Page:Chinese materia medica (1911).djvu/125

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VEGETABLE KINGDOM.
117

to both are stomachic, cooling, deobstrnant, and carminative. They are both prescribed for a very large number of exceedingly dissimilar maladies, and seem to be in very great favor with the Chinese in all sorts of prescriptions. The rind of the fruit, the bark of the root, and the young leaves are all used; the latter being recommended in place of tea in colds. A wine decoction of the root bark is recommended in toothache.

Of the 枸橘 (Kou-chü), which indeed may be Ægle sepiaria, the leaves, thorns, seeds, and bark of the tree are all used in indigestion, fluxes, and dysentery. The flowers and fruit of this, while resembling those of the orange, are not fragrant. Porter Smith calls this Citrus bigaradia.

The 香櫞 (Hsiang-yüan), which is very common in some parts of China, is a variety of citron, not so large as some others. Its pulp is very sour and somewhat bitter, resembling in taste the lime, although the fruit is larger than that of Citrus acida. It may be regarded simply as a variety of Citrus medica. The lemon has been called by the same name by foreigners in China, as well as by the names 檸檬 (Ning-mêng) and 黎檬 (Li-mêng). But it is pretty certain that the lemon does not grow in China proper, or at least has been but lately introduced, and therefore it is not named. The Kuang-chün-fang-pu refers to a small species of Citrus under the last name given above, as having very acid fruit, but no medicinal properties are referred to it. Mr. Eitel gives 擔步羅 (Tan-pu-lo) or 苫婆羅 (Chan-p‘o-lo) as the Chino-Buddhist name of the Citrus acida.


CLAUSENA WAMPI.—黃皮子 (Huang-p‘i-tzŭ), 519. This is a Rutaceous plant, yielding the delicious yellow-skinned fruit called 黃皮果 (Huang-p'i-kuo) by the Chinese, and by foreigners wampee. It is common in southern China and the Indian archipelago. The Pentsao gives its origin as Huang-chou in Kuangsi, but says that it is also found in Kuangtung. The fruit is sour, with a yellow, furry skin, and whitish pulp surrounding several greenish-black seeds. If one has eaten too many lichis, the wampee will counteract the bad effects. Lichis should be eaten when one is hungry, and wampees only on a full stomach. Their medical properties are stomachic, cooling,