PERILLA OCIMOIDES.—(Tzŭ-su), 1417. Li Shih-chên distinguishes two varieties of this plant, the purple and the white, (Pai-su), according to the color of the leaves. The young leaves are eaten as a vegetable, also pickled with plums. They are used to prepare a fragrant beverage. The seeds, 1202, grow in capsules, and are about as large as mustard seeds, and an oil is expressed from them called (Su-tzŭ-yu). The seeds are also fed to ducks under the name of (Kuei-jên). The stalk and the leaves, 1203, are used for driving away colds, as a stomachic and tonic, in cholera, and to benefit the alimentary canal. They are considered to be diaphoretic and pectoral, and antidotal to fish and flesh poison. The seeds have similar properties and uses, and are also thought to be highly nutritious. They are also prescribed in rheumatism, seminal losses, asthma, and obstinate coughs.
Nothing of the article is left out. The Chinese characters printed before each romanized name are not transcribed.