續一切經音義 5.72

5.72

Leaves of sheep's rhododendron (躑躅葉) (the first character is cheng + ji fan [zhí], the next is zhong + lu fan [zhú]; the name of a medicinal herb. The Materia Medica [Bencao] says: "It is sheep's rhododendron [羊躑躅]. Both its leaves and flowers are highly toxic. The flowers are gathered in the third month; their colour is yellow, but there are also five-coloured ones. When sheep mistakenly eat its flowers and leaves, they stumble about [躑躅] and die, hence the name." Gujin zhengzi: "躑躅 means unable to advance in walking." Both characters are formed with the zu [foot] radical, with zheng and shu as their phonetics).