味苦平。主暴中风。身热肢满。忽忽不知人
。狂惑邪气。寒热酸痛。温疟洗洗。发作有时。生川谷。
春草纤微。分阴属妇。红颤轻花。青归细柳。烦洗清凉。狂回攻掊。禊节三三。秉兰共
友。
尔雅。 春草也。李时珍曰。微 音相近。微细也。其根细而白也。王好古曰。古方多
用以
治妇人。易。分阴分阳。诗。至于属妇。苏颂曰。根叶俱青。颇类柳叶。六七月。开红花。
苏
轼诗。清凉洗烦煎。宋濂诗。良剂急攻掊。名医曰。三月三日采根。韩诗外传。郑国之俗。
上巳秉兰草。祓除不祥。宋书志。魏以后但用三月三日。
味辛寒。主暴热身痒。下水气。胜酒。长须发。消渴。久服轻身。一名水华。生池泽
陌花漠漠。池水油油。风翻星乱。月逗云浮。铺茵鸭睡。开翠鳞游。莫言湮梗。岂逐群
流。
李时珍曰。季春杨花入水所化。杨云鹤赋。嗟杨花之漠漠。元 诗。池光漫油油。庾肩
吾诗
。风翻乍青紫。赵昂赋。月上兮处处疑星。钱起诗。浮云正似萍。云林异景志。太原少尹。
樊
千里。载数车浮萍。入池为鸭作茵褥。杨基诗。鱼跳翠乍开。常 赋。同乎漂梗之人。南濠
诗话引。魏仲先益池萍诗。免得漂然逐众流。
味苦寒。主消渴内痹。瘀血。月闭。寒热酸疼。益气愈聋。一名土瓜。生平泽。
俯瞩篱垣。蔓牵瓞濯。花小黄匀。叶圆青濯。甫降青霜。纷垂赤雹。三五根连。壅培
。
名医曰。生鲁地田野。及人家墙垣。诗笺。瓜瓞。瓜小状似 。故谓之瓞。李时珍曰。
其蔓
多须。叶圆如蹄有尖。面青背淡。江西人栽之沃土。六七月开小黄花成簇。王勃序。紫电青
霜。寇宗 曰。瓜壳径寸。长二寸许。七八月熟。红赤色。今人谓之赤雹子。细根上又生淡
黄根。三五相连。汉书传注。 瘠薄之地。
[Baiwei (Cynanchi Atrati Radix)]
Bitter, neutral. Primarily treats sudden onset of wind-stroke. Symptoms include body heat, limb fullness, mental confusion or loss of consciousness, mania, delirium, pathogenic factors, alternating chills and fever, and soreness/pain. Effective for warm-malaria characterized by shivering/chills with regular paroxysms. Grows in valleys.
(Eulogy) Spring grass is slender and subtle; Yin aspects belong to women (referring to its entry into the blood level). Red trembling light flowers, green returns to fine willows. Washing brings coolness to irritability; attacking/driving back restores sanity from madness. On the Shangsi Festival (3rd day of the 3rd lunar month), holding orchids as companions.
*Erya* states: This is spring grass. Li Shizhen says: "Wei" sounds similar to "Wei" (micro/tiny), meaning minute. Its root is fine and white. Wang Haogu states: Ancient prescriptions often use it to treat women's diseases. *I Ching* mentions "dividing Yin and Yang"; *Shi Jing* (Book of Songs) mentions "belonging to women". Su Song says: Roots and leaves are both green, resembling willow leaves. In the 6th and 7th lunar months, it opens red flowers. Su Shi's poem: "Cool washing clears vexation." Song Lian's poem: "Good remedy urgently attacks/drives away." Famous physicians say: Harvest roots on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month. *Han Shi Waizhuan* records: The custom of Zheng state involves holding orchid grass on the Shangsi day to purify and remove misfortune. *Book of Song* records: After the Wei dynasty, only the 3rd day of the 3rd month was used.
[Shuiping (Spirodela Polyrrhiza / Duckweed)]
Acrid, cold. Primarily treats sudden fever and itching. Promotes urination and descends Qi, overcomes alcohol intoxication, promotes growth of beard and hair, eliminates thirst (Xiao Ke). Long-term use makes the body feel light. Also known as Shuihua.
(Eulogy) Flowers on the paths are vast and indistinct; pool waters are oily and lush. Wind flips them like chaotic stars; moon plays with floating clouds. Spreading like mats for ducks to sleep; opening emerald scales for fish to swim. Do not say it sinks and breaks stems; how could it chase the flowing water of the masses?
Li Shizhen says: It transforms from poplar catkins falling into water during late spring. Yang Yunhe's Fu laments: "Alas, the vastness of poplar catkins." Yuan dynasty poem: "Pool light spreads oily." Yu Jianwu's poem: "Wind flips suddenly green and purple." Zhao Ang's Fu: "Moon rises, everywhere suspected as stars." Qian Qi's poem: "Floating clouds resemble duckweed." *Yunlin Yijing Zhi* records: Fan Qianli, Vice Prefect of Taiyuan, carried several carts of duckweed, placing them in pools as bedding for ducks. Yang Ji's poem: "Fish jump, emerald scales open." Chang Jian's Fu: "Like people drifting on logs." *Nanhao Shihua* cites Wei Zhongxian's *Poem on Benefiting Pool Duckweed*: "Avoiding drifting aimlessly chasing the crowd's flow."
[Wagua (Trichosanthes Kirilowii Root / Melon Root)]
Bitter, cold. Primarily treats thirst (Xiao Ke), internal obstruction, blood stasis, amenorrhea, alternating chills and fever, and soreness/pain. Benefits Qi, cures deafness. Also known as Tugua. Grows in marshes and flatlands.
(Eulogy) Looking down at fences and walls, vines pull small melons. Flowers are small, yellow, and even; leaves are round and green. Just after green frost falls, red "hail" hangs down. Three or five roots connect, piled and cultivated.
Famous physicians say: Grows in fields of Lu state and near house walls. *Shi Jian* explains: "Gua Die" refers to small melons shaped like [specific plant], hence called "Die". Li Shizhen says: Its vines have many tendrils; leaves are round like hooves with pointed tips, green on front and pale on back. People in Jiangxi plant it in fertile soil. In the 6th and 7th lunar months, it opens clusters of small yellow flowers. Wang Bo's preface: "Purple lightning and green frost." Kou Zongshi says: The melon shell is one inch in diameter, about two inches long. Ripens in the 7th and 8th lunar months, red-cherry color, now called Chibaozi (Red Hail). Pale yellow roots grow above the fine roots, three or five connected. *Han Shu Zhuan Zhu* notes: [Context implies growing in] barren/thin land.