Painting of leiwan ([dried sclerotium of] Omphalia lapidescens Schroet.) in the meticulous (gongbi) style, in colour on silk, from Bencao tupu (Illustrated Herbal). The painted illustrations in Bencao tupu were jointly executed by Zhou Hu and Zhou Xi in 1644 (the final year of the Ming period). The explanatory texts were provided by Zhou Rongqi. The book was not completed: each volume was to have contained 14-15 paintings, but only 29 are extant.
Zhou Rongqi writes: Leiwan is also called zhuling. It has no stem. It generally grows parasitically on the roots of withered bamboo, gathering into itself the remaining Qi of the bamboo; hence the name zhuling (bamboo fungus). Because it grows in clusters that look like birds' eggs, it is called leiwan [lit. thunder ball], lei - thunder - being a homophone of lei - cluster. It is bitter in sapor, cold in thermostatic character, and slightly poisonous. It is has the properties of killing parasites and dispelling accumulations. It is used to treat abdominal pain due to aggregations of parasitic worms, infantile malnutrition, etc.
