^^8 CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



ing and constructive. The sap of the vine is one of the 

 many drugs supposed to restore youth and black hair. The 

 root is considered warming to the sinews. 



VITIS INCONSTANS.— ?^ ^ H (Ch'ang-ch'un-t'eng). 

 It is also called M ^ M M (IvUng-lin-pi-li), "dragon scale 

 fig." This is a creeper upon bushes and trees, bearing a 

 round berry of a pearl color. The stalk and leaves are bitter 

 and the fruit is sweet. All are used in medicine as a tonic 

 and constructive remedy, and in the treatment of inflamma- 

 tory swellings. A decoction of the fruit is recommended in 

 obstinate epistaxis. 



VITIS PENTAPHYLIvA.— .^^^ (Wu-lien-mei). On 

 account of its five pointed leaf it is also commonly called 5. JK 

 H (Wu-chao-lung), "five clawed dragon." This grows in 

 hedges as a vine, has a greenish white flower, an angled stalk, 

 and bears fruits somewhat resembling the berries of Solanum 

 nio-riim. The root is mucilaginous, and is the part used in 

 medicine. It has special reputation in the treatment of can- 

 cerous sores, boils, insect bites, and all sorts of inflammatory 

 swellings. It is also diuretic, and is used in the treatment of 

 hemorrhage from the bladder. 



VITIS SERIAN^FOLIA.— 1^ ^ (Pai-lien), 954. Other 

 names for it are ^ ^ (Pai-ken) and .|^ ^^ ^p (Mao-erh-luan). 

 It is a common plant in mid-China, having a tuberous root 

 with reddish black skin, white flesh, and collected together in a 

 mass like a nest of duck's eggs. The medicinal virtues of the 

 different parts of the plant are the same, but the root is the part 

 commonly employed in medicine. It is used in inflammatory 

 swellings of all kinds, being considered anodyne and cooling. 

 It is also recommended in the nervous disorders of children, 

 ague, swelling of the genitals in women, and menorrhagia. 



VITIS VINIFERA.— ^ ^ (P'u-t'ao). As this name is 

 also written % \% (P'u-t'ao), being different characters of the 

 same sound, it is entirely probable that these represent some 

 foreign name. Indeed it is said in the history of the Han 

 dynasty that the famous general Chang Chien introduced them 



