石韋 Seogwi (석위)

Original, read line by line 東醫寶鑑 · Tangaek — Decoctions vol. 3

1. 性平一云微寒, 味苦甘, 無毒. 治五淋, 胞囊結熱不通, 膀胱熱滿, 淋瀝遺尿, 利小便水道.

   Its nature is neutral, though one account calls it slightly cold; its taste is bitter and sweet, and it is non-toxic. It treats the five stranguries, heat knotted in the bladder so that it will not pass, fullness of heat in the bladder, dribbling urination and involuntary loss of urine, and it frees the urine and the waterways.

   HomiclubSeogwi is an evergreen fern that grows clinging to rock. Its fronds are thick and leathery, which gives it the name seogwi — seok (石, stone) plus wi (韋, tanned hide).

2. 叢生石上, 葉如皮, 故名石韋. 又云, 葉生斑點如皮, 以不聞水聲及人聲者, 爲良.

   It grows in clumps on rocks, and because its fronds are like hide it is named seogwi. It is also said that the fronds develop spots like a hide, and that those from places where neither the sound of water nor the sound of people reaches are the good ones.

   HomiclubThe underside of the frond is closely studded with brown spore clusters that look like mottling — the hide-like spotting the text describes.

3. 二月七月採葉, 陰乾. 入藥須灸用, 刷去黃毛, 毛射人肺, 令人咳. 《本草》

   Pick the fronds in the second or seventh month and dry them in the shade. When putting it into a formula it must be roasted, and the yellow hairs brushed off, for those hairs pierce the lung and set a person coughing. 《Boncho (本草)》

   HomiclubThe yellow star-shaped hairs covering the underside of the frond were brushed off during preparation. The text explains this is because the loose hairs irritate the airway.