THE TAXONOMIC IDENTIFICATION OF THE MEDICINAL PLANT SHUI-HSIEN

Twenty five samples of Amaryllidaceous and Liliaceous bulbs commercially bearing the common name "Shui-Hsien" were collected from several places in China. Taxonomic identification of plants grown from these bulbs proves that they are derived from twelve species of plants, belonging to four genera and two families (Amaryllidaceae and Liliaceae), namely: Narcissus tazetta L. var. chinensis Roem., N. polyanthos Lois., N. aureus Lois., N. pseudo-narcissus L., N. incomparabilis Mill., N. biflorus Curt., N. poeticus L., N. papyraceus Ker-Gawl., N. jonquilla L., Leucojum aestivum L., Muscari botryoides Mill. and Hyacinthus orientalis L. Botanical descriptions of the plants, an analytical key, and twelve illustrations are given.