

 interior. It is said to be anodyne, diuretic, and carminative. 

 It is specially recommended in the diseases of pregnancy and 

 all forms of puerperal difficulty. It has also special action 

 upon the spleen, liver, stomach, and intestines, and is pre- 

 scribed in nosebleed, wounds, and other hemorrhages. 



P^ONIA MOUTAN.— iH::J5-(Mou-tan). This is known 

 as the tree pcaony^ and is also called 'j^ 3E (Hua-wang), "the 

 king of flowers," and U fg ^ (Pai-liang-chin), "a hundred 

 ounces of gold." This latter name is given on account of the 

 value in which the Chinese hold this exceedingly popular flower. 

 It is a plant which is always discussed at length in all Chinese 

 works on botany ; more than thirty varieties being described. 

 By long care, the plant has been rendered suffructicose. It is 

 grown in Szechuau, where it seems to have been indigenous, 

 but it has been cultivated for such a long period that the wild 

 variety is no longer valued. During the Han dynasty, Lo- 

 yang in Honan was famous for its nioiitan flowers. The bark 

 pf the root, 857, 1245, i^ ^^^ P^^^ Vi^t^ in medicine, and is met 

 with in quills three or four inches long, dark brown on the 

 putside, aiid of a purplish color on the inside and on the broken 

 surface. It has a warm flavor and but little smell. It is pre- 

 scribed in fevers, colds, nervous disorders, hemorrhages, head- 



