Читать книгу Chinese Herbs - John D. Keys - Страница 18

ALISMA PLANTAGO L. (Alismaceae)

Water plantain, a perennial marsh herb 0.1-1.0 m. tall. Stem erect. Leaves basal, petiolate, simple, lanceolate, base cordate or round. Inflorescence in verticillate divisions, large, paniculate, bracteal. Flowers red or white, small; May-September; sepals 3; petals 3, larger than the sepals; stamens 6; carpels numerous, laterally compressed. Seeds glossy, compressed laterally. Northern Hemisphere. (Syn. A. cordifolia Thunb.) The root is officinal. It occurs as ovoid, whitish, with circular depressions. The taste is bitter. It contains a highly volatile oil, 23 % starch, and a very acrid resin.151 An extract of the root increases urinary excretion.50 The drug is believed by the Chinese to stimulate the female genitalia.146 Employed as diuretic. Dose, 5-15 gm.

CURCULIGO ENSIFOLIA R. Br. (Amaryllidaceae)

A biennial herb with a tuberous root. Stem to 40 cm. Leaves basal, petiolate, lanceolate, 15-40 cm. long by 12-35 mm. wide, acuminate at both extremities. Inflorescence sessile, in the floral sheaths. Flowers yellow, close to the ground; perianth tubular with 6 regular lobes; stamens 6; ovary inferior, rostrate, 3-celled; stigmas 3. Fruit bacciform, surmounted with the persistent perianth tube. Southern China, Indochina, India, Malaya. (Syn. C. malabarica, C. stans Labill., C. orchioides Gaertn., Hypoxis minor Seen., H. orchioides Kurz.) The tubercles are used medicinally. They occur the size of the small finger, the epidermis coarse, dark brown, interior yellowish white. The taste is bittersweet and pungent. The drug is slightly poisonous. It contains 4% tannin, fat, resin, and starch.140 Used as stimulating tonic in premature senility, to increase virility, for nerve tone, in neurasthenia, also as digestant and to stimulate the appetite. Dose, 4-7 gm.

LYCORIS RADIATA Herb. (Amaryllidaceae)

A perennial, bulbous herb. Leaves basal, developing in spring and dying down in summer. Floral axis appearing in autumn; flowers terminal, red; petals 6; stamens and style protruding. The bulb is tunicate, with black epidermis. China, Japan. (Syn. Amaryllis radiata L'Herit., A. sarniensis Thunb., Nerine japonica Miq.) The bulb is used medicinally. The taste is sweet and pungent. It is poisonous. The drug contains the alkaloids lycorine C16H17NO4 (white prismatic crystals; m.p. 275°; insoluble in water; slightly soluble in alcohol, ether), ly-coramine C17H25NO3 (plates; m.p. 121°; soluble in water, alcohol, acetone), sekisanine C16H19NO4 (crystals; m.p. 207-209°; insoluble in water; soluble in alcohol, ether), and other minor alkaloids.148 The action of lycorine is similar to that of emetine, with less toxicity and greater emetic action; it is also antipyretic.140 Used as expectorant and emetic. Dose, 1.5-3.5 gm.

NARCISSUS TAZETTA L. var. CHINENSIS Roem. (Amaryllidaceae)

Polyanthus narcissus. Leaves basal, flat, linear, about 45 cm. long and 2 cm. wide. Floral stalk appearing in late autumn, the terminal membranous spathe breaking to reveal the flowers. Flowers fragrant, in clusters of 4-8; corolla in 6 segments, white; corona much shorter than the segments, about 2.5 cm. long, pale yellow; stamens 6. China, Japan. The tunicate bulbs are used medicinally. They occur as ovate or spherical, epidermis black. The taste is bitter; the drug is poisonous. It contains the alkaloids lycorine and tazettine C18H21N05 (m.p. 210-211 °).151 In animals the drug induces gastralgia, gastroenteritis, accelerated pulse, and pyrexia, larger doses producing convulsions, paralysis, and death; toxic doses in humans induce hidrosis and collapse.140 The fresh bulbs are chopped and used externally as antiphlogistic and analgesic to boils, abscesses, mastitis.

ACORUS GRAMINEUS Ait. (Araceae)

A perennial marsh herb; rhizome creeping, 0.5-0.75 cm. thick. Leaves sheathed, extending 1.0-1.5 dm. outside the sheath, attaining 3-5 dm. in length by 2-4 mm. in width, green or whitish, without distinct median vein. Scape supporting the axillary inflorescence, a cylindrical spadix. Spadix 0.3-1.0 dm. by 3-4 mm., section above spathe 0.75-2.0 dm. long by 2-3 mm.; perianth in 6 divisions, the outer three larger; stamens 6. Fruit a long berry, 2 mm. thick. Southern China, Japan, Himalayas, India. (Syn. A. calamus Lour.)

The rhizomes are officinal. The surface is yellowish brown and marked with longitudinal wrinkles where leaves were attached ; the interior shows the scars where the radicles originated. The odor is aromatic. The drug contains 0.5-0.8% essential oil and the bitter principle asarone C12H16O3 (crystals; m.p. 67°, b.p. 296°; insoluble in water; soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform). The action is similar to that of A. calamus L., aiding digestion and regulating gastrointestinal fermentation.140

Employed as aromatic bitter and stomachic in dyspepsia and hyperacidity. Dose, 2.5-5.0 gm.

ARISAEMA THUNBERGII Blume. (Araceae)

A perennial, alpine herb. Leaves 1-2,11-segmented, the intermediate segment 10 cm. long by 2.5 cm. wide, the lateral segments gradually becoming shorter and narrower; petiole 15-30 cm. long. Peduncle 25 cm. long; spathe an elongate tube 10 cm. long; spadix exceeding the tube by half. Flowers sessile, without perianth; May; stamens 3-4. Northern China, Korea, Japan. (Syn. Arum dracontium Thunb.) The tubercles are used medicinally. They occur as roundish, flat, yellowish brown or whitish; the central portion consists of an umbilicus from which grow other tuberous roots equally containing an umbilicus; the texture is firm. The taste is bitter. The fresh root is very toxic; when cooked the poison dissipates. The tubercles contain a saponin, benzoic acid, and a large amount of starch. The extracted juice of the fresh root, injected into rabbits, induces intense convulsions, paralysis, and death.140 A decoction of the fresh root in beef bile is used internally as analgesic and antispasmodic. Dose of the decoction, 3-5 gm. Employed externally for insect bites, abscesses, and swellings.

PINELLIA TUBERIFERA Tenore (Araceae)

A tuberous perennial herb. Petiole often tuberiferous at base and top. Leaflets 3, segments oblong-elliptical, acute at both ends, the middle segment 5.0-7.5 cm. long by 2.5 cm. wide, the lateral segments 4.5 cm. long by 1.0-1.5 cm. wide. Peduncle solitary, 25-30cm. long. Spathe persistent, cylindrical, narrow, emarginate at the extremity, 5 cm. long, appendix of spadix filiform; May-June. Southern China, Japan. (Syn. Arum macrourum Bunge., A. ternatum Thunb., Atherurus, ternatus Blume., Pinellia ternata Tenore) The tubercles are officinal. They occur as spherical or pyriform, 1-2 cm. thick; the surface is white or yellowish white, with small brown fossettes around the depressed umbilical portion; the interior is perfectly white, solid, and amylaceous. The taste is faintly bitter. The drug contains an essential oil, a fatty oil, phytosterols, and a toxic alkaloid.76 The alkaloid is similar in sedative and antispasmodic action to coniine; oral administration of the powdered drug restrains apomorphine-induced emesis in dogs.49 Used as antiemetic, sedative, antitussive in nausea, pharyngalgia, singultus, chronic gastritis. Dose, 3-7 gm.

CYPERUS ROTUNDUS L. (Cyperaceae)

A perennial grass-like herb, 20-40 cm. tall, glabrous. Rhizomes slender, swollen here and there with blackish, ovoid-oblong tubercles 1 cm. in diameter. Stem slender, erect. Leaves numerous, 5-15 cm. long by 2-6 mm. broad, carinate. Inflorescence umbelliferous; pedicels 4-10, erect, very irregular. Spikelets reddish brown, linear, 10-20 mm. by 1-2 mm., in short umbelliferous fascicles; axis winged. Scales densely imbricate, nearly acute, faintly veined, the margin pale. Stamens and stigmas 3; June-October. Achene triquetrous, half as long as the scale. Asia, Australia, southern Europe, America. The tubercles are 5 cm. long, reddish brown, marked with circular parallel rings, the epidermis fibrous; the interior is white, ligneous; the odor and taste are slightly aromatic.153 They contain 0.5% of an essential oil comprising cyperene, cyperol, cyperone, pinene, and sesquiterpenes.151 Used as aromatic stomachic in nervous gastralgia, dyspepsia, diarrhea; as emmenagogue, sedative, and analgesic in dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, chronic metritis. Dose, 5-8 gm.

DIOSCOREA JAPONICA Thunb. (Dioscoreaceae)

The Chinese yam. Root tuberous, flat, more or less ramiform. Stem volubilate, angular. Leaves opposite, petiolate, rarely alternate, oval or oblong, entire, deeply cordate, auricles lightly oblique, 8 cm. by 5-6 cm., acuminate, with numerous glands, petiole 4-5 cm. long. Flowers dioecious, in axillary spikes, solitary or geminate; September-October; male flowers with perianth in 6 segments, stamens 6; female in 6 segments, ovary inferior, 3-celled. Capsule triquetrous, compressed, winged. China, Japan. The tubers contain 16% starch, mucilage, amylase, albuminoid matter, fat, sugar, amino acids (arginine, leucine, and tyrosine), and glutamine.140 151 The tubers are employed as a nutrient tonic and digestant in chronic enteritis and diarrhea; also prescribed in nocturnal enuresis, spermatorrhea, neurasthenia. Dose, 10-30 gm. (D. batatas Decne. is similarly employed.)

COIX LACRYMA-JOBI L. (Graminae)

Job's tears. An annual grass 1-2 m. high, the stem branching. Leaves 10-40 cm. long, 2-4 cm. wide, lanceolate-acuminate, margin coarse, auriculate, ligule very short. Spikelets monoecious, in panicles consisting of pedunculate spikes, partly concealed in the leafy sheaths; August. Male biflo-rous, numerous, at the end of the spike. Female uniflorous, solitary at the base of the spike, enclosed in a hard involucre, ovoid-conical, bluish white, glossy, 8 mm. long, narrowly open at the top. Glumes and glumelles nearly regular, stamens 3, stigmas terminal, rather short. Caryopsis hemispherical. Central and western China, India, tropical Africa, America. (Syn. C. agrestis Lour., C. chinensis Tod., C. lachryma L.) The seeds are globular, split longitudinally, 5 mm. long, 4 mm. in diameter, white. They contain 52 % starch, 7 % fat, a sterol, vitamin B, and 17% protein including the amino acids leucine, tyrosine, lycine, glutamic acid, arginine, and histidine.68 An infusion of the seeds is considered nutritive, refrigerant, and diuretic; it is prescribed in bronchitis, pulmonary abscess, pleurisy, hydrothorax. Dose, 10-25 gm. An alcohol fermented from the seeds is considered antirheumatic.

IMPERATA CYLINDRICA Beauv. (Graminae)

A perennial grass, the stalk 30-90 cm. high, thick. Sheath rather loose, glabrous. Leaves linear, erect, 15-30 cm. long by 3-6 cm. wide, rigid, acuminate, surface scabrous, the underside smooth. Ligule short, ciliate. Panicle spiciform, 5-20 cm. long, slender, compact, silvery; June. Spikelets in pairs, each with two flowers of which only one is fertile, the other reduced to a glumelle, 3-4 mm. long, covered with very long, flexible hairs. Glumes longer than the flowers, dentate, glabrous; glumelles fringed at the top. Stamens 2. Southern China, India, Sri Lanka, Indochina, Japan, Africa, Oceania. (Syn. I. arundinaceae Cyrill., Lagurus cylindricus L.) The root, flowers, and young sprouts are all used in the Chinese pharmacopoeia. "The root is white, very long, flexible like a tendon, provided with joints, and of a sweet taste."138 "The sprouts are edible and are good for children."142 The root is employed as antipyretic, diuretic, and hemostatic. Dose, 10-35 gm. The flowers are used in hemoptysis and epistaxis of pulmonary disease. Dose, 5-10 gm. The young shoots are diuretic. Dose, 5-10 gm.

ORYZA SATIVA L. (Graminae)

Common rice. An annual, water-inhabiting grass with a fibrous root. Stem erect, 50 cm.-1.5 m. high, smooth, angled, mostly hidden in the long leaf-sheaths. Leaves 15-30 cm. long, attaining 2 cm. in width, rough, with oblong ligule, entire or divided. Inflorescence paniculate, branches erect, reaching 25 cm. in length; June-September. Spikelets hermaphrodite, uniflorous, compressed laterally, villous, caducous, 7-9 mm. long; glumes very small, nearly regular, lanceolate, single-veined; glumelles large, very cartilaginous, nearly regular, carinate, the inferior often mucronate or aristate, 5-veined, the superior 3-veined; stamens 6; stigmas exserted laterally. Caryopsis yellowish white, oblong, compressed, narrowly enclosed in the glumelles. Cultivated in the Old and New World. The germinated seeds contain 90% starch, the highest of all the cereals, and vitamins A, B, C, D, and E.151 Rice is taken freely as stomachic and tonic. The rootlets are also officinal, being astringent and anhidrotic. Dose, 10-20 gm.

PHRAGMITES COMMUNIS Trin. (Graminae)

Reed grass. A perennial marsh grass, 1-4 m. tall, glabrate, rhizomes creeping. Leaves 30-50 cm. long and 1-3 cm. wide, margin coarse, ligule consisting of a row of short regular hairs. Panicle terminal, 10-30 cm. long, compact, erect, purplish brown or reddish, often blackish. Spikelets 10-12 mm. long, flowers 2-7; glumes very irregular, entire, lanceolate-acute, glabrous, shorter than the flowers; stamens 1-3. Caryopsis oblong. Cosmopolitan. (Syn. Arundo phragmites L.)

The root is used medicinally. "The root is like that of the bamboo, but the joints are at a greater distance apart; that part of the root which is below the water, in the mud, is sweet and pungent; that which is in the water is not good for use."142 The root contains 51% glycosides, 5% protein, 0.1 % asparagin.151 Employed as stomachic, antiemetic, antipyretic; in acute arthritis, jaundice, pulmonary abscess, food poisoning. Dose, 20-40 gm.

PHYLLOSTACHYS (gen.) (Graminae)

Various of the bamboo-like grasses of the above genera are used medicinally by the Chinese, especially P. nigra Munro. var. henonis Mak. and P. bambusoide S. et Z. The roots are considered astringent, styptic, and antipyretic. The leaves are antipyretic and diuretic, decoctions being prescribed in stomatitis, pharyngitis, head and chest colds. The epidermis of the young stems is regarded as sedative and antiemetic. The extracted juice of the stem is used as sedative and antipyretic in catarrhal, bronchial, and cerebral infections. Young shoots of the bamboo were found to contain 0.23% benzoic acid.36 Siliceous concretions which occur inside the inferior internodes, and which are known as tabaschir, are also esteemed medicinally. They often attain the size of a chicken egg, are opaque, angular, hard but fragile. This concretion contains 70-90% silica, 1.1 % potassium hydroxide, 0.9% aluminum oxide, 0.9% iron oxide, calcium.140 It is used as antipyretic and antispasmodic in catarrh, infantile chorea, paralysis, rheumatism. Dose of the leaves or epidermis, 7-10 gm. Of the succus, 35-70 gm. Of the tabaschir, 5-10 gm.

TRITICUM VULGARE Vill. (Graminae)

Common wheat. An annual grass 8-15 cm., with fibrous roots. Leaves flat, abruptly acuminate, 30-40 cm. long by 13 mm.; sheaths smooth; ligules short, truncate. Floral spike erect, bent at maturity, more or less compact, rarely loose. Spikelets sessile, solitary, imbricate on the two sides opposite the rachis, compressed laterally, ovoid, glabrous or villous, whitish or reddish, containing 3-5 flowers, most often 4, the topmost sterile. Glumes 1 cm., shorter than the flowers situated directly above, nearly regular, broadly oval, corpulent, truncate, rounded on the back to one-half their height, carinate at top only. Glumelles corpulent; one oval-rounded on the back, carinate at the top, laterally compressed, venation faint near the base; the other two with ciliate carina. Stamens 3, ovary villous at top. Caryopsis free, oval or oblong villous at top, internal side furrowed. (Syn. Triticum sativum Lam.) The entire wheat kernel contains 13.8 % protein, 1.9% fat, 71.9% carbohydrate, vitamins A, B, E, and G, 1.6% ash.154 Wheat is prescribed by the Chinese as sedative and antipyretic in night sweats and insomnia. Dose, 15-30 gm. Infusions of the bran of wheat are given in diarrhea, hematuria, and high fever.153

BELAMCANDA CHINENSIS DC. (Iridaceae)

Blackberry lily, leopard flower. A perennial herb with creeping rhizome. Stem erect, 0.6-1.2 m. tall. Leaves sword-shaped, shortly sheathed, 30 cm. long by 2-3 cm. wide. Inflorescence a dichotomous corymb, 20-40 cm. long; August-October; spathes multiflorous; pedicels articulate at the top; bracts scariose. Perianth rotate, in 6 unguiculate segments, light yellow spotted with red; stamens 3, shorter than the perianth; ovary 3-celled; stigmas 3. Fruit an obovoid capsule, 3-valved, 23-25 mm. long. Seeds blackish blue, globular, 5 mm. in diameter, glossy. Southern China, Japan, Korea, northern Vietnam, Laos. (Syn. B. punctata Moench., Ixia chinensis L., Pardanthus chinensis Van Houtte, Mo-raea chinensis Thunb.) The rhizomes are flat, divaricate, brownish, carrying scars of the resinous stem on the surface. The taste of the fresh drug is acid; it is poisonous. It contains shikanin; belamcandin C24H24O12; and iridin C24H28O13.113 The rhizome is employed as expectorant, antipyretic, stomachic, purgative; in throat and upper respiratory inflammations, pharyngitis, tonsillar abscess; in constipation, dyspepsia, asthma, halitosis. Dose, 3-6 gm.

JUNCUS EFFUSUS L. (Juncaceae)

Bog rush. A perennial herb 40-80 cm. high, green, the rhizomes running. Stem grass-like, glossy when fresh, becoming striate upon drying, easily broken, pith continuous, rarely hollow. Leaves reduced to basilar, reddish sheaths, not glossy. Flowers greenish, in a lateral, ramose panicle, more or less loose and diffuse, arranged on upper part of stem; perianth in acute lanceolate divisions; stamens 3. Capsule obovoid, truncate-flattened, without mammilla at top, greenish, slightly shorter than the perianth. Cosmopolitan. (Syn. J. communis Mey.) The pith is officinal. It contains arabinose and xylan.151 Used as diuretic and antiphlogistic. Dose, 5-10 gm.

ALLIUM ODORUM L. (Liliaceae)

Chinese chive. Bulbs clustered, conical, nearly cylindrical, with a fibrous, reticulate envelope. Stalk cylindrical or angular at top, leaved at the base, 15-50 cm. high. Leaves narrowly linear or linear-flat, carinate near the top, 1-6 mm. wide. Inflorescence umbelliferous, spathe scariose, whitish, shortly mucronate, eventually divided or lacerate, shorter than the pedicel. Pedicel filiform, angular, two to four times longer than the perianth, attaining 2 cm., 3 cm. during fructification. Perianth whitish, in 6 petaloid divisions. Stamens 6; ovary superior, nearly globular, trigonal. Fruit obovoid, obcordiform. China, Tibet, Japan, western Nepal. (Syn. A. uliginosum G. Don., A. tuberosum Roxb., A. chinense Max., A. tartaricum Ait.) The bulbs of the genus Allium contain a volatile oil consisting mainly of diallyl sulfide (C3H5)2S, upon which the bactericidal action depends. The oil has been shown to bestrongly effective against various microorganisms; it increases gastric and intestinal secretion.137 It acts as a tonic and carminative, and is supposed to have a special influence upon bronchial secretion.150 Large doses often produce gastric irritation, hemorrhoids, headache, and fever. The bulbs are employed as tonic and stomachic, and as bactericide in the treatment of amebic and bacillary dysentery, pertussis, tuberculosis, and cutaneous diseases. Dose, 5-10 gm. (Also used, A. scorodoprasum L., A. bakeri, A. fistulosum L.)

ALOE VERA L. (Liliaceae)

Curasao aloe, Barbados aloe. A stemless succulent plant. Leaves basal, in a rosette, grayish green, 30-60 cm. long, erect, juicy, margins spinose. Flowers yellow, 2.5 cm. long, tubular, the tip separated into spreading segments, in a dense nodding cluster on a stalk somewhat longer than the leaves. Fruit a triquetrous capsule. Africa, West Indies, India, Mediterranean. Aloes is the inspissated juice of the leaves. It occurs as irregular solidified pieces 2 cm. thick by 3 cm. long, of waxy texture, the surface dull, color varying from orange brown to blackish brown. The odor is strongly aromatic, the taste very bitter and pungent. It contains anthraquinone derivatives, especially aloins (18-25%), which yield emodin upon cleavage in the intestine. Doses of 10-30 mg. act as a bitter stomachic; 60-200 mg. as laxative; 300-1,000 mg. as purgative. It is moderately irritating, and has a tendency to cause griping; it does not lose its efficiency on continued use, and is especially useful in correcting constipative action of iron medication.152 Prescribed as laxative, stomachic, emmenagogue.

ANEMARRHENA ASPHODELOIDES Bunge. (Liliaceae)

An herbaceous plant with thick rhizome. Leaves basal, linear, 20 cm. long by 5 cm. wide. Stalk 1 m., simple, terminated by a long spiciform cluster of small flowers; October. Flowers purplish inside, yellowish on the exterior, odoriferous, opening in the evening. Pedicel very short; perianth pink, in 6 divisions in 2 rows, lightly united at the base, 3-veined, radiating. Stamens 5, with a very short filament; ovary 3-celled, style filiform. Fruit a hexagonal capsule; seeds 1-2, triangular, black. Northern China. The rhizomes occur as flat pieces 10 cm. long by 18 mm. thick, covered with reddish or yellowish erect hairs. The interior is yellow, fleshy. The odor is pleasant, the taste bitter. The rhizomes contain the saponin asphonin, which has been shown to be antipyretic.52 The drug is toxic in large doses, due to inhibition of the nerve centers. In small doses there is no action on the heart, while moderate doses weaken the contraction. A large amount of mucilage is present in the drug.140 Prescribed as antipyretic and expectorant in typhoid fever, scarlet fever, pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, pulmonary tuberculosis. Dose, 3-7 gm. Iron preparations are incompatible.

ASPARAGUS LUCIDUS Lindl. (Liliaceae)

Shiny asparagus. A much branching, creeping undershrub. Branches cylindrical, with numerous midribs barely projecting; spines reflected, 6 mm. and longer, thicker at the base. Branchlets slender, deeply furrowed, without spines; cladophylls flat, linear, barely arched, 15-25 mm. by 1.0-1.5 mm., finely acuminate, arranged in pairs, the median midrib apparent. Flowers polygamous, white, solitary or in pairs, rarely 3, in the axils of the cladophylls. Perianth in 6 linear-navicular segments, 3.5 mm. long by 6 mm. wide; stamens 6; ovary amphora-like; style very short; stigmas deltoid, extended. Fruit a white berry, globular, 7 mm. in diameter; seed globular, black, finely vermiculate, 4 mm. in diameter. Southern China, Japan. (Syn. A.falcatus Benth., A. insularis Hance.) The roots are officinal. They occur as translucid, yellowish pieces 7-8 cm. long. The taste is bitter. The drug contains asparagin, starch, sucrose, and mucilage.140 Used as diuretic and expectorant. Dose, 5-10 gm.

FRITILLARIA VERTICILLATA Willd. (Liliaceae)

A bulbous perennial. Bulb with 2 thick scales, orbicular. Stem 30-60 cm. Leaves verticillate, 6-12 mm. long by 2-5 mm. wide, the superior leaves curled at the tips like tendrils. Flowers axillary, solitary, drooping; pedicel short; perianth campanulate, in 6 segments, greenish yellow with purplish spots; style barely longer than the ovary; stigmas 3. Fruit a capsule, 6-lobed, winged. Central China, Japan. (Syn. F. thunbergii Miq., F. collicola Hance., Uvularia cirrhosa Thunb.) The bulbs are used medicinally, occurring in the Chinese pharmacy as white fragments 4.5 cm. long. They contain the alkaloids verticin (C18H33NO2 or C19H35NO2; m.p. 224A°), verticillin (C19H33NO2; m.p. 149-150A°), fritillin (C25H41 NO3 • H2O; m.p. 214A°), and fritillarin (C19H33NO2; m.p. 130-131A°). The alkaloids are toxic, inducing paralysis of the central nervous system, with inhibition of respiratory and autonomic functions; the action upon respiratory movement is similar to that of morphine; lethal doses produce cardio-inhibition and hypotension.119 Used as antitussive and expectorant in chronic trachitis, bronchitis, bronchial asthma. Dose, 5-10 gm. (Also used, F. roylei Hook., F. maximowiczii Freyn)

SMILAX CHINA L. (Liliaceae)

China root. A climbing shrub, the stem provided with thorns. Leaves alternate, oval or orbiculate, 0.6 cm. long, cartilaginous and shiny, with tendrils at the base of the petiole. Flowers small, very numerous, in axillary umbels, solitary, dioecious, yellow green; summer. Perianth in 6 free segments. In the male flower, 6 stamens; in the female, 6 staminodes. Ovary 3-celled. Fruit a berry, red at maturity, spherical. China, Taiwan, Korea, eastern India, Nepal. (Syn. S. ferox Wall, S. japonica A. Gray, Coprosmanthus japonicus Kunth.) The roots are officinal, occurring in pieces 15-20 cm. long, 4-5 cm. thick, generally flat, more or less gnarled, brown on the outside, pinkish white inside, the texture sometimes light and spongy, sometimes compact and very hard, sometimes resinous. The drug is odorless and slightly bitter. It contains the crystalline saponin smilacin (C45H74O17; soluble in water and hot alcohol), tannin, and resin.151 Employed as alterative and diuretic in syphilis, gout, skin disorders, rheumatism. (In Japan, Heterosmilax japonica Kunth. is used.)

LIRIOPE SPICATA Lour. (Liliaceae)

Creeping lily-turf. A perennial herb with a short, thick root-stock. Leaves bushy, stiff, 30 cm. long by 5 mm. wide. Floral stalk simple, rigid, angular, greenish violet, longer than the leaves. Flowers terminal, violet-blue, showy; September. Pedicel rarely solitary, slightly longer than the flowers, erect, articulate with the flowers; bracts herbaceous, acuminate; perianth in 6 segments, free, regular; stamens 6, shorter than the perianth; ovary orbiculate, depressed. Fruit a blue berry, ovoid-subglobular; seeds few. China, Japan. (Syn. L. graminifolia Bak., Draceana graminifolia L., Convallaria spicata Thunb., Fluggea spicata Schult, Ophiopogon japonicus Wall., Oph. longifolius Decne., Oph. spicatus Ker-Gawl., Oph. gracilus Kunth.) The rhizomes are used, occurring as oblong, 4 cm. long, 5 mm. in diameter, light yellow. They contain mucilage.140 Used as antitussive, expectorant, and emollient. Dose, 5-10 gm.

PARIS POLYPHYLLA Smith (Liliaceae)

A perennial plant with annulate root. Stem 75-90 cm. high. Leaves verticillate 4-9, petiolate, oblong or lanceolate, acuminate, generally rounded at the base, 7.5-15.0 cm. long. Perianth in 4-7 segments; the exterior segments oval-lanceolate, acuminate, green; the interior segments filiform, yellow. Stamens fairly numerous; ovary nearly globular. Fruit a green capsule, glabrous, 6 cm. in diameter, valves 3-6; seeds elongate, ovoid, scarlet. China, Himalayas. The roots occur in the pharmacy in pieces 4 cm. long, curved, with numerous purplish brown rootlets, the exterior nearly black, the interior pinkish. They contain 7.9% sucrose, the crystalline glycoside paridine, and the amorphous glycoside paris-typhnine.151 The physiological action of the amorphous glycoside is considerable, being analagous to that of paraptiphnine isolated from P. quadrifolia,27 The drug is poisonous. Employed as antipyretic, antispasmodic in typhoid fever, encephalitis, meningitis. Dose, 1-3 gm. as powder, 5-7 gm. in decoction.

POLYGONATUM CIRRHIFOLIUM Royle (Liliaceae)

A perennial herb with thick, branching rootstocks. Stem supple, undulate, 6-12 cm. tall. Leaves alternate, sessile, membranous, oblong, acuminate, 7.5-12.0 cm. long. Flowers axillary, grouped in twos or fours; perianth nearly cylindrical, white, greenish or purple; limb in 6 lobes; ovary 3-celled. Fruit a globular berry of variable size. Northern China, Himalayas. (Syn. P. chinense Kunth., P. sibiricum Baker., Convallaria cirrhifolia Wall) "The root is soft, of a yellow color, its lower part red. It has some resemblance to young ginger root, is very sweet and of a pleasant taste. It is dug up in the second month, boiled, and dried in the sun."142 The root is used as tonic. Dose, 7-10 gm.

POLYGONATUM OFFICINALE All. (Liliaceae)

Solomon's seal. A perennial herb, the stem simple, erect, angular, 25-50 cm. tall. Leaves alternate, nearly sessile, oval or oblong. Flowers greenish white, odoriferous, in clusters hanging from short peduncles; April-May. Perianth with cylindrical tube and limb in 6 lobes, 2 cm. long by 5-8 mm. across, attenuate at the base; ovary 3-celled. Fruit a globular berry; seeds few. Northwestern China, Asia, Europe. (Syn. P. vulgare Desf., Convallariapolygonatum L.) The rhizomes occur as pieces 14-15 cm. long by 15 cm. wide, pale yellow, translucid, articulate, fleshy. The taste is sweetish. The drug contains the glycosides convallarin (C34H62O11; yellowish white amorphous powder; taste acrid; soluble in alcohol, insoluble in water) and convallamarin (C23H44O12; yellowish amorphous powder; taste bitter; soluble in water and dilute alcohol), and a large amount of mucilage.140 The cardiac action of convallamarin is analogous to that of digitalis; it stimulates the appetite without impairing digestion, increases peristalsis without producing catharsis, slows the heart and raises the arterial tension, slows and deepens respiration; convallarin is a drastic purgative in 3-grain doses.150 Prescribed as tonic. Dose, 5-10 gm.

TULIP A EDULIS Bak. (Liliaceae)

Edible tulip. A perennial herb, the bulb tunicate, oval, 1.5 cm. long. Leaves basal, linear, acute, attaining 30 cm. Scape erect, with 2 or 3 verticillate bracts. Flowers solitary, terminal, erect, 2.5 cm. in diameter; March-April. Perianth in 6 segments, extended, white striate with purple, lanceolate, acute; stamens 6, shorter than the perianth; ovary oblong; stigmas 3, short, thick. Fruit an oblong capsule; seeds numerous. Northern China, Japan. (Syn. T. graminifolia Bak., Orithia oxypetala Gray) The bulbs occur 2-3 cm. in diameter. They contain the alkaloid tulipine.140 Tulipine is closely related to solanine and colchicine.152 The white interior portion of the bulb is employed in Chinese medicine. Used as antipyretic and antidote in the treatment of ulcers, abscesses, boils, scrofula, insect bites. Dose, 3-6 gm.

VERATRUM NIGRUM L. (Liliaceae)

A rhizomatous perennial herb, pubescent, 1 m. high. Pseudo-stem consisting of tubular sheaths of the leaves applied one upon the other. Leaves large, plicate, glabrous, the inferior leaves oval or oblong-elliptical, attenuate; petiole short, clasping. Bracts lanceolate-linear, shorter than the pedicel. Flowers blackish purple, pedicellate, in loose clusters, tomentose, forming a long narrow panicle; July-August. Perianth in regular divisions, elliptical, entire, nearly equalling the pedicel. Ovary slightly depressed in the floral axis, 3-celled. Alpine northeastern China, northern China, Europe. (Syn. Melanthium nigrum Thunb.) The root, which is poisonous, contains the alkaloids jervine (C27H39NO3; needles), pseudojervine (C29H43NO7; colorless hexagonal plates; m.p. 304°; soluble in alcohol; nearly insoluble in water, ether), and rubijervine (C26H43NO2 • H2O; crystals; m.p. 240-246°; soluble in alcohol, chloroform; insoluble in water).151 Jervine slows the heart rate, then increases it, lowers the blood pressure progressively, presumably by depression of the cardiac muscle and vasomotor center, respiration failing simultaneously; rubijervine acts mainly on the respiratory center, with some cardiac depression, it is emeto-cathartic; pseudojervine is inactive physiologically.152 The drug is a powerful sternutament.140 Used as emetic, and in apoplexy. Dose, 2-4 gm.

BLETILLA HYACINTHINA R. Br. (Orchidaceae)

A perennial orchid 20-30 cm. tall, Stem thickened at the base into a flat tubercle consisting of several internodes. Leaves 3-4, 9-18 cm. long by 1-2 cm. wide, plicate, linear or lanceolate, without evident petiole. Inflorescence a terminal cluster with 3-6 flowers; April-May. Flowers violet-pink, sepals and petals nearly similar, erect, showy. Labium deeply trilobate, the middle lobe more purplish, with 5-7 undulating crests. Column slender, white at the base, purplish at the tip; anther convex, operculate. China, Indochina. (Syn. B. striata Reichb., Limodorum striatum Thunb., Epidendrum tuberosum Lour., E. striatum Thunb., Cymbidium hyacinthinum Sm., C. striatum Sw., Gyas humilis Salib.) The pseudobulbs are oblong, flat, hard, yellow, 5-6 cm. long, carrying traces of the stem in the form of an umbilicus consisting of several concentric circles. The taste is bitter. The drug contains mucilage, essential oil, glycogen.140 The pseudobulbs are powdered and mixed with sesame oil, and used externally as emollient for burns and skin disorders.

DENDROBIUM NOBILE Lindl. (Orchidaceae)

A perennial alpine epiphyte. Stem erect, compressed, yellowish, rather deeply furrowed, 30-60 cm. high. Leaves oblong, 7-10 cm. long, coriaceous, persistent 2 years. Inflorescence a cluster of 2-4 flowers, white or purple; sepals oblong-linear; petals much larger; labium broadly oval, oblong, pubescent; anther truncate in front, 4 pollen sacs in compressed pairs. Northwestern China, Himalayas, Laos. (Syn. Epidendrum monile Thunb). The stem contains dendrobine (C16H25NO2; colorless crystals; m.p. 134°; soluble in ether, acetone, alcohol, chloroform; insoluble in water).151 The analgesic action of dendrobine upon frogs is slight but definite; it induces faint hyperglycemia and lowers the blood pressure; it augments salivary secretion.14 51 Prescribed as secretagogue and salivant in fever and dehydration, as sedative in arthritis. Dose, 5-10 gm.

GASTRODIA ELATA Blume. (Orchidaceae)

An alpine perennial herb with tuberous root. Stem simple, erect, 9-12 cm. high, bluish red, provided on its upper part with sheathing scales, the interior hollow. Inflorescence a terminal cluster; flowers numerous, yellowish red, small, the pedicel short. Bracts longer than the flowers, acuminate; sepals nearly regular, acute; lobes lateral, rounded; column erect with 2 teeth at its extremity. Western China, Tibet, Korea, Japan. "The root is dug up in the 5th month and dried in the sun; the principal root is connected with 12 secondary tubers of various sizes."139 The taste is acrid. The tubercles are prescribed as tonic in vertigo, headache, myoneuralgia, rheumatism. Dose, 5-10 gm.

ARECA CATECHU L. (Palmae)

Betel palm. A graceful, slender tree 10-30 m. high with 10-12 leaves forming the head. Leaves 1.0-1.8 m. long, pinnate, the upper segments joined, petiole sheathed, sheaths encircling the tip of the stipule. Inflorescence paniculate, axillary, monoecious. Female flowers not numerous, growing from the axis of the spadix or a few at the base; male flowers very numerous, very small, located at the tips of the branches. Sepals 3; petals 3; stamens 6 in the male; ovary 1-celled in the female; style short, terminated with 3 stigmas. Fruit a monospermous berry, fibrous, ovoid, the shape and color variable; seed with corneous albumen, hard, the interior marbled with brown and white. Laos, northern and southern Vietnam, Malaysia. (Syn A. hortensis Lour.) The seeds, known as betel nuts, are more or less globular, flattened at the base, light brown, reticulate. The taste is astringent and slightly bitter. They contain 14% fixed oil (palmitic, oleic, stearic, caproic, caprylic, lauric, myristic acids), mannosan and galactans, 15% red tannin, choline, and the alkaloids arecoline 0.1% (C8H13NO2; oily liquid, colorless, odorless, very alkaline, volatile in water vapor; very soluble in water, alcohol, ether, chloroform; b.p. 209°), its isomer arecolidine (C8H13NO2; colorless crystals; m.p. 105°; freely soluble in

water, alcohol, ether, acetone), arecaidine (or arecaine; C7H11NO2 • H2O; colorless plates; decomposing at 232°; freely soluble in water; insoluble in absolute alcohol, chloroform, ether, benzene), guvacoline (C7H11NO2; colorless alkaline liquid; b.p. 114°; soluble in alcohol, chloroform), guvacine (C6H9NO2; colorless prisms; decomposing at 295°; soluble in water; almost insoluble in absolute alcohol, ether, chloroform, benzene).151 Arecoline is closely related to pilocarpine in its action; it stimulates peristalsis and produces marked bronchial constriction by peripheral action, which is overcome by atropine or epinephrine.152 It is vermicidal, and is now used as such only in veterinary medicine in the U.S., because of its toxic effects and unreliability. Used in Chinese medicine as taeniafuge. Dose, 30 gm. areca powder in 200 cc. water, simmered 1 hour, taken before breakfast; if expulsion does not take place within 9 hours, 50 cc. of 50% magnesium sulfate solution may be taken; side effects include mild dyspnea, diaphoresis, vertigo, and nausea.

Dragon's blood palm. A climbing rattan palm. Stem several hundred feet long, climbing about other trees, 6 cm. thick, thorny. Leaves compound pinnate. Flowers yellowish white, corollate. Fruit spherical, coarse, covered with yellowish brown scales. Malaysia. The resinous secretion which is found on the fruits is used medicinally. It appears in the pharmacies as red sticks, pieces, or cakes, fracture vitreous, odorless and almost tasteless, m.p. about 120°, soluble in alcohol, insoluble in water. It makes a bright crimson powder which is easily ignited. It contains about 12-15% of the bright yellow, amorphous dracoresene, 2-3% white amorphous dracoalban;148 benzoic and cinnamic acids.140 The resin is astringent. Used as internal hemostatic. Dose, 1-3 gm., powdered and taken in wine.

TRACHYCARPUS FORTUNEI H. Wendl. (Palmae)

Hemp or windmill palm. Growing to 15 m., the trunk covered with the remains of the old leaf sheaths. Leaves numerous, roundish, 40-80 cm. long by 0.6-1.2 m. wide, deeply divided into narrow, pointed segments 3 cm. wide, the leafstalk rough. Flowers in large hanging panicles among the crown of leaves, dioecious, yellowish; sepals and petals free; stamens 6; carpels 3. Fruit drupe-like, bluish, pea-sized, pericarp fleshy. Southern China, Burma, Japan. (Syn. T. excelsa Wendl., Chamaerops excelsa Thunb.) The seeds are officinal and occur 1 cm. long by 6 mm. in diameter, reniform, greenish yellow, leathery. They contain mannosan, galactan, saccharose, and a large amount of tannin.47 Used as astringent hemostatic, both internally and externally. Dose, 7-15 gm.

STEMONA TUBEROSA Lour. (Stemonaceae)

An herbaceous volubilate plant, attaining 10 m. in height. Roots tuberous, fusiform. Leaves opposite, triangular-oval, barely cordate at the base, rather truncate, acuminate, 9-15 cm. long by 6-12 cm. wide. Inflorescence axillary; March-June; perianth in 4 segments, reddish yellow, 4 cm. in diameter; stamens 4; ovary 1-celled, conical. Fruit an oblong capsule, 35 mm. long. Central China, Indochina, Taiwan, India. (Syn. Roxburghia gloriosoides Roxb., R. viridiflora Smith, R. stemona Steud.) The drug occurs as yellowish white, cylindrical tubers, the interior hollow and dark brown. The taste is bittersweet. The tubers contain stemonine (C22H33NO4; white needles, odorless, slightly bitter; soluble in alcohol, ether, acetone, toluene, benzene, chloroform; m.p. 160°),151 which is mildly toxic. Stemonine calms the respiratory center; it is strongly effective against Pediculus capitus, P. corporis, and Phthirus pubis without irritation or toxicity.151 Used internally as antitussive. Dose, 5-10 gm. Externally, as pediculicide.

TYPHA LATIFOLIA L. (Typhaceae)

Cattail. A reed-like plant growing in dense stands. Root-stock thick. Leaves stiff, 1.5-2.7 m. long, scarcely 19 mm. wide. Floral spike terminal, cylindrical, brownish, 15-20 cm. long. Flowers extremely minute, numerous, being crowded in the dense spike, monoecious. Staminate flowers at upper end of the spike, evanescent; no perianth; stamens 2-7 united at the base to a common short filament; usually accompanied by numerous bristly hairs. Pistillate flowers consisting of a single, simple pistil on a short stalk; style long, slender; stigma flattened; ovary 1-celled. Cosmopolitan. The yellow pollen is collected for medicinal use. It contains iso-rhamnetin (C16H12O7), fatty oil, and a sitosterol.140 Used internally as hemostatic and diuretic. Dose, 5-10 gm. Externally, as astringent and dessicant vulnerary.

ALPINIA OFFICINARUM Hance. (Zingiberaceae)

Galanga. A ginger-like, perennial, leafy-stemmed herb, 0.7-1.2 m. tall. Rhizome creeping, 12-18 mm. in diameter, reddish brown, glabrous, covered with fibrous scales which leave irregular rings. Leaves cartilaginous, glabrous, lanceolate, 29-40 cm. long by 24 mm. wide; sheath scariose. Inflorescence paniculate, enclosed in the superior sheaths before anthesis. Bracts very small, caducous. Calyx tubular, with 3 short teeth; corolla longer than the calyx, lobes 15-20 mm. long by 4-5 mm. wide; stamens awl-shaped, short; labium white streaked with red, entire, 20 mm. long, 15-18 mm. wide; ovary 3-celled. Fruit a 3-valved capsule. Southern China, Hainan, northern Vietnam. The rhizome occurs pharmaceutically as long transverse pieces 11.5 cm. long by 2 cm. in diameter, ramificate, dark reddish or cinnamon brown, texture fibrous, surface annulate with yellowish, wavy leaf bases. The odor is aromatic, the taste aromatic and pungent. The drug contains the oily, acrid resin galangol (C15H10O5 • H2O; yellow needles; m.p. 217°; very soluble in alcohol; slightly soluble in ether, chloroform; insoluble in water), 0.5-5.0% essential oil (comprising cineol, eugenol, pinene, cadinene, methyl cinnamate), a sesquiterpene, and dioxyflavonol.151 The action of galangol and the essential oil is that of an aromatic stimulant, with effects similar to those of ginger.144 Prescribed as stomachic in dyspepsia, gastralgia, chronic enteritis. Dose, 1-3 gm. (In Japan, A. kumatake Mak. is employed.)

AMOMUM CARDAMOMUM L. (Zingiberaceae)

Round or cluster cardamom. An herbaceous perennial, the stem leafy, fleshy, about 1.8 m. tall. Leaves narrowly lanceolate, 20-30 cm. long, margin entire. Floral stalk growing directly from the creeping rootstock, much shorter than the stem. Flowers in dense spicate clusters, brownish yellow, tubular, 2.5 cm. long, with a distinct lip. Fruit a capsule, growing in clusters, green when immature, white when ripe, with 3 blunt angles, 3-celled, containing 9-12 seeds. East Indies. The fruits occur as golden capsules, globular, villous, glabrous, 16 mm. in diameter, 3-celled. The seeds contain an essential oil comprising cineol, camphor, d-borneol, terpineol.140 The taste is pungent and slightly bitter, the odor aromatic. The seeds are used as an aromatic stomachic with antiemetic action. Dose, 2-4 gm.