Lily root (moluo), Chinese woodcut, 1582

Woodcut and explanatory verse: entry on moluo (lily root) from Ru cao bian (On the Consumption of Herbs), published 1582 (Wanli reign period of the Ming Dynasty). Lily root (moluo or baihe gen) is used in Chinese medicine. It has the properties of lubricating the lungs and suppressing coughing, clearing the heart [of fire] and tranquillizing the mind. It is used to treat coughs and heat in the lungs, expectorating blood, dysphoria and thirst, insomnia and sleep disturbed by dreams, etc. It is counterindicated for patients suffering from deficiency-cold of the spleen and stomach, or loose bowels. Ru cao bian is a non-medical text, recording 102 species of edible herbs. For each plant entry, there is an illustration accompanied by a verse, with notes on its use as a food.

Image title: Panqiqing (Physalis). The illustration is accompanied by eight lines of verse, which appear to form two distinct quatrains. The latter provides information about the culinary properties of the plant; but the former is a carpe diem poem, growing out of the image of lilies blooming by a lake, as night and autumn draw in: By Hundred Seeds Lake a hundred lilies bloom/ When the flowers open at dusk, they are well worth a closer look/ The young man looks forward to a night-time tryst, but the lady is reluctant/ When autumn comes the last flowers will all have withered away. [which is followed by] The root can be used in cooking/ It is not as fibrous as lotus root/ whose filaments remain intact when it is broken up/ When well cooked it is better than dragon's whiskers (longxu).