Library

Rubus chingii (Fushi Zi)

Pengli (A species of Rubus)
Taste is sweet, nature is neutral and slightly warm. Non-toxic. It grows everywhere along roadsides and field edges. The stems and leaves grow to more than seven or eight cun in length, bearing only four or five fruits.
The fruit is about half the size of a pellet with a calyx, (the receptacle resembles that of a persimmon.) It has slight black hairs and is hollow inside. (After removing the calyx, the interior is hollow and white.) It turns red and ripens in early summer, when children compete to pick it. In the Jiangnan region, it is commonly called "Lei" (Li), while the *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica) renamed it Fushi Zi (Rubus chingii). Because it tonifies the Kidney and helps control urination, people believe that after taking it, one should invert the urinal (to prevent enuresis). Thus gaining its reputation, it greatly rescues deficiency. It benefits Qi, warms the Middle Jiao, tonifies deficiency, and repairs severe damage.
It harmonizes the Five Zang organs, nourishes and lusters the skin and hair. It treats wind-stroke fever leading to fright, and treats Kidney injury with essence depletion causing slippery discharge. It brightens the eyes and darkens the hair, delays aging, and lightens the body. Men who take it for a long time strengthen their Yin; women who take it frequently may conceive.
Juice extracted from the leaves can be dropped into the eyes. It stops cold tears flowing excessively, and removes red veins, nebulae, and dim vision.
There is also She Mei (Duchesnea indica), which grows close to the ground. Its stems are only slightly over one cun long, bearing a single fruit at the tip. It is small and smooth, slightly different from Fushi Zi. Snakes hide beneath it, so do not harvest or eat it. It is most effective for applying to snake and insect bites/poison, and is also good for treating stream poison (water-borne toxins/parasites).
Then there is Peng Tao (Tree Raspberry), with sweet, sour, and salty tastes. Its stems are thick and leaves sparse, resembling trees, with soft thorns on every branch. Branches are full of fruit, which are also solid inside the calyx when ripe; commonly called Tree Raspberry, harvested and eaten at the same time as Fushi Zi. It calms the Five Zang organs, benefits Essence and Qi. It promotes genital development, beautifies complexion, strengthens willpower, and aids fertility.
(Chen Jiamo) Commentary: Fushi Zi and Peng Li were originally two distinct species. The *Shennong Bencao Jing* failed to verify this, erroneously noting that Peng Li is Fushi Zi, treating one plant as having two names, which is very incorrect. One should not ignore that Peng Li has stem branches like trees, thick and long, bearing hundreds or thousands of fruits; whereas Fushi Zi has herbaceous stems, short and small, bearing only four or five fruits. Peng Li is red when ripe, solid inside the calyx, and tastes sour; Fushi Zi is red when ripe, the calyx falls off leaving it hollow inside, and tastes sweet. The differences are significant, how can they be confused? Therefore, I clarify this specifically to resolve doubts.