noun
Poria cocos; hoelen
Archaic term for the fungus Poria cocos, used in traditional Chinese medicine. Modern Japanese typically uses 茯苓 (ぶくりょう) instead.
See also: 茯苓
漢方では、マツホドは茯苓として知られる生薬の原料である。
In Kampo medicine, matsuhodo is the raw material for the crude drug known as bukuryō.
The modern standard term for Poria cocos in Japanese; マツホド is an archaic synonym.
The name マツホド (松塊) literally means 'pine lump', referring to the sclerotium that grows around pine roots. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.