LYCIUM CHINENSE

LYCIUM CHINENSE.—枸杞 (Kou-chi), 607, 地骨皮 (Ti-ku-p‘i), 1267, 1384. It is also called 甜菜 (T‘ien-ts‘ai), 1300, which is the leaves, 羊乳 (Yang-ju), the fruit, and 仙人杖 (Hsien-jên-chang), the stalk. This was erroneously identified by Porter Smith with Berberis lycium. It is not a berberidaceous plant, but a solanaceous one. It is a common shrub in the northern and western provinces, has soft, thin leaves, which can be eaten, and small reddish-purple flowers. The fruits are small, one-celled, red berries, having a sweet but rather rough taste. The root is met with in light, yellowish-brown, quilled pieces, having very little taste or smell. The general action of the plant is considered to be tonic, cooling, constructive, prolonging life, improving the complexion, and brightening the eye. The shoots or young leaves are recommended to be used in all forms of wasting disease. Used in the form of a tea, they are recommended to quench thirst and to remove the unpleasant symptoms of pulmonary consumption. The root is supposed to have special action on the kidneys and sexual organs, as well as those virtues ascribed to the leaves, and is used as a hemostatic in bleeding of the gums and wounds. The seeds are similarly used. There are a number of officinal preparations, such as an extract, pills, tinctures, and the like.