VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 3II 



PARDANTHUS CHINENSIS.— |j- ^ (She-kan), 1120. 

 Other names for this are Be/amcanda chinensis^ Ixia chviensis^ 

 and MorcBa chinensis. It is one of the Iridaceae. and is erown 

 in gardens. It resembles Iris tectorum in its leaves, grows 

 two to three feet high, has orange flowers, and black, berr\-like 

 fruits. It has a number of other names ; a common one being 

 ^ fj- (P'ien-chu). It grows wild in the Peking mountains, 

 but the wild variety bears white flowers {PardantJiiis dicho- 

 ionms). The rhizomes are used in medicine, and as found in 

 the shops they are very hard, bristled with rootlets, and of a 

 chrome-yellow in the interior. The taste is acid in the fresh 

 state, and the drug is considered by the Chinese to be delete- 

 rious. It is described as having expectorant, deobstruent, 

 carminative, and diuretic properties, and seems to have some 

 special popularity in diseases of the throat. It is prescribed 

 in amenorrhoea, malaria, dropsy, cancer of the breast, arrow 

 poison, and a number of dissimilar difl&culties. 



PARIS POLYPHYLLA.— ^ {jfi (Tsao-hsiu). This plant 

 has a solitary stem, bearing at the top two or three whorls of 

 7 or 8 leaves each, with yellow and purple flowers. The leaves 

 are of a reddish-yellow color, and run out into gold-colored, 

 drooping filaments. The fruit is red, and the root has a 

 purplish-red skin and white flesh. The plant is likened to 

 Euphorbia sieboldiana^ and is somewhat confounded with it. 

 The root is bitter and poisonous. It is prescribed in nervous 

 aflfections, epilepsy, chorea, mania, puerperal eclampsia, and 

 ague. It is also a counter poison against snake, insect, and 

 rat bites. It is administered in the form of an aqueous extract. 



PARIS QUADRIFOUA.— I ^, (Wang-sun). This grows 

 in the river valleys of Kiangsu. In is similar to the last, but 

 the whorls have only four leaves. The root resembles that 

 of Nehimbiiim speciostim^ and is bitter, but not poisonous. It 

 is prescribed in rheumatism, and is considered as a sort of 

 general prophylactic and preservative of life and black hair. 



PARMELIA Sp.— ;j5 g (Shih-erh), 1146. Faber is 

 authority for the identification of this gymnocarpous lichen. 

 Another observer calls it Leptogitun fuliginosiun. The plant 



