Tangaek — Decoctions · Fruits

銀杏 Ginkgo Nut

Related Crop · Ginkgo Nut →

Eunhaeng is the ginkgo nut, the same as the ginkgo in the crop guide — the kernel inside the pulpy fruit that drops from street trees each autumn. The tree was called apgaksu for leaves shaped like a duck's foot, and the nut eunhaeng, silver apricot, for its shape. Raw kernels rasp the throat, so they are boiled or roasted.

Original, read line by line 東醫寶鑑 · Tangaek — Decoctions vol. 2

  1. 性寒, 味甘, 有毒.

    Its nature is cold, its taste sweet, and it is toxic.

  2. 淸肺胃濁氣, 定喘止咳. 《入門》

    It clears turbid qi from the lung and stomach, settles panting, and stops coughing. 《Immun (入門)》

  3. 一名白果, 以葉似鴨脚, 故又名鴨脚樹.

    It is also called baekgwa (白果, white fruit), and because the leaf resembles a duck's foot it is also called apgaksu (鴨脚樹, duck-foot tree).

  4. 其樹甚高大, 子如杏子, 故名爲銀杏.

    The tree is very tall and large, and the seed is like an apricot kernel, so it was named eunhaeng (銀杏, silver apricot).

  5. 熟則色黃, 剝去上肉, 取子, 煮食或煨熟食.

    When ripe it turns yellow; strip off the outer flesh, take the seed, and eat it boiled or baked in embers.

    HomiclubThe soft outer flesh gives off a powerful smell, which is why ginkgos planted along streets are chosen as male trees that bear no fruit.

  6. 生則戟人喉, 小兒食之發驚. 《日用》

    Raw, it pricks the throat, and if a small child eats it, convulsions arise. 《Iryong (日用)》

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This is a cultural and historical record from a classical text, not a claim about any food’s effects. Nothing here is a health supplement or intended to prevent or treat disease. Consult a medical professional about health concerns. · Text: Korean Medicine Classics DB · Reading: Homiclub