Chinese character 菶

It describes vegetation growing thickly.

The Book of Songs, a classical Chinese poetry collection, uses the repeated 菶菶 with 萋萋 in a passage evoking luxuriant vegetation and song.

Dictionaries also record a “many fruits” gloss. On its own, 菶 reads as literary plant vocabulary, not a ready-made reaction.

Where does 菶 come from?

The pre-Qin Book of Songs uses the repeated form 菶菶 in a scene of flourishing vegetation and song.

Shuowen Jiezi, an early Chinese character dictionary, defines 菶 as flourishing grass and analyzes its form as 艹, the grass or plant component, plus 奉 as a sound component. Dictionaries also record 菶茸 for dense growth.