membrane lining inside reed, very thin
莩 centers on extreme thinness: a delicate membrane lining inside a reed, or anything very thin and fragile.
莩 combines 艹 (grass/plant) with 孚, which likely contributes the sound. The character refers to a thin plant membrane, but the exact historical development is uncertain.
The grass top 艹 sits above 孚, like a thin reed membrane stretched over a frame. Picture peeling away the fragile inner lining of a reed.
For フ, imagine a thin membrane fluttering in the wind, making a soft 'fu' sound: fu -> フ, as the delicate lining trembles.
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starvation; (bodies of) the starved