PACHYRHIZUS THUNBERGIANUS

PACHYRHIZUS THUNBERGIANUS.—葛 (Ko), 599. This is a wild growing creeper, of the order of Leguminosæ, furnishing a textile fiber of which a kind of cloth is made. The cloth somewhat resembles in texture that made from Bœhmeria nivea, and is also called grass-cloth. The Chinese name for this cloth is 葛布 (Ko-pu) or 貢布 (Kung-pu), and it is of a yellow color, very fine and durable, and is much prized by the Chinese as a summer cloth. The root of the plant, 600, 601, is used both as food and medicine, although that portion which is above the ground is considered to be somewhat poisonous, having emetic properties. The plant is much cultivated both on account of its textile fiber and of its root. The latter is considered to be thirst-relieving, antifebrile, anti-emetic, and counter-poisonous. It is prescribed in colds, fevers, influenza, dysentery, snake and insect bites, and to counteract the effects of croton oil and other poisonous drugs. Externally, it is applied in dog bites. The seeds, 葛穀 (Ko-ku), are prescribed in adults for dysentery and in alcoholic excess. The flowers are also prescribed in the latter difficulty. The leaves are applied in wounds as a styptic. The shoots are used in insufficient secretion of milk, as an application in incipient boils, and in aphthous sore mouth in children. Every part of the plant is also used in the treatment of skin rashes. The root is made into an arrowroot-like preparation called 葛粉 (Ko-fên).