VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 367 



^t ^ (Hsiang-shili) are said to be the fruits of the |^ (Li), 

 which is made to be identical with the :^^ (Tso). The fruit is 

 also called ^ ^ (Tsao-tou), because of the shape of the 

 cupules and the fact that they are used to dj-e black. There 

 are two kinds of the Li\ one which does not bear fruits (sterile 

 flowered), which is called |^ (Yii), and which has a red lieart 

 wood ; the other bears fruits (fertile flowered), called ||5 (Hsii), 

 which bears the acorns referred to in this paragraph. The 

 people in the mountainous districts where these acorns grow 

 eat them cooked whole or ground into meal ; when they are 

 very plentiful they are fed to pigs to fatten them. The young 

 leaves are sometimes used as a substitute for tea. The acorns 

 are recommended in fluxes and as a nourishing food. The 

 cupules, powdered and decocted, are used as an astringent in 

 fluxes, menorrhagia, and prolapse of the rectum. As a black 

 dye, they are sometimes used to color the whiskers and hair. 

 The bark of the wood and of the root is used as an astringent 

 and cleansing dressing in foul sores, in flnxes, and as an appli- 

 cation to promote absorption of tuberculous nodules. The 

 cupules of the acorn are called ^ /j^ -^ (Hsiang-wan-tzti). 



11^ ^ (Hu-shih). The //// is a common tree in the 

 mountains. It resembles the Lt\ and is therefore called ^ 3^ 

 i^ (Ta-yeh-li), Qiiercus aliena (?). Other names are )^\ ^ 

 (Hu-su) and :j^ ^ (P'o-su). The acorns of this species are 

 small, the wood is also inferior, and is not used by mechanics, but 

 is employed tor fuel and for charring. As known in the north, 

 this tree has obovate, sinuate leaves, with a very short petiole, 

 and on young trees they attain to enormous size, being often 

 as much as two feet long and correspondingly broad. The 

 acorns of this tree have the same medicinal properties as those 

 of the % (Hsiang). The leaves, called \^\ ^ (Hu-jo), are 

 astringent in hemorrhoids, dysentery, and hemorrhages, and 

 are considered thirst-relieving and diuretic. They are also 

 applied to the face, in decoction, to relieve congestion and 

 erythema. The bark of the wood is said to be anthelmintic, 

 and is used in decoction as an astringent in excessive dis- 

 charges, foul sores, enlarged glands, and dysenteries. 



|pj" ^ (Ko-shu) is identified as Quercus cuspidata. It is 

 said to grow in the mountainous districts of the Kuang {^ 



