VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 39 I 



anthelmintic, and are similarly used by the Japanese to promote 

 digestion. In some cases they appear to cause peculiar symp- 

 toms of intoxication, and occasionally to destroy life. They 

 are sometimes used to wash clothes, and are di-ested in wine 

 or oil to make a kind of detergent cosmetic. This detergent 

 action is dependent upon a peculiar, crystallizable, fatty princi- 

 ple which the pulp contains. The wood of the tree is made 

 into seals, which are used as charms by quacks in the treatment 

 of disease. The trees sometimes grow to a very great size ; one 

 of the famous "big trees" of Ruling being of this kind. 



SALIX BABYLONICA.— :f^^ (Liu), >J, ^ (Hsiao-yang), 

 11 W (Yang-liu). Several kinds of willow are included under 

 these terms ; but the most common Chinese willow, and the 

 one that is planted extensively in all parts of the empire, is 

 the Salix babylonica. Of this there are several varieties, some 

 with the long pliant branches characteristic of the weeping 

 willow, while others have shorter and less pliant limbs. The 

 tree is well described in the Chinese books. The cottony 

 down of the seeds is called \% ^ (Liu-hua) and ^\ ^ (Liu-hsii) ; 

 but this may also include the catkins. This product is recom- 

 mended in jaundice, rheumatism, hemorrhage, fever, and 

 locally in foul sores and ulcers, cancers, and perspiring feet. 

 Decoction of the leaves, 741, is used in ulcers, skin diseases, 

 varnish poisoning, and internally in rheumatism, gonorrhoea, 

 ephemeral fever, and carbuncle. The white bark of the twigs 

 and root, 746, is used in the bath for parasitic skin eruptions, 

 and internally in decoction for jaundice, gonorrhoea, and rheu- 

 matic swellings. A kind of tea, called |5t :^ (T'ien-ch'a), is 

 made of the leaves of this and other trees of the willow family, 

 and they are sometimes used to adulterate tea. The gum from 

 the willow tree, called \% flf (Liu-chiao), is applied to foul 

 sores. The willow epiphyte |5P ^ ^ (L-iu-chi-sheng), is a 

 species of Visacm, and is sold in the shops as a dried, yellow, 

 flowering plant, with the leaves attached. It is used as a 

 carminative, antispasmodic, and sedative. 



SALIX PURPUREA.— 7jC \^ (Shui-yang), M 1511 (P'u- 

 liu), ^ II (Ch'iug-yang). This is a willow with leaves that 



