Ming herbal (painting): Thorn apple

Monochrome painting of thorn apple (mantuoluo, Datura stramonium) from Diannan bencao tushuo (The Illustrated Yunnan Pharmacopoeia). Diannan bencao tushuo was compiled by the Ming (1368-1644) writer Lan Mao in the 14th-15th century. The word 'Dian' in the title refers to the Yunnan region, in the Southwest of China. It provides a record of the plants and other substances commonly used for medicinal purposes in Yunnan in the Ming period. Most of the entries are illustrated with ink and wash paintings. This manuscript copy was executed in 1773 (38th year of the Qianlong reign period of the Qing dynasty, Gui Si year) by Zhu Jingyang. In the text, Lan Mao states: Thorn apple grows to about 1 metre (3 chi [Chinese feet] in height. It bears white flowers with six petals resembling morning glory (qianniu hua), which open in the morning and close at night. The fruits are roughly spherical and covered in short spines, and contain numerous seeds. The flowers and the seeds are used in medicine. It is pungent in sapor, warm in thermostatic character, and poisonous. It is used to treat various kinds of wind-cold-damp and beri-beri (jiaoqi), and can be made into a decoction for fumigation and cleansing.

Thorn apple (mantuoluo, Datura stramonium) has a green stem and jade-green leaves. It grows to 3 chi in height (1 chi [Chinese foot] = c. ? m.). It bears white flowers with six petals resembling morning glory (qianniu hua), which open in the morning and close at night. It bears rounded spiky fruit containing small seeds. If one smiles when gathering it, the patient will smile on taking it; if one weeps when gathering it, the patient will weep on taking it. The flowers and seeds are pungent in sapor, and poisonous. It is indicated for all kinds of wind-cold-damp and beri-beri (jiaoqi), decocted and used as a medicinal wash. It is also used to treat infantile convulsions (jingxian, lit. 'fright epilepsy') in combination with ephedra (mahuang) leaves.