Orchidaceae tubers after detecting the plants underground by scent. Orchids have been used in traditional medicine in an effort to treat many diseases and ailments. They have been used as a source of herbal remedies in China since 2800 BC. "Gastrodia elata" is one of the three orchids listed in the earliest known Chinese Materia Medica ("Shennon bencaojing") (c. 100 AD). Theophrastus mentions orchids in his "Enquiry into Plants" (372–286 BC). Orchids have many associations with symbolic values. For example, the orchid is the City Flower of Shaoxing, China. "Cattleya mossiae" is the national Venezuelan flower, while "Cattleya trianae" is the
A Flower in a Sinful Sea A Flower in a Sinful Sea A Flower in a Sinful Sea (Chinese: , Hanyu Pinyin: "Nièhǎihuā", Wade-Giles:, "Nieh-hai hua") is a novel by Jin Tianhe (also known as Jin Songcen) and Zeng Pu (also written as Tseng P'u). The work is a roman à clef. The work was partially translated to English by Rafe de Crespigny and Liu Ts'un-yan in 1982. It was also translated to French. The "nie" (C: 孽, P: "niè", W: "nieh") refers to retributions. The "hua" (C: 花, P: "huā", W: "hua") for "flower" is a polysemy as it can also refer to "woman". In