=Cockscomb.=--The cockscomb was very much admired by the Chinese, and was not alone used as a decoration for porcelain, but for many of those interesting pictures on glass which portray birds and flowers, and which, though painted in a similar way to the early paintings on glass known to Western nations, exceeded them by the brilliancy of their colours and by their exact resemblance to nature.
=Convolvulus.=--The convolvulus was painted around the edges of tanks and pools, not alone for decoration, but because the leaves of some varieties made a very succulent green food.
=Flag, or Iris.=--The flag, or iris, known as the sweet flag, was placed at the doors of houses to prevent all manner of evil from entering, but it had a material use as a medicine much used for its spicy warmth.
=Fungus.=--The fungus when dried was very durable. It grew at the roots of trees, and many imitations of it in gilt wood, or even dried specimens of the fungus itself, were frequently used as decoration in the temples. In pictures of Lao-tsze and the Immortals it is used as a symbol of longevity or immortality, hence it is found carried in the mouth of the white stag, which is also an emblem of immortality. Occasionally it is used as a mark on the bases of specimens of old Kang-he blue, in which case it often has lines around its base to represent the grass through which it grows.
=Jasmine.=--The jasmine, a sweet-smelling white flower, is largely grown for its scent, but still more as a favourite flower amongst the Chinese women for personal ornament, its twigs and clusters or blossoms being wound in the hair, and it was planted in the pots in the houses.
=Lotus, or Nelumbium.=--The lotus, or _nelumbium_, was a sacred flower representing the creative power in the Buddhist religion. Representations of it frequently occurred not alone in connection with Buddhism, but also with Taoism. Kwan-Yin is often shown seated upon the lotus. Ho Seen-koo has the lotus as her emblem; and, generally, whether considered with regard to its utility or to its beauty the sacred lotus was placed by the Chinese at the head of the cultivated flowers. It has a very close resemblance to our English water lily, having the stock inserted near the centre of the leaf. Both seeds and root are articles of food, and, when cultivated for that purpose rather than for ornament, covers large areas of lakes and marshes.