Definitions

Elshotria paltrini

Etymology phono-semantic

plant

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character is a highly specific noun, naming a particular aromatic herb in the mint family. Its structure is a phono-semantic compound: the grass radical (cǎo) indicates the plant category, while (xū) gives the sound. The character is almost entirely restricted to the compound 香薷 (xiāngrú), which refers to a medicinal plant long used in traditional herbal formulations.