VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 463 



different parts of the country in both the wild and cultivated 

 state. Its medicinal virtues are considered to be carminative, 

 stimulant, sudorific, emmenagogue, astringent, and anthelmin- 

 tic. Its use as a condiment is regarded as highly beneficial to 

 all the vital processes. An infusion in vinegar dropped into 

 the ear is said to be able to drive out every form of bug 

 or worm that may have invaded that cavity. 



ZANTHOXYLUM PIPERITUM.— ^ #;i{ (Shu-chiao), 

 commonly called Jlj -ji^^ (Ch'uan-chiao), 241, and also j^ |,fji 

 (Nan-chiao), As the name indicates, this is the Szechuan 

 species, and is much cultivated in western China. It is a 

 shrub from four to five feet high, spiny, with hard, shining 

 leaves, and fruits appearing in the axils of the twigs and 

 leaves. These fruits are the size of a small pea, have a 

 purplish-red skin, and contain a shining, black seed, resem- 

 bling the pupil of the eye, and for this reason called ||[ g 

 (Chiao-mu), "pepper eyes." It is not always clearly distin- 

 guished from Zanthoxyhim bungci. The carpels, which are 

 called \)§^ -fX (Chiao-hung), are considered somewhat deleterious. 

 It is probable also that they are sometimes confounded with 

 some other acrid drug, as it is said that the kind which 

 closes the mouth (benumbing or acrid) will produce death. 

 The prolonged use of these carpels is said to produce im- 

 becility and to injure the blood vessels. Medicinally, they are 

 carminative, stimulant, warming, tussic, antimalarial, and 

 prophylactic. They are recommended in dysentery, spermat- 

 orrhcea, galactorrhoea, and polyuria. Externally, they are 

 used as a stimulant to the skin and as a parasiticide. The 

 seeds are considered diuretic, and are used in dropsies, diseases 

 of the kidney and bladder, and in asthma. The leaves have 

 properties similar to those of the fruits, and are prescribed in 

 similar cases. A decoction of these is recommended in varnish- 

 poisoning. The root is made into a decoction and used in 

 kidney and bladder difficulties, and externally in ecchymoses 

 and other skin affections. 



ZANTHOXYIvUM SCHINNIFOLIUM. — ^ %i (Yai- 

 chiao) ; also called ^ |,|X (Yeh-chiao). This is a wild species, 



