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PODOPHYLLUM PELTATUM,

Plate \ .—{Frontispiece.) Podophyllum peltatum.

Fig. 1, — Flowering stem and rhizome, natural size.
Fig. 2. — Pistil and stamen, natural size.
Fig. 3. — Fruit, half grown.

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MANUAL

OP THE

MEDICAL Botany of North America

LAURENCE JOHNSON, A.M., M.D., •

liECTTUEER ON MEDICAL BOTANY, MEDICAL DEPARTMENT OP THE UNIVERSITY OF THE CITY OF IWW
YORK : FELLOW OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE, AND OF THE NEW YORK ACAD-
EMY or SCIENCES : member of the COMMITTEE OP REVISION OF THE PHARMACOPCEIA
OF THE UNITED STATES, MEMBER OF THE TOBREY BOTANICAL CLUB, ETC.

NEW YORK
WILLIAM WOOD & COMPANY

56 & 58 Lafayette Place

1SS4

COPTKIOHT, 1884,

Bt WILLIAM WOOD & COMPAl^

mmriNQ and bookbinding company,

NEW YORK.

PREFACE

For many years medical botany has had no place in most Ameri-
can medical schools ; and no text-book on the subject has issued from
the American press during a generation.

As a result of this neglect, I believe that vegetable materia medica
is taught at a great disadvantage, and often imperfectly. Plants bear
relations to each other no less definite than those of the chemical com-
pounds of inorganic substances ; and a knowledge of these relations
should, in my opinion, precede all attempts at classification of plants
as therapeutic agents.

Furthermore, much of the credulity evinced regarding so-called
new remedies of vegetable origin is directly traceable to ignorance of
plants in general, and of their relations to each other. Let the most
extravagant assertions be made concerning the therapeutic activity of
any hitherto unused plant — or of one used and long-forgotten — and ex-
perimenters immediately busy themselves with it, no matter if other
closely allied species are known to be inert. And yet, the different
species of a genus are so closely related that when one is demonstrably
useless, as a rule, we need not expect much from the others.

As a teacher of medical botany I have been much embarrassed by
the want of a text-book suited to the needs of American students — one
combining a brief sketch of general botany with descriptions of medi-
cinal plants — and, in this volume, have endeavored to supply that want.

In the first part, or Elements of Botany, I have sketched the life-
history of plants from germination to reproduction, explaining the
technical terms commonly employed in botanical descriptions and the
plan of classification in general use at the present day.

IV PREFACE.

In the second part, or Medicinal Plants of North America, I have
presented a systematic arrangement and description of most of the
medicinal species, both indigenous and naturalized, which grow upon
this continent. I have not, however, endeavored to make the list
complete, but rather to exercise a judicious discrimination in selecting
the most important. Yery many species have been noticed merely to
condemn them ; still these often serve a useful purpose as examples of
orders or genera.

Under the title, Character of the Order ^ are given the prominent
and cliaracteristic features of the order as a whole ; and under the
title, Character of the Genus^ the distinguishing characteristics of the
genus. In case only a single species of a genus is described, the char-
acter of the latter is omitted.

Following the Descrvption of a species are its Habitat^ or place of
growth, the Part used medicinally. Constituents^ Prejpa'rations, and
a brief account of its Medical Frojperties and Uses.

The words, United States Pharmacojyoeia, following the names of
parts used, or of preparations, signify that such parts or preparations
are official ; and official, throughout the work, signifies directed by the
Pharmacopoeia, the only recognized authority.

Everywhere brevity and conciseness have been aimed at, but no-
where more than in the notes upon the medical properties and uses.
Here I have paid little attention to traditions, except when I could
trace them to a substantial foundation, believing that, in such matters,
a judicious scepticism is wiser than blind credulity. In general, I have
summarized the opinions of authors whom I consider most reliable,
and have also drawn freely from the records of my own experience
and observation.

In the botanical part of the volume, I have followed no author ex-
clusively. Among those whose works I have most frequently con-
sulted are Baillon, Barton, Bentham, Bentley and Trimen, Bigelow^
Chapman, Figuier, Gray, Griffith, Lindley, Michaux, Porcher, Pursh,
liafinesque, Torrey and Gray, and WoodviUe. I scarcely need add
that I have had constant access to specimens, both recent and dried ; the
latter either in my own herbarium or in that of Columbia College.

The colored plates and a few of the illustrations on wood are from

PREFACE. V

my own drawings and photographs ; but for most of the wood-cuts I
am indebted to Baillon {Histoire des Pl<Mites\ Figuier {Histoire dea
Plantes\ and Woodville {Medical Botany). Those of Clematis Vir-
giniana and Anemone jpatens^ var. Nuttalliamxi^ were kindly placed
at my disposal by Professor J. U. and Mr. C. G. Lloyd (Dt'uga and
Medicines of Norih America, now in course of publication).

To my friend Dr. !N". L. Britton, of Columbia College, I am much
indebted for valuable suggestions, and for affording me every assist-
ance required in consulting the extensive herbarium of that institution ;
and to my friends Dr. Thomas F. Wood, Wilmington, N. C, and Dr.
H. H. Rusby, Detroit, Mich., I extend my thanks for recent specimens

required to illustrate the work.

L. J.

323 West 27th St., New Yoke.
December, 1884.

CONTENTS

FAOS

Introduction 1

General Principles of Vegetable Growth and Reproduction 2

The Boot, .4 ; Functions of Roots, 8 ; The Stem and Branches, 9 ; Functions
of the Stem and Branches, 16 ; Buds and Leaves, 17 ; Functions of the
Leaves, 24 ; The Flower, 25 ; Functions of the Flovrer, 38 ; The Fruit,
40 ; The Seed, 44 ; Classification of Plants, 46.

Glossary or Dictionary of Botanical Terms 49

MEDICINAL PLANTS OF NORTH AMERICA.

PHJEKOGAMOUS OR FLOWERING PLANTS.

CLASS I.— DICOTYLEDONOUS OR EXOGENOUS PLANTS.

Division I. — Polypetalous Exogenous Plants.

Ranunculace^ 57

Clematis — Virgin's-Bower, 58 ; Anemone — Wind-Flower, 59 ; Hepatica — Liv-
erwort, 61 ; Ranunculus — Crowfoot, Buttercup, 61 ; Coptis, 64 ; Hydras-
tis, 64 ; Xanthorhiza, 66 ; Actsea — Baneberry, 69.

Magnoliace^ 71

Magnolia, 71 ; Liriodendron, 73.
Menispermace^ 75

Menispermum — Moonseed, 75.

Berberidace^ 76

Berberis— Barberry, 76 ; Caulophy Hum— Blue Cohosh, 78 ; Jeffersonia— Twin-
Leaf, 79 ; Podophyllum— May-Apple, 80.

Nymph^ace^ 83

Nymphaea — Water-Lily, 83.

Sarraceniace^ 84

Sarracenia — Pitcher-Plant, 84,

Papaverace^ 86

Sanguinaria — Bloodroot, 86 ; Chelidonium— Celandine, 88.

VIU CONTENTS.

PACK
FUMARIACELfi 89

Dicentra, 89 ; Fumaria — Fumitory, 90.

Cruciper^ 92

Nasturtium, 93 ; Brassica — Sinapis, 95 ; Capsella, 96.

ViOLACEiE 97

Viola— Violet, 98.

CiSTACEiE 99

Heliantliemum — Rock Rose, 100.

Droserace^ lot

Drosera— Sundew, 101.

Hypericace^ lOS

Hypericum— St. John's Wort, 102.
Caryopiiyllace^ lOS

Saponaria — Soapwort, 103 ; Silene— Catch Fly, 104.

MALVACEiE 104

Althaea— Marsh-Mallow, 105 ; Malva — Mallow, 106 ; Gossypium — Cotton, 107.
Linages 108

Linum— Flax, 109.
Geraniace^ 110

Geranium, 110 ; Oxalis — Wood-Sorrel, 114.
RUTACE^ 115

Xanthoxylum— Prickly Ash, 115 ; Ptelea— Shrubby Trefoil, 116.
Anacardiace^ 117

Rhus — Sumac, 117.
Rhamnacejs 122

Rhamnus — Buckthorn, 122 ; Ceanothus — New Jersey Tea, 123.
Celastrace^ 124

Celastrus— Staff Tree, 124 ; Euonymus— Spindle Tree, 125.
Sapindace^ 126

^sculus — Horse-Chestnut, Buckeye, 126.
Polycalace^ 128

Polygala— Milkwort, 128.

LEGUMINOSiE 130

Papilionaceae, 130; Melilotus — Melilot, 130; Psoralea, 131 ; Robinia— Locust
Tree, 132 ; Tephrosia — Hoary Pea, 133 ; Baptisia — False Indigo, 133 ;
Cassia— Senna, 134.

Rosacea 135

Amygdaleae, 135; Prunus— Plum and Cherry, 135; Rosaceae, 137; Spirsea —
Meadow-Sweet, 137 ; Gillenia— Indian Physic, 138 ; Agrimonia— Agri-
mony, 139 ; Geum — Avens, 140 ; Potentilla — Cinque-Foil, 140 ; Rubus —
Bramble, 141.

Saxifragace^ 143

Hydrangeas, 143 ; Hydrangea, 143 ; Saxifragese, 144 ; Heuchera — Alum-Root,
144.

Hamamelace^ 144

Hamamelis— Witch-Hazel, 145 ; Liquidambar — Sweet Gum Tree, 146.

CONTENTS. . IX

PAOB
ONAGRACEiE , , 148

Epilobium — Willow Herb, 148 ; CEnothera — Evening Primrose, 148.

TlMBELLIFERiE 149

Sanicula— Sanicle, 150 ; Eryngium— Eryngo, 150 ; Daucus— Carrot, 151 ; He-
racleum— Cow-Parsnip, 153; ArchangelicA, 153 ; Cicuta — Water-Hemlock,
513 ; Conium— Poison Hemlock, 154.
Abaliace^ , 155

Aralia, 155.

CORNACE^ 158

Cornus — Cornel, Dogwood, 158.

Division II.— MoNOPETAjiOus Exogenous Pi^ants.

Caprifoliace^ 161

Diervilla — Bush-Honeysuckle, 162 ; Triosteum — Feverwort, 162 ; Sambucus —
Elder, 163 ; Viburnum — Arrow-wood, 163.

RUBIACE^ 167

Galium— Bedstraw, Cleavers, 167 ; Cephalanttus — Button-Bush, 168 ; Mitch-
ella— Partridge-Berry, 168.

Composite 169

Liatris — Button Snakeroot, 170 ; Eupatorium — Thorough wort, 172 ; Tussilago —
Coltsfoot, 173 ; Erigeron^Fleabane, 174 ; Solidago— Golden-Rod, 175 ;
Grindelia, 176 ; Inula — Elecampane, 177 ; Ambrosia— Rag-Weed, 178;
Helianthus— Sunflower, 179 ; Helenia— Sneeze- Weed, 180 ; Maruta— May-
Weed, 180 ; Anthemis— Chamomile, 181 ; Achillea— Yarrow, 181 ; Tan-
acetum — Tansy, 182 ; Artemisia — Wormwood, 183 ; Gnaphalium — Cud-
Weed, 183 ; Erechthites — Fire-Weed, 184 ; Senecio— Groundsel, 184 ;
Lappa — Burdock, 185 ; Cichorium — Chicory, 186 ; Hieracium— Hawk-
Weed, 187 ; Nabalus — Rattlesnake-Root, 187 ; Taraxacum — Dandelion,
188.

LOBELIACE^ 188

Lobelia, 189.

Ericace^ 190

Vacciniese — Ericinese — Pyrolese — Monotropeae, 190 ; Sub-order Ericineae, 191 ;
Arctostaphylos — Bearberry, 191 ; Epigaea — Trailing Arbutus, 192 ; Gaul-
theria — Aromatic Wintergreen, 192 ; Andromeda, 193 ; Oxydendron —
Sorrel Tree, 194 ; Kalmia— American Laurel, 194 ; Ledum — Labrador
Tea, 196 ; Chimaphila — Pipsissewa, 197.

Aquifoliace^ 197

Ilex— Holly, 198.

Ebenace^ 199

Diospyros— Persimmon, 199.

Plumbaginace^ 200

Statice — Marsh-Rosemary, 200.

BlGNONIACE^ 201

Bignonia, 201 ; Catalpa, 201.
Orobanchace^ 203

Epiphegus— Beech-Drops, 202 ; Conopholis — Cancer-Root, 203 ; Aphyllon—
Naked Broom-Rape.

X CONTENTS.

PAGE

SCROPHULARIACE^ 203

Verbascum— Mullein, 204 ; Scrophularia — Fig wort, 205 ; Chelone — Turtle-
Head, 205 ; Veronica— Speedwell, 205.

Labiate 207

Teuorium— Germander, 207 ; Mentha— Mint, 207 ; Lycopus— Water Hore-
hound, 209 ; Cunila— Dittany, 210 ; Pycnanthemum— Mountain Mint,
210 ; Hedeoma— Mock Pennyroyal, 211 ; Collinsonia— Horse-Balm, 211 ;
Monarda— Horse- Mint, 212 ; Nepeta— Catmint, 212 ; Scutellaria— Skull-
cap, 213 ; Marrubium — Horehound, 214 ; Leonurus— Motherwort, 215.

CONVOLVULACE^ 215

Ipomoea, 215.

SOLANACE^ 216

Solanum— Nightshade, 216 ; Physalis— Ground Cherry, 217 ; Hyosoyamus —
Henbane, 218 ; Datura, 219.
Gentianace^ , 220

Sabbatia— American Centaury, 221 ; Frasera— American Columbo, 221 ; Gen-
tiana —Gentian, 222 ; Menyanthes— Buckbean, 223.
LOGANIACE^ 224

Gelsemium — Yellow Jessamine, 224 ; Spigelia — Pinkroot, 227.

Apocynace^ 228

asclepiadace^ 229

Asclepias — Milkweed, 230.
Oleace^ 231

Fraxinus — Ash, 231.

Division III. — Apetalous Exogenous Plants.

Aristolochiace^ 232

Asarum — Wild Ginger, 232 ; Aristolochia — Birth wort, 233.
Phytolaccace^ 234

Phytolacca — Pokeweed, 234.
Chenopodiace^ 235

Chenopodium— Goosefoot, Pigweed, 235.

POLYGONAGE^ 236

Polygonium— Knotweed, 236 ; Rumex — Dock, 237.
Laurace^ 238

Sassafras, 239 ; Lindera — Spice Bush, 240.
EUPHORBIACE^ 240

Euphorbia— Spurge, 241; Stillingia, 242.
Urticace^ 243

Ulmus— Elm, 243 ; Morus— Mulberry, 244 ; Urtica— Nettle, 244 ; Cannabis—
Hemp, 245 ; Humulus — Hop, 246.
Juglandacea 248

Juglans— Walnut, 248.
CUPULIFER^ 249

Quercus — Oak, 249 ; Castanea — Chestnut, 250.
Myricace^ 250

Myrica — Bayberry, 250 ; Comptonia — Sweet-Fern, 252.

CONTENTS. XI

PAGE

BETULACE.E 252

Betula— Birch, 252 ; Alnus— Alder, 253.
SALICACEiE 253

Salix— Willow, 253 ; Populus— Poplar, 254.
Conifers 255

Abietineae, 256 ; Pinus— Pine, 256 ; Abies — Spruce, 257 ; Larix— Larch, 259 ;
Cupressineae, 260 ; Thuja— Arbor Vitse, 260 ; Juniperus— Juniper, 261 ;
Taxus— Yew, 262.

CLASS IL— MONOCOTYLEDONOUS OR ENDOGENOUS PLANTS.

Arace^ 263

Arisaema — Indian Turnip, 263 ; Symplocarpus — Skunk Cabbage, 264 ; Acorus
—Sweet Flag, 264.

Alismace^ 265

Alisma— rWater Plantain, 265

Orchidace^ 266

Corallorhiza— Coral-Root, 266 ; Cypripedium— Lady's Slipper, 266.

H^MODORACE^ 269

Aletris— Star-Grass, 269.

Iridace^ 270

Iris— Blue Flag, 270.

LiLiACE^ 272

Trillium— Three-leaved Nightshade, 272 ; Veratrum— False Hellebore, 273 ;
Chamselirium — Devil's Bit, 274 ; Convallaria — Lily of the Valley, 275 ;
Polygonatum— Solomon's Seal, 275; Erythronium— Dog's-Tooth Violet,
276.

CKYPTOGAMOUS OR FLOWERLESS PLANTS.

FiLiCES — Ferns 277

Polypodium — Polypody, 277 ; Adiantum — Maidenhair, 277 ; Pteris — Brake,
278 ; Asplenium — Spleenwort, 278 ; Scolopendrium — Hart's-Tongue, 279 ;
Aspidium— Shield-Fern, 279 ; Osmunda— Flowering Fern, 280.

Lycopodiace^ 283

Lycopodium— Club-Moss, 283.

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

INTliODUCTION.

Botany is the science which treats of the vegetable kingdom.

A science so comprehensive, including everything which relates to
plants, from the life history of those low organisms on the border line
between the animal and the vegetable world to that of the giant oak which
endures for centuries, must of necessity be divided for the convenience
of students. Accordingly general botany comprises many well-recognized
departments, one of which, devoted to the history of medicinal plants, is
known as medical botany.

But medical botany is also a comprehensive science, for the list of
plants possessing greater or less medicinal activity is long, and the plants
are, in many instances, so remote and inaccessible that their study is
beset with many difficulties. The obstacles, however, in the way of the
student who would acquire a knowledge of the medicinal plants of his
own country are neither numerous nor formidable. Esj^ecially is this true
of the medical botany of North America ; for though this continent, with its
broad extent of territory, varied surface, and extremes of temperature, sup-
ports an extensive and interesting flora, the number of medicinal species is
surprisingly small, and these are so distributed as to be generally accessible.

The medical botany of North America, then, treats of all plants grow-
ing on the continent without cultivation which possess, or are supposed
to possess, medicinal activity. It treats of them as living, organized
bodies, classifying them according to their structural affinities, and not as
they are treated of in the Materia Medica, as mere drugs, arranged ac-
cording to their real or supposed therapeutic eifects.

It will be seen, however, that this classification of plants according to
their structural affinities may often afford valuable hints as to the thera-
peutic properties of allied species. As the comparative anatomist and
physiologist, knowing the structure and habits of a single animal of a
family, may deduce the habits of an allied species whose structure only is
known, so may the medical botanist, knowing the physiological or thera-
peutic effect of a single species of a genus, draw a reasonable inference re-
garding the properties of an allied species in advance of experimentation.

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF VEGETABLE GROWTH
AND REPRODUCTION.

A knowledge of the general principles of vegetable life may be acquired
by carefully studying the history of any plant, however humble, from the
germination of its seed upward through the various stages of its develop-
ment to the formation and perfection of its fruit.

Take, as a familiar and often-used illustration, a common garden bean
(Fig. 1). This seed, we know, is capable, under favorable circumstances,

Fm. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Fig. 4.

Fig. 1. — A bean. Fig. 2.— The same, with seed-coat removed. Fig. 3.— The same, with one seed-leaf re-
moved, showing embryo leaves. Fig. 4.— A bean after germination.

of developing into a plant like its parent, though its external appearance
affords no hint of such hidden possibilities. Externally it is covered by a
coating of horny hardness, everywhere smooth and glistening save at one
point on its slightly concave side, where it was attached to the pod in
which it grew. This point of former attachment is marked by a scar,
termed the hilum, and, as will be shown later, is strictly analogous to the
umbilical scar of animals.

Kemoving now this external coating, the seed is seen to comprise two
similar, symmetrical parts, joined by a small body of Hke texture, which is
folded down along their line of apposition (Fig. 2). A more minute mi-
croscropical and chemical examination would demonstrate other features
of interest, but foreign to our present purpose.

Protected from moisture a bean may be preserved for years without
<ihange, and giving no sign of vitality, but planted in damp earth it speed-
ily undergoes changes which are interesting and instructive. As it absorbs
moisture the external coating is ruptured, the two parts of the seed sepa-
rate along their margins, and the small body joining them elongates
(Fig. 4). Moreover, this elongation is always in a downward direction,
whatever may be the position of the seed in the ground. There is, how-
ever, growth upward at the same time, and soon the seed appears above

VEGETABLE GROWTH AND REPRODUCTION.

ground, its two parts diverging and exhibiting between them a bud, which
develops a pair of green leaves with an intervening bud (Fig. 5). This
bud develops other leaves, and so on, the further upward growth of the
plant being but a repetition of the process. In the axils of the leaves
buds are also developed, and these grow in a manner similar to that of the

main stem, so that the
plant assumes a more or
less symmetrical spread-
ing appearance.

Returning now to that
portion of the seed which
elongates downward, we
observe that it branches
rapidly as it grows, but in

Fig. 5. — A bean with its first pair of true leaves,
bearing the seed-leaves above ground.

Fig. 6. Fig. 7. Fig. 8. Fig. 9.

Fig. 6— a kernel of Indian corn, showing the embryo. Fig. 7. — The same, reverse side. Fig. 8. — The
same after germination. FiG. 9. — Indian corn with its first leaves.

an irregular, unsymmetrical manner, differing widely in this respect fi'om
the ascending portion, whose branches are axillary and regular. We
note also the absence of buds and green color.

The downward growth of the plant keeps pace, to a certain extent,
with its upward development. Apart from the physiological functions of
the roots, the mechanical supi^ort Mbicli they yield to the stem requires
that their development should be proportionate to its growth.

Taking a kernel of Indian corn as another example, we shall find that

4 ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

it too has an external coating similar to that of the bean. Kemoving this,
the seed is found composed of a single body, marked on one side by a
longitudinal elevation (Fig. 6), instead of two similar parts as in the bean.
Buried in the earth, a kernel of corn absorbs moisture, the little elevation
on its side begins to elongate in an upward and downward direction (Fig. 8),
one extremity producing a cluster of roots, the other leaves (Fig. 9), the
seed itself remaining in the ground, and not borne above it as in the case
of the bean.

Without tracing the history of these plants further, enough has been
shown to demonstrate that a seed is an embryo plant, as fully fitted for an
independent existence when placed under proper circumstances as is the
infant mammal when it issues from its mother's womb. The requisite
circumstances are in the one case, first of all, air to breathe, in the other,
moisture and seclusion from light.

Having seen how a plant starts on its course of development from the
seed, we will now proceed to study the organs by means of which its various
functions are performed.

THE ROOT.

The root of a plant is its descending axis. In the vast majority of in-
stances it fixes the plant in position and gives support to the stem, but
not in all, for there are many aquatic plants whose roots are suspended in
the water, taking no hold upon the soil at the bottom. But even here
they give a certain amount of steadiness to the plant, and assist it in main-
taining a comparative equilibrium when the surface of the water is dis-
turbed by waves or currents.

Roots present themselves in many different forms, and as these are
often made use of in botanical descriptions, it is necessary for the student
to famiHarize himself with, at least, the leading ones.

The simplest form of the i-oot is that which grows directly downward
from the embryo, giving off but few lateral branches, and these of com-
paratively small size ; this is known as a tap-root. The beet, turnip
(Fig. 10), carrot, and radish, among herbs, are familiar examples in which
the tap-root attains a great development while its lateral branches are in-
significant. In many forest trees the main root penetrates the earth to a
considerable depth before lateral branches of important size are given off.
Such trees, however, never have tap-roots of as proportionably great size
as many herbaceous plants, for two reasons : plant food is more abundant
near the surface, and the greater the depth the more compact the soil and
the more difficult for the roots to penetrate. Hence it occurs that most
forest trees which start in life with strongly marked tap-roots have, at a
later period, lateral roots of a greater size than the main descending axis.

In very many plants, instead of a single root growing downward from

THE ROOT. 5

the root-end of the embryo, there are produced a cluster of roots at once,
as in the Indian com : such are denominated fascicled roots. To this
class belong the grasses and very many herbaceous plants whose rapid
growth depends largely upon their abundant roots.

Such are the two main forms of primary roots — that is, roots growing
directly from the seed ; but of course they are subject to many modifi-
cations. We are to consider the beet, turnip, and carrot, as presented to
us in cultivation, only as exaggerated forms of tap-roots, due chiefly to

Fig. 10.— a turnip — ^tap-root.

Fig. 11.— a dahlia— thickened fascicled roots.

natural habit but largely also to man's intelligent propagation. A some-
what similar exaggeration of fascicled roots is seen in the common dahlia
(Fig. 11). This plant starts on its course with a fascicle of roots which,
later on, become thickened for some distance below their junction with
the stem.

As will be seen later, these various modifications of the primaiy forms
of roots have an important bearing upon plant life, and, incidentally,
often serve as the storehouses from which are drawn valuable medicinal
agents.

In addition to the primary roots growing from the seed, nature has en-

6

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

dowed many plants with the power of putting forth roots as occasion may
require from any pai't of the stem, or even, in some instances, from the
leaves, thus giving them a double hold on Hfe : such are denominated
secondary or adventitious roots. The common strawberry of our
gai'dens will serve as an illustration of one kind of adventitious roots.
This plant produces "runners," which put forth roots at the point where
they touch ground, then a cluster of leaves, and a new plant is formed.
The stems of the running blackberry (Rabiis Canadensis L.) often root freely
also, and form a netting for the feet of the unwary. Very many illustra-
tions of plants endowed with this power might be foimd anywhere about

Fig. 12.— Common ivy (Hedera ffelix), with adventitious roots.

US, but it remains for the skilful gardener to develop it to its fullest ex-
tent, as his cuttings of roses, geraniums, and indeed of almost all his rarest
and most beautiful blooming plants abundantly testify.

Such adventitious roots are, however, true roots, which perform the
ordinary functions of such organs. There are other adventitious roots of
an entirely different character. The stem of the poison ivy {Rhus Toxicoden-
dron L.), when growing beside some object to which it can cling, puts
forth roots in innumerable numbers which do not contribute in any de-
gree whatever to the nourishment of the plant, but merely afford mechan-
ical support Moreover, these roots appear to be j)roduced in response to

THE ROOT. 7

the stimulation of contact with a supporting surface, in the same manner
as the adventitious (true) roots of the strawberry runner are called forth
by contact with the damp earth. Of this kind of adventitious roots many
illustrations might also be adduced ; one more will suffice, the common
ivy (Hedera Helix L.) (Fig. 12).

Some plants produce a kind of adventitious roots by which they attach
themselves to other herbs or shrubs and draw their nourishment from
them. The common dodder (Fig. 13) will serve as an illustration. The

Fig. 13.— Dodder (Cuscuta), parasitic upon another plant.

seeds of this plant germinate in the ground ; the stems grow until some
suitable support is reached, then twine about it and put forth a sort of
rootlets by means of which nourishment is drawn from the supporting
plant. Then direct communication with the earth is cut off by the death
of the stem below the adventitious rootlets, and the plant thenceforth Hves
as a true parasite.

The general structure of the root does not differ greatly from that of
the stem. In both there is bark, woody tissue, and pith, though the last-
named is seldom very distinct in the root. In their modes of growth
there is, however, considerable difference. As already shown, the stem
branches according to a fixed and regular plan, and, as will be seen later,
Avhile still young elongates between the branches. In the root, on the
contrary, branches issue irregularly and elongation is limited to the grow-
ing extremity. In other words, a root of a given length, once laid in the

8 ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

soil, never elongates by intercellular growth, but only increases its length
by additions to its growing extremity. Its increase in diameter is accom-
plished in the same manner as that of the stem.

Without entering too minutely into the structure of
the gi'owing extremity of the root, it is necessarj' to ob-
serve that this is made up of a mass of cells which mul-
tiply rapidly and are constantly building up tissue (Fig. 14)
in a forward direction. They are, moreover, endowed with
the power of rapid absorption, and are, in fact, the innu-
merable mouths which feed the growing plant. In order to
increase the absorbing surface of the roots, the younger
ones are provided with elongated cells, commonly called
groJng eitrTmity TOOt-hairs. Though of microscopic size, these are pro-
of a root, with root- duced in such infinite numbers as to be of immense ser-
hairs. Magnified. ^^^ ^^^ howcvcr, they are only required during the pe-
riod of active growth, they are not evident in autumn after the season's
work is accomplished.

FUNCTIONS OF ROOTS.

The mechanical functions of the roots in supporting the stem have
already been alluded to. We have now to consider their other important
offices.

As animals feed upon plants, so plants feed upon minerals. And as
they are not provided with organs for the mastication of their food, they
must necessarily receive it in a state of subdivision suited to their needs
and powers of absorption. In tliis form they find it in the damp earth
which their roots penetrate. Every rootlet is a seeker for food and every
growing ceU is hungry. Water, with gases and mineral salts in solution,
is greedily sucked up and carried toward the sunlight for elaboration.

Koots are, moreover, endowed, to some extent, with the power of se-
lecting the proper nourishment for the plant which they feed, and they
will take this or nothing. The most careless farmer has learned that he
cannot successfully raise the same crop on a field year after year without
fertihzers. The explanation is simple. Suppose corn be planted year
after year in the same ground. The roots of each succeeding crop find
less and less nourishment, until finally j^artial or complete starvation re-
sults. And this occurs, too, while there may be still plenty of food fit for
other plants.

Hence the rotation of crops, a principle at the foundation of successful
farming, depends upon the selective powers of roots.

But all plants are not fixed in the soil and do not draw their nourish-
ment from it. Many aquatic plants float in the water ; these find their
proper food in that element. Others are parasitic upon the stems or roots

STEM AND BRANCHES. 9

of other plants, their roots penetrating the bark and sucking up the juices
already elaborated for their needs. To this class belong the beech-drops
{Epiphegus Virginiana Barton), parasitic upon the roots of the beech, and
American mistletoe (Phoradendron flavescens Nuttall), a woody parasite
upon the branches of forest trees, common in the Southern States.

Still other plants are mainly nouiished by roots which hang in the air.
These, called air-plants, are almost exclusively inhabitants of warm, moist
regions.

Another important office of some roots is to serve as storehouses of
nourishment for the future needs of the plant. The gi-eat mass of plants
are annuals, living but a single season, during which they germinate from
the seed, attain their full development, flower, produce fruit, and die.
These have no need for a reserve store of nourishment, hence their roots
are fibrous and not thickened.

But many plants, termed biennials, germinate from the seed in
spring, produce a cluster of radical leaves, and develop a very large tap-
root during the first season. The next spring, drawing upon the store of
nourishment laid up in the root, they send up vigorous flower-stems, pro-
duce seed, and die. Many such roots, as the beet, carrot, and turnip, are
of great importance as articles of food.

Plants which endure for several years, termed perennials, not un-
frequently have roots of the same character. These thickened roots in
many instances contain the active medicinal principles of the plants.

THE STEM AND BRANCHES.

We have seen that the stem is the ascending axis of a plant ; that it
grows upward toward the light at the same time that the root is develop-
ing in an opposite direction. We have now to consider more particularly
its mode of growth and some of its more common forms.

In the case of the bean it was observed that after the seed-leaves came
a pair of green leaves (Fig. 5) ; after these another pair, and so on. The
points where these leaves appear are termed nodes or joints, and the
spaces between them inter nodes. Now, during the earher stages of
growth the internodes increase both longitudinally and in diameter also
by cell-proliferation, so that though two nodes of a growing shoot may,
when their leaves first unfold, be quite close together, in the end we find
them separated by an interval of perhaps several inches. In this particulai*,
as stated above, the growth of the stem differs greatly from that of the
root.

Again, it was noted that in the axils of the leaves were buds which nor-
mally developed into branches subject to the same laws of growth as the
main stem. We have now only to suppose that these axillary buds keep
pace with the development of the main stem, and every opposite-leaved

10

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

plant would assume a regular, symmetrical shape. But practically the
vast majority of such plants are unsymmetrical, mainly because the ter-
minal bud — that is, the bud terminating the main stem — is so much more
"s-igorous than the others, that having the start in the beginning it keeps
it and leaves the branches with comparatively little nourishment. In many
plants the growth of the terminal bud is so vigorous that the axillarj^ buds
never unfold and the stem remains always simple — that is, not branched.

But suppose some accident destroys the terminal bud : then the ax-
illary buds, especially those nearest the seat of the injury, are quickened
into activity, and a plant whose stem is natiu'ally simple becomes branched.

Fig. 15.— Soloinon'&-seal— a subterranean stem {rhizome). Leaf parallel-veined.

Again, some plants in germination have not one or two seed-leaves
only, but a cluster of them ; in tliese the branches normally assume a ver-
ticillate character. This is the rule in the pine family ( Gonifer(je). Others
still which start with their leaves in pairs, at a later stage produce thein
alternately ; here the branches are also alternate. And some plants have
forking branches, the growing bud ceasing activity at a certain point and a
pair of forking branches starting from the axils of the last developed leaves.

This brief view of the growth of the stem and branches demonstrates
sufficiently that eveiy plant in its development obeys a fixed law of its
being. Yet from a few primary forms arises endless diversity !

Many of the forms of stems have received distinctive names, which are
made use of in botanical descriptions, as simple, not branched ; erect,
growing straight up; ascending, arising obliquely ; twining, climbing

STEM AND BRANCHES.

11

by twining about some support ; prostrate, lying flat on the ground ;
trailing, running along over the surface of the ground or other plants, etc.
Thus far we have studied the stem as it ordinarily appears to us above
ground, but there are stems of vast importance which are wholly subter-
ranean and are commonly spoken of as roots. That of Solomon's-seal
(Fig. 15) will serve as an illustration of one form of such stems. Placed just
beneath the surface in a horizontal position, it appears as a thickened, fleshy,
root-like body, bearing numerous rootlets, a terminal scaly bud at its
anterior extremity, and sending up a flower-stem, behind which are scars
left by the falling away of previous ones. Each year a new joint is added,
while commonly the oldest one rots away ; hence the stem is slowly, year by
year, creeping forward. Such an underground stem is called a rhizome*

Fig. 16.— Hyacinth bulb.

Pig. 17. — ^Vertical section of a hyacinth bnlb.

Bhizomes present many different forms. They are simple or branched,
horizontal or ascending, fleshy, etc., and are perennial. Podophyllum,
sanguinaria, and iris are among oui* active medicinal plants which have
stems of this character.

In general, rhizomes contain the more active principles of the plants,
and in the greatest proportion. As such plants store away a great amount
of nourishment in their fleshy stems for the succeeding year's needs, they
commonly make vigorous growth early in spring, and are mostly early
bloomers.

Another common form of subterranfean stem is the bulb ; that of tho
hyacinth (Fig. 16) affording a good illustration. A vertical section (Fig. 17)

12

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

Fig. 18.— Vertical section of an onion.

explains its character perfectly. It is made up of flesliy scales (reduced
leaves), arranged in regular order, which gradually take on the form of
true leaves toward the centre and enclose the flower-stem. The onion
(Fig. 18) has a similar structure.

Bulbs also present themselves in diverse forms, as the scaly and fleshy.

One form, which is soUd and of more or
less homogeneous structure, not made up
of scales, is termed a corm. That of the
Indian turnip {Ariswma triphyllum Tor-
rey) is of this character.

Many of these underground stems
multiply by division or offshoots. The
hyacinth, for example, forms bulblets in
the axils of its scales, which develop into
new plants. And many creeping rhi-
zomes send up aerial stems from nearly
every joint. It should not be forgotten,
however, that aU such plants grow from
the seed originally, in the same manner
as those having only aerial stems.
The common potato furnishes a cui-ious example of a plant with aerial
and underground stems, both well developed ; for the potato, termed a
tuber, is really a thickened portion of a subterranean stem, and each of
its so-called eyes a bud capable of developing into a new plant.

Stems, like roots, are annual, biennial, or perennial. Naturally all an-
nual roots support only annual stems, but all subterranean stems send up
annual flowering stems and leaves. Perennial plants are spoken of as
herbaceous, suffruticose, or woody, according to whether they have
annual stems, those that are partly woody and do not die entirely down to
the ground, or those of wood sufficiently vigorous to resist the winter.
Woody plants under about twenty feet in height are called shrubs ; when
of greater height they are known as trees. This distinction is, of course,
somewhat arbitrary, and a given specimen may be spoken of as a shrub or
small tree.

In structure stems are composed of bark, wood, and pith ; and the
manner in which these three are arranged, with their relations to each
other, serve as the basis of the division of flowering plants into two great
classes, namely, the exogenous and the endogenous.

Exogenous plants have their bark, wood, and pith each distinct, as
shown in the cross-section of the stem of an oak (Fig. 19), in which the cen-
tral stellate portion is the pith, the external dark zone the bark, and the
intermediate part the wood. The proportions of the three vary greatly in
different plants, but their relative positions are always the same in exogen-
ous stems.

STEM AND BRANCHES.

13

Their structure deserves more attention than we can give in this place,
but must receive at least a passing glance.

Pith is but an aggregation of thin-walled cells, originally spherical in

Fig. 19.— Cross-section of the stem of an oak.

Fig. 20.— Cellnlar tissue (pith). Magnified.

Fig. 21.— Oblique
section of one-year-
old stem of ailanthus.

shape but become polyhedral by mutual compression (Fig. 20). In other
words it is merely cellular tissue, with feeble vitality and short-lived.
Though active in the young and growing shoot, it soon becomes inert, and
not unfrequently decays long before the
plant reaches its term of existence. It
is commonly more abundant proportion-
ately in herbs and suffruticose plants
than in woody perennials. In some
rapidly growing woody perennials, how-
ever, the young stems have a very large
proportion of pith, as seen in the ailan-
thus (Fig. 21). As it exists in most
exogenous stems, it might very properly
be viewed solely as a relic of their in-
fancy.
During the stage of its active growth, the pith of
some plants abounds in mucilaginous principles, that
of the young shoots of sassafras being especially marked
in this respect, and being considerably used in medicine
on this account.

Wood also possesses a cellular structure, but the
cells are of a different shape from those of the pith, and
are differently arranged. They are commonly elongate-
cylindrical, tapering at each end, placed side by side,
and overlapping at the ends (Fig. 22) in such manner
as to form more or less tough, strong fibres. In early
youth they have transparent walls, and thus permit the ready ingress and

Fig. 22.— Wood-ceUs.
Magnified.

14

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

egress of liquids by osmose. Later their walls become thickened by the
deposition of cellulose, etc., and lose their transparency. The wood-cells
of some plants are of a characteristic form, which may serve, as in the
coniferse, for the identification of the order.

But inspection of a cross-section of almost any exogenous stem will
show that the woody tissue is not uniformly solid throughout, but is trav-
ersed by many small canals (Fig. 23). In some stems, as that of the grape-
vine, these ai-e so large that one can readily draw water through them by
suction with the lips. These canals are called ducts or vessels, and are
formed from large cells placed end to end, the cell- walls at their point of
contact afterward bein^f absorbed.

Pig. 23.— Horizontal and vertical section of the stem of a maple. Magnified.

Nor is this all. A longitudinal section of many stems shows glistening
plates of tissue traversing the wood from the pith toward the bark ; these
plates, called medullary rays, are formed, like the pith, of cellular tis-
sue, and serve as a means of communication between the pith and the ex-
ternal growing surface of the stem (Fig. 24). The medullary rays of oak
and sugar-maple are highly developed, forming the so-called satin grain of
the wood.

Inspection of a cross-section of any exogenous stem of a few years'
growth will show that the wood is made up of concentric rings
(Fig. 19). These rings represent annual accessions to the wood previously
formed, each one comprising the gi'owth of a year. Each is complete in
itself, and, though more or less strongly adherent to the one which it encir-
cles, evidently is, at the time of its growth, the only growing part of the stem.
Once formed, these rings afterward undergo but slight changes in char-
acter, and never any in volume. As years pass by they become more dense,
and generally more or less deeply colored by the deposition of coloring
matters. Hence, after a few years' growth most exogenous stems present

STEM AND BRANCHES.

15

in cross-section a central colored portion, termed heart- wood or duramen,
surrounded by a lighter zone of sap-wood or alburnum, the latter de-
riving its name from the fact that the sap still circulates through it, while
the former no longer possesses vital activity, and like the pith may, and
often does, decay without impairing the vigor of the plant.

From the foregoing it becomes evident that the i)roliferation of wood-
cells is only to be found in progress upon the outside of the wood already
formed, just underneath the bark. As aggregated here, these young grow-
ing cells form what is termed the cambium layer. This layer is com-
monly of a mucilaginous character, and during the period of its greatest
activity permits the bark to be readily separated from the stem.

^V.

Fig. 24. — Vertical section of the stem of a maple, showing the medullary rays. Magnified.

The bark is the protective covering of the stem. At first composed,
like the pith, wholly of cellular tissue, it later develops wood-cells, par-
ticularly on its inner surface, and is divisible into an inner and an outer
layer. The inner bark is commonly composed of long wood-cells, termed
bast-cells, united into fibres often of great strength and toughness, as
in flax and hemp. The outer bark is composed largely of cellular tissue,
and presents two layers, the inner green, the outer corky ; the latter
being covered when young with a delicate epidermis. Like the wood which
it covers, the bark increases in thickness each year, but in a reverse
manner. That is to say, while the wood increases by growth upon its
outer surface, the bark thickens by deposition of new material upon its
inner side ; and while the wood is continually dying from within out-
ward, the bark is as constantly dying and exfoliating from without in-
ward. Moreover, as the stem increases in size the outer bark, being only
moderately elastic, is split and broken, and commonly assumes a rugose
appearance. In young and very vigorous trees not unfrequently the wood
gi'ows so rapidly that the bark cannot keep pace with it, and is conse-
quently split down to the fibrous layer, or even in some instances to the
w' ood itself.

IG

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

In annual exogenous plants, though the relative positions of the bark,
wood, and pith are the same as described above, the pith is relatively large,
the woody tissue is arranged with less uniformity, often in wedge-shaped
bundles, and the bark has no distinctly corky layer.

Endogenous plants have no central mass of pith entirely free from
woody fibres, no concentric rings of wood, and no separable bark. Their

wood is in bundles or fibres inter-
mingled with the cellular tissue,
and new bundles are continually
being formed in the midst of the
old during the period of growth.
Toward the external surface of
the stem the wood becomes con-
densed and hard, and serves, in-
stead of bark, as a protective cov-
ering to the more tender parts
within (Fig. 25).

Take, as an illustration famil-
iar to all, a stalk of Indian corn,
and view it in both longitudinal
and cross-section. There will ap-
pear an abundance of cellular tissue (pith), but with numerous strong
woody fibres interspersed ; and though it appears to be covered with bark,
this cannot be separated as in the case of an exogenous plant, since it is
only condensed woody tissue and shades off gradually into the less com-
pact structure within.

Endogenous plants very commonly have simple stems, though branch-
ing ones are not unusual. In temperate regions they are chiefly small
plants — the grasses, sedges, and cat-tails are familiar examples — but from
their immense number form a very important part of the vegetation. In
the tropics many of them, chiefly palms, attain the stature of tall trees.

Fig. 25.— CrosB-sectiou of the stem of a palm. The
outer circle is condensed woody tissue; within, the
dots represent bundles of woody tissue imbedded in pith.

FUNCTIONS OF THE STEM AND BRANCHES.

The most important function of the stem and branches is to serve as a
means of communication between the roots, leaves, and reproductive or-
gans, for to this one function all others are subsidiary.

We may safely assume that a plant's whole energies are bent toward the
reproduction of its species. When this is accomplished the annual and
the biennial die ; the perennial goes a step farther and prepares for a
repetition of the process the next year, and then it ceases labor for the
season.

The stem and branches, then, supply the channels by which the nour-
ishment collected by the roots is transmitted to the leaves for elaboration

BUDS AND LEAVES. 17

and to the reproductive organs for their needs, receiving back merely
what is required for their sustenance and growth.

BUDS AND LEAVES.

We have already seen how the stem and branches elongate by the un-
folding of the bud, the expansion of leaves, and the lengthening of the
spaces between the latter, and have noted that the bud exists in the em-
bryo. From this time forward it always is the growing point of the plant.
Examined in vertical section, it is shown to be a collection of embry-
onic leaves, diminishing in size from without inward. In the growing
season the bud is green like the expanded leaves, though of a more tender
shade, but as the end of the season approaches the outer leaflets undergo
more or less change, including both color and texture, and are not unfre-
quently coated with resinous or gummy matters to protect them against
cold and moisture during the period of the plant's rest. Such altered
leaflets are termed scales.

We have akeady seen how leaves are produced. We will now consider
their structure, varied forms, and functions.

Leaves, like stems, consist of woody and cellular tissue, the former col-
lected in bundles or fibres which form a skeleton whose interstices are
filled up with the latter.

Upon the form of the skeleton, of course, depends the shape and gen-
eral character of the leaf.

The larger and more prominent fibres of the skeleton are termed
veins, the smaller ones vein lets. In leaves having a large central vein,
with less prominent lateral branches, the central one is termed the mid-
vein or mid-rib. Indeed, in botanical descriptions the prominent fibres
of the leaf-skeleton are spoken of as veins, ribs, or nerves indiscrimi-
nately, as for example, a leaf is feather-veined, strongly ribbed, or triple-
7iermd. Little confusion, however, need arise from this misuse of terms if
the student but remember that though these fibres bear some analogy to
veins and ribs, they bear none whatever to nerves.

A leaf may commonly be distinguished into two parts : an expanded
portion, termed the lamina or blade, and a stalk by which this is at-^
tached to the stem, termed the petiole or footstalk. In case there be=
no petiole, the blade being attached directly to the stem, the leaf is said,
to be sessile.

Through the petiole, if there be one, or, in its absence, directly into-
the base of the blade, pass the woody fibres whose ramifications make up-
the leaf-skeleton. The manner in which the veins ramify is termed the
venation of the leaf.

In endogenous plants these fibres commonly divide at or near the base
of the blade into a number of nearly equal branches, which pursue a paral-
2

18

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

lei or slightly divergent course towai'd the mai-giu or apex (Fig. 15). Such
leaves are termed parallel- veined ; and here is found one of the distinc-
tions between endogenous and exogenous plants.

In exogenous plants the venation is extremely vaiied and gives rise to
many different forms. In one particular, however, there is uniformity :

Fig. 26.— Simple, pinnately veined leaf of chestnut. Margin serrate.

the ultimate ramifications of the veins produce a net-work ; hence such
leaves are termed net-veined, and are thereby distinguished from the
parallel- veined leaves of endogenous plants.

One of the commonest forms of exogenous leaves is that in which the
mid-vein pursues a direct course from the base to the apex, giving off, at
regular intervals, lateral branches which extend parallel with each other
to the margin. Such leaves are denominated pinnately or feather-
veined. The leaves of the beech and chestnut (Fig. 26) are familiar ex-
amples of this form.

Pio. 27.— Simple, palmately veined leaf of castor-oil plant (Eicinus communis).

Another common form of net-veined leaves is that in which there is no
strongly marked mid-vein, but instead a number of large veins pursue a
divergent course from the base to the margin of the leaf. There may be
three, four, seven, or nine of these veins, diverging like the fingers of an

BUDS AND LEAVES.

19

outstretched hand or the toes of a bird ; hence such leaves are said to be
palmately, digitately, or pedately veined. The leaves of the maple,
sycamore, and castor-oil plant (Fig. 27) will serve as illustrations.

Between these two widely different forms of venation in exogenous
plants are other connecting ones, as when a leaf has both a mid-vein with
more or less strongly marked lateral branches and large diverging, palmate
branches also.

Again, upon the venation of leaves depends, to a very great extent, their
marginal shape. In parallel-veined leaves the margin is commonly entire
— that is, not notched or indented ; the common grasses, cat-tails, and
iris are familiar examples. In very many feather- veined leaves the margin

Fig. 28.— Marginal shapes of leaves. Begimiing at the right, the first is serrate, second dentate, third be-
tween dentate and crenate, fourth creilate, fifth sinuate-toothed, sixth sinuate. Traced from nature.

is also entire, as for example the magnolias, laurel, and flowering dogwood,
but more commonly they are variously notched or indented. Leaf mar-
gins so indented ar^ characterized in botanical descriptions by technical
terms which are, for the most part, self-explanatory ; as for example (Fig.
28), serrate, saw-toothed ; dentate, toothed, but with teeth less regular
than the preceding, and not pointing forward like them ; crenate, scal-
loped ; repand, undulate, or wavy, when the margin makes a wavy
line; sinuate, more strongly wavy or sinuous; incised, cut, jagged,
etc. Again, when the margin is deeply cut into a definite number of di-
visions, the leaf is said to be lobed, as three-lobed, five-lobed, or secen-lobed.
When cut more deeply than half way to the centre or base, the leaf is said
to be cleft, and hence the terms three-cleft, Jive-cleft, or tnfid, quinquefid.

20 ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

etc. When the incisions are carried still deeper, the term parted is used •
and when they extend to the mid- vein or base of the blade, the leaf is said
to be divided.

In general outline leaves present a multiplicity of foims, which are,
however, sufficiently characterized in non-technical language. Such terma
as linear, lanceolate, oblong, elliptical, oval, ovoid, and orbicular are often
employed, and require no explanation. Oblanceolate signifies a general
lance-shape, but somewhat widened toward the apex, like a lance with its
point turned downward ; obovate, an ovate form also with its wider por-
tion toward the apex ; spatulate, hke a spatula ; cuneate, wedge-shaped, ta-
pering from above downward.

Then, too, the base and apex present a variety of forms. The base
may be cordate or heart-shaped, reniform or kidney-shaped, auriculate
or eared, sagittate or an-ow-shaped, hastate or halberd-shaped, peltate or
shield-shaped.

The apex may be acuminate or taper-pointed ; acute when ending with
an acute angle and not tapering ; obtuse, blunt ; truncate, appearing as if
cut off ; retuse, slightly notched at the extremity ; emarginate, more deeply
notched or indented ; obcordate, inversely heart-shaped ; cusjndate, armed
with a small cusp or tooth ; mucronate, armed with a very small sharp
point ; or aristate, with a bristle-like point.

Thus far we have considered the leaf in its simplest form — that is, when
consisting of a single blade, however deeply it may be cut or divided.
All such leaves are termed simple (Fig. 29), in contradistinction with
compound leaves (Fig. 30), which are made up of two or more, often
many blades, supported by a common petiole. Yet this distinction of
leaves into simple and compound is, to some extent, arbitrary, for in leaves-
which are parted — that is, divided to the base or mid-vein — the lobes be-
come as essentially separate blades as if they were supported upon sepa-
rate petioles : still, such leaves are commonly considered simple. Some
writers simplify the matter by drawing the line at an articulation with the
petiole, considering those only compound which are so articulated and all
others simple. By articulation is meant the joint at which the leaf sepa-
rates when it falls from the stem. But even this division is not com-
pletely satisfactory, for there are leaves — for example, the lemon — con-
sisting of a single entire blade which is articulated with its petiole, and
hence would under this definition have to be considered a compound leaf.

A compound leaf, then, is made up of two or more blades, termed leaf-
lets (Fig. 30), borne upon a common petiole, with which they may or may
not be articulated.

Compound leaves are of two principal forms, the pinnate, in which
the leaflets are arranged like the pinnate veins of a simple feather-veined
leaf, and the palmate, in which they are arranged palmatel3\

Pinnately compound leaves are equally pinnate when they have

BUDS AND LEAVES.

21

their leaflets in pairs; unequally pinnate (Fig. 30) when they have
them in pairs surmounted by an odd terminal one.

But often the division of pinnately compound leaves is carried still
farther, and the place of the leaflet is taken by another petiole bearing
leaflets ; the leaf is then termed bi-pinnate (Fig. 31) ; a step farther still,
and it becomes tri-pinnate. In these cases the primary divisions are
termed pinnae, the secondary pinnules, though the blades are always
called leaflets.

FlQ. 29,— Simple leaf of bass-wood.

Fio. 30. — Compound leaf of locnst (Robinia
Pseudacaia). Unequally pinnate, the separate
blades {leajlets) being in pairs, with an odd terminal

Palmately compound leaves are also frequently divided and subdivided
in like manner, and may become bi- or tri-palmate, ternate, etc.
When the subdivision is carried to an extreme point the leaf is termed
decompound.

The same terms are used in the characterization of the general outhue
of compound leaves and their leaflets and the marginal f eatui'es of the lat-
ter as are applied to simple leaves.

99

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

Besides simple and compound leaves, there are other abnormal forms,
such as tendrils, spines, and pitchers, to which we can barely allude.
Tendrils (Fig. 32) and spines are but reduced leaves, while pitchers are
leaves which have undergone changes of structure to fit them for special
purposes, as for example, the entrapping of insects.

Fig. 31.— a bi-pinnately compound leaf.

Fig. 32.— Compound leaf of pea, with the terminal
leaflets changed to tendrils. The expanded leaflets at the
base are foliaceous stipules.

As remarked above, a leaf may or may not have a distinct petiole. In
the latter case the base of the blade is attached directly to the stem, with
or without an articulation. In all deciduous plants — that is, those whose
leaves fall away at the end of the growing season — the articulation is pres-
ent whether there be a petiole or not. In endogenous plants the articu-
lation is absent, the leaves, at the end of the growing season, dying away
gradually.

In some cases where the petiole is absent, the base of the leaf encircles
or clasps the stem. Occasionally the leaf appears as though perforated by

BUDS AND LEAVES.

23

the stem; it is then denominated perfoliate. In other cases a pair of
leaves have their bases united about the stem ; such leaves are termed
connate.

Fig. 33.— Leaf of tulip-tree with deciduous
stipules.

FlO. 34.— Leaf of rose with permanent foli-
aceous stipules.

The petiole is often furnished at its base v^ith a pair of foliaceous or
membranous appendages, termed stipules. Very often these serve as
bud-scales and fall away after the leaf expands (Fig. 33) ; sometimes, how-

EGQOnnaQao

riaoogo'^^oQgg

Fig. 36.— Vertical section through a breath-
ing-pore of a leaf, showing the arrangement of
the epidermal cells. Magnified.

Fig. 35.— Vertical section of a leaf, showing cells
of epidermis and parenchyma, and intercellular
spaces. Magnified.

ever, they form a conspicuous part of the leaf and remain until it falls
(Figs. 32 and 34).

24 ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

We have already seen that leaves are composed of cellular and woody
tissue, and have considered the latter in its ramifications which make up
the leaf-skeleton. We will now briefly examine the cellular tissue.

Unhke the cellular tissue of the stem,
this is a green pulp closely resembling the
green layer of the bark. It is made up of
cells somewhat loosely arranged, with open
spaces or air-passages between them (Fig.
35). These cells owe their green color to
minute grains of a peculiar green coloring
matter, termed chlorophyll, which they
contain. Externally the entire leaf is covered
with a thin, transparent membrane, termed
epidermis (Fig. 36); this is perforated
Fig. .3?.-surf ace of a leaf, showing sto- ^^^j^ numcrous Openings, termed stomatd

mata (breathing-pores). Magnified. r»r7\ i • i • i -i •

(Fig 37), winch permit the external air to
have free access to the intercellular air-passages. The stomata are much
more numerous on the under than the upper side of the leaf, and here
also the air-passages are most abundant.

FUNCTIONS OF THE LEAVES.

Leaves have often been compared with the lungs of animals, since it is
their office to aerate the vital fluids of plants. The nourishment collected
by the roots is transmitted through the stem to the leaves, and here, ex-
posed to contact with the air, it becomes elaborated and fitted for the
plant's further use. Through the multitude of stomata, or breathing-pores,
the air has free access to the interior of the leaf, where the cells take from
it carbonic acid and yield up their superfluous moisture, or absorb oxygen
and water as may be required. In sunlight leaves absorb carbonic acid
and give out oxygen ; in darkness the process is reversed and carbonic
acid is exhaled. But as plants are much more active in daylight than in
darkness, the amount of carbonic acid taken from the atmosphere is many
times greater than that which is exhaled ; and as nearly all the carbonic
acid absorbed is decomposed, the carbon alone being retained while the
oxygen is returned to the air, it at once becomes evident that plants ai-e
continually purifying the air which animals breathe. Animals, on the other
hand, are as constantly renewing the supply of carbonic acid in the air,
and thus better fitting it for the sustenance of plants, so that there is an
intimate interdependence of vegetable and animal life. Both probably
had their advent upon earth at the same time, and progressed upward
from the lowest to the highest forms, side by side, with equal steps.

So far the leaves are analogous to the lungs of animals, but their func-
tions do not cease with the mere absorption of carbonic acid and the ex-

THE FLOWER. 25

halation of oxygen. In their gi-een cells — and in other green parts of
plants — are carried on the functions of digestion and assimilation and the
manufacture of the multitude of principles which give to plants their
peculiar properties. Wherever these principles may be stored up, whether
in the roots, the stem, the bark, the fruit, or in the leaves themselves,
they are the product of the green cells, which attain their greatest develop-
ment in the expanded leaves.

THE FLOWER.

Having studied the organs by which plants develop and exist as individ-
uals, we have next to consider those engaged in the process of reproduction.

At an established period in every flowering plant's life, the terminal or
axillary buds cease to produce leaves, their leaflets imdergoing a transfor-
mation by which they become reproductive organs. A bud in this trans-
formed condition is termed a flower- bud, and when fully expanded be-
comes a flower.

We have already seen that leaf-buds are not scattered hap-hazard along
the stem, but are arranged in a fixed, determinate manner ; now, as flower-
buds are but transformed leaf-buds, we are prepared to find them also oc-
cupying fixed positions. This arrangement of flowers is termed inflo-
rescence, and demands a brief examination before proceeding to the
consideration of the structure of the flower.

In some plants only the buds terminating the main stem and branches
are transformed into flowers ; in others, only the axillary ; in others still,
but much more rarely, the flowers are both axillary and terminal.

When the flowers are all terminal the inflorescence is termed deter-
minate; when they are all axillary it is termed indeterminate, because
so long as the terminal bud continues to produce leaves with buds in their
axils, flowers follow as a matter of course, and their number is indefinite.

The organs of inflorescence are bracts, peduncle, pedicel, and
receptacle.

B racts are altered leaves from the axils of which the floral axes spring ;
they may be foliaceous, membranous, scarious, or petaloid (colored). Sec-
ondary bracts — that is, those at the base of secondary divisions of a floral
axis — are termed bract lets.

Apeduncleisa branch directly terminated by a flower ; and its ex-
tremity, usually more or less enlarged, upon which the floral organs proper
are seated, is the receptacle.

A pedicel is a secondary peduncle, or in other words, the stalk upon
which an individual flower of a branching inflorescence is situated.

Indeterminate inflorescence presents five well-marked forms,
termed the raceme, corymb, umbel, spike, and head, each of which
is subject to various modifications.

26

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

A raceme is an inflorescence in which nearly equal secondary axes
rise along the primary one ; it is simple when the secondary axes termi-
nate in a single flower (Fig. 38) ; compound when they branch before

Fig. 38. — Simple raceme of the red currant.

FlQ. 39.— Corymb of a cherry.

flowering. A compound raceme is termed a panicle. A panicle of an
ovoid shape, having the central pedicels longer than the outer, is called a
thyrse.

Fig. 40.— a compound corymb.

A corymb resembles a raceme, but has its lower pedicels longer than
the upper ones, thus bringing the flowers upon a level with each other. It
may be simple (Fig. 39) or compound (Fig. 40).

An umbel has its secondary axes diverging from the same point, like

THE PLOWEE.

27

Fig. 42. — A compound umbel.

Fig. 43. — A simple Fig. 44. — A compound
spike. Epike.

28

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

the ribs of an umbrella. It is simple when the secondary axes bear
flowers (Fig. 41) ; compou nd when they divide before flowering (Fig. 42).
In the latter case the ultimate clusters of flowers are termed umbel lets,
or partial umbels.

In compound umbels the bracts at the base constitute the involucre,
and those at the base of the umbeUets the involucel, or partial in-
volucre.

Fio. 45.— A panicle.

A spike is an inflorescence in which the flowers are sessile on the
primary axis (Fig. 43). It is compound when secondary axes rise from the
primary one and bear sessile flowers (Fig. 44). In many cases these pedi-
cels are long and form panicles (Fig. 45).

Catkins (Figs. 46 and 47) and cones are forms of spikes in which
the flowers are incomplete, as will appear later.

A head is an inflorescence in which the primary axis is depressed

THE FLOWER.

29

vertically, being at the same time broadened, and having the flowers more
or less thickly crowded together upon a common receptacle, which, in fact,
the depressed primary axis becomes. Here the outer bracts, commonly
numerous, constitute the involucre, and the inner ones — that is, those
about the individual flowers— are reduced to chaffy scales or bristles.

Fig. 46,— Stiiminate catkin of willow.

Fig. 47. — Pistillate catkin of willow.

In all these forms of inflorescence the lower or outer flowers expand
first, and the upper or inner last. There is, therefore, a movement from
the circumference toward the centre, and hence the inflorescence is
termed centripetal.

Fig. 49.— Vertical Kection of same.

Fig. 48.— a head (compound flower).

Determinate inflorescence is much simpler and presents fewer
different forms. It comprises the cyme, fascicle, and glomerule.

A cyme is commonly a flat-topped flower-cluster, like a corymb, only
it is produced in a different manner (Fig. 50). It presents several different
forms.

30

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

The primary axis may terminate in a single flower, from whose axils
two secondai-y axes proceed, each terminating in a flower, with other
tertiary axes, and so on. This is a dichotomous (forked) cyme.

Again, the primary axis terminating in a flower, subtended by a single
bract, from its axil proceeds a secondary axis terminating in like manner ;
from its axil a tertiary, and so on. In this manner is produced the
scorpoid cyme or raceme, which seems to unroll as flowering pro-
ceeds (Fig. 51).

Fig. 50.— a cyme.

Fig. 51.— a scorpoid cyme or raceme.

In other cases still the cyme assumes a spicate or umbellate form.

Both the fascicle and glomerule are of a cymose character. In the
former the axes are somewhat lengthened and are regularly distributed ;
in the latter they are almost suppressed and very irregular.

In determinate inflorescence the central flower always expands first, and
the outer or lower flowers follow in regular succession, so that there is a
movement from the centre toward the circumference ; hence this form of
inflorescence is termed centrifugal.

THE FLOWER. 31

Mixed inflorescence is that in which both the determinate and
indeterminate appear. In labiate plants the general inflorescence is inde-
terminate, while the separate heads arc axillary cymes or fascicles.

There are other altogether irregular forms of inflorescence, which,
however, do not require our attention.

The floral organs comprise those which are essential to reproduction,
namely, stamens and pistils, and those which envelop the essential
organs, namely, calyx and corolla. All these organs are enfolded in the
bud, each kind in a separate whorl or circle by itself. .

The calyx is the external envelope of the flower. It is commonly
green, like the leaves, though occasionally colored (petaloid), and is com-
posed of from two to six or more leaflets, termed sepals, each separate
and distinct or all more or less united.

Fio. 52,— A polysepalous calyx. FiQ. 53. — A mono- or gamo- Fig. 54.— Irregular (petaloid)

sepalous calyx. calyx of aconite.

When the sepals are distinct the calyx is termed polysepalous (Fig.
52) ; when they are united it is termed mono- or gamosepalous (Fig.
53). The monosepalous calyx is commonly more or less cut or divided
from the margin downward ; in such cases the imdivided portion is termed
the tube, the free border the limb, and the point where these meet the
throat. The separate portions of the limb are often spoken of as lobes,
or teeth. It should be borne in mind, however, that in the early stage of
the development of the calyx the sepals are always distinct ; hence a
gamosepalous calyx is one in which the sepals have grown together, in
whole or in part, its teeth or lobes alone remaining to show the number of
the original sepals.

The calyx is regular when its sepals are all alike (Figs. 52 and 53) ;
irregular when some of them are different in form from the others (Fig.
54). It is deciduous when it falls away after the fertilization of the
flower ; caducous when it falls as the flower expands ; persistent when
it remains until the fruit matures.

The corolla is the inner floral envelope. It is commonly colored,
and in this respect is in strong contrast with the calyx. Its separate
leaflets are termed petals, and, like the sepals, they may be more or less

32

ELEMENTS OP BOTANY.

numerous, and each separate and distinct, or all may be wholly or partly
united.

When the petals are distinct the corolla is termed poly petal o us
(Fig. 55); when they are united it is termed mono- or gamopetalous
(Fig. 56). In the gamopetalous corolla there is the same distinction of
tube, throat, limb, and lobes as in the gamosepalous calyx, and it is de-
veloped in the same manner — by the fusion of originally distinct leaflets.
It may likewise be regular (Figs. 55 and 56) or iiTcgular (Figs. 57 and 58),
and though commonly deciduous, it is sometimes withering-persistent
— that is, withering but not falling away from the maturing fruit. In
short, the corolla is very like the calyx, save that it is much more delicate
in structure, more beautiful in form, and often most exquisitely colored.

Fig. 55. — Polypetalous corolla of a wild rose.

Fig. 56.— Monopetalous
corolla and monosepalous
calyx of tobacco.

Fig. 57.— Irregular co-
rolla of aconite.

It is not unfrequently absent ; then the flower is called apetalous. In
this case the calyx is often colored like a corolla, and therefore well sup-
pHes its place. But in many plants both calyx and corolla are wanting ;
then the flowers are termed naked.

The essential floral organs, as remarked above, are the stamens and j^is-
tils. The stamens are variable in number, and commonly form a circle
within the corolla if this be present, or in its absence within the calyx.
They are the fertilizing organs, or, according to the former ideas of the
sexuality of plants, they supply the male element in the process of repro-
duction.

A stamen consists of two parts, an anther and a stalk or filament
upon which this is supported (Fig. 59). The anther is the only essential
part, and this may be and often is sessile. It consists of two cells, di-
vided from each other vertically by a septum, each opening at maturity and
yielding a cellular, powdery substance — the pollen, which is the fertilizing

THE FLOWER.

3a

element. Anthers are extremely varied in form in different plants, and are
attached to their filaments in a variety of ways.

An anther is innate when attached by its base to the apex of the
filament; ad n ate when attached by one face to the side of the filament;
versatile when attached at its middle point so as to turn easily ; when it
is fixed to the side of the filament which looks toward the pistil it is
introrse ; and when fixed to the other side it is extrorse.

As intimated above, the filament is of minor importance. It is varied
in size and length, and is not unfrequently absent altogether.

The stamens may also be each separate and distinct, or they may be
more or less united. They are m O n ad e I p h 0 U S when united by their fila-
ments into one set; diadelphous in two sets; polyadelphous in
several sets; and syngenesious when united into one set by their
anthers, as in the Composited (Figs. 60 and 61).'

Pig. 58. — Irregular flower of sage. Enlarged.

FiQ. 59.— Common forms of stamens and anthers.

The pistils are the organs which are fertilized and bear the seeds.
Their position is in the centre of the flower ; like the other floral organs,
tlieir number is variable — there may be one or many.

A pistil may commonly be distinguished into three parts, namely, the
ovary, the style, and the stigma (Fig. 62). Of these the first and last
are always present, but the style may be absent, in which case the stigma
is sessile upon the ovary.

The ovary, as its name indicates, is the organ which contains the-
ovules or rudimentary seeds ; the stigma is the part upon which the pol-
len is deposited ; and the style the intervening portion.

The pistil exhibits an almost endless variety of forms ; hence it is diffi-
cult to characterize it in such general terms as we are obliged to employ
in this place.

' For further details regarding compound flowers, see Compositos.
3

34

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

Bearing in mind, however, that all the floral organs are but trans-
formed leaflets of leaf-buds, it is not difficult to understand the structui'e
of the pistiL Let us take, for example, a pea-pod, which is only a simple
pistil that has been fertihzed and undergone subsequent development,
without any essential change of form. Split it open on the side to which
the seeds are attached and spread it out as neai'ly flat as possible. We ob-
serve, then, that it has the general form of a leaf with a stalk like a petiole^
and a mid-vein which continues to the apex, while on the margins are placed
the seeds. Now this pod is but an altered leaflet, which was folded in-
ward and tmited at the margins, and had developed along this line of

Fig. 62,— a pistil.

o is the ovnry, sty.

__ „. the style, Uig. the

no. 61.-A ray floret of a head ^^.^^^ ^^^ ^^^^.^.

(compouud flower). ^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^.;

ceptacle (r), which
terminates the pe-
duncle (jj).

Fig. 60.— a disk or tubular floret of a head (compound flower), showing the anthers united into one set
(syngenesious). Magnified.

imion a number of ovules. At the apex the stigma was placed, and
through this fertihzation was effected, as will be seen later. Such is the
general plan upon which the simple pistil is constructed ; but as the
leaves of plants exhibit an endless variety of forms, so naturally would the
leaflets whose transformations produce pistils, and hence the pistils also.
Again, the pistils are very often compound — that is, made up of from two to
many simple ones grown together. Suppose, for example, a circle of five
leaflets stand in the centre of a bud, which are to be transformed into a
compound pistil. The margins of each would be folded in and united, to
form simple pistils ; then the sides of each, coalescing with those of its

THE FLOWER.

35

neighbors, would result in a, compound five-celled ovary. Suppose them
united to each other from base to apex, and one common stigma might do
for all ; let union take place only half way up, and there would be a com-
pound ovary, but with five styles and five stigmas. The pistils of fetid
hellebore (Fig. 63) are united at the base only, and are considered simple
by some, compound by others.

Of the pollen and ovules little need be said here, save that they have a
strict analogy with the fertilizing element and the ovule of animal repro-
duction. Both exhibit a great variety of forms.

Fig. 03.— Pistils of fetid hellebore
united at the base.

Pig. 64.— a lily. Parts of the flower in threes (S-meroua).

Having thus briefly considered the organs which compose the flower,
^ve will now examine their numerical disposition and their arrangement
upon the receptacle.

In exogenous plants the parts of the flowers are commonly in fives or
fourn, or in multiples of those numbers ; and however much they may
differ in this respect, the}^ are never completely in threes. In endogenous
plants, on the contrary, the habitual arrangement is in threes. This
should be borne in mind, since it is another prominent and characteristic
mark of difference between these two great divisions of flowering plants.

In speaking of a flower in respect to the numerical arrangement of its
parts, it is said to be 3-merous, 4--merous, or 5-merous (Figs. 64,
65, and m).

But here, as elsewhere in plant life, there is endless diversity. A strictly
5-merous flower should have five sepals, five petals, five stamens, and five
pistils, or multiples of this number. Now, in reality such a flower is rare.
It would be much easier to find one with five sepals, five petals, ten sta-

36

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

mens, and one 5-celled ovary ; or a 4-merous flower with two sepals,
four petals, sixteen to twenty-four stamens, and a 1-celled ovary. In fact,
in exogenous plants the numerical arrangement, though commonly in fives
or fours, presents tdmost innumerable exceptions — some, indeed, in which
the exact plan is scarcely discernible ; but, be it remembered, it is never
completely in threes. In endogenous plants, however, the arrangement by
threes is much more uniform and the exceptions much more rare.

Fig. 65.— a flower of the common lilac—
4-merous.

Fig. 66. — Five-merous flower of a geranium.

We have seen that the calyx and corolla may be regular or irregular,
and that both stamens and pistils are subject to variations also. Another
form of irregularity requires attention.

In many plants there is an imperfection in the flowers, some of them
being without stamens, others without pistils. These imperfect flowers
may be upon the same plant, or upon different individuals of the same
species (Figs. 46 and 47). The common ailanthus, so largely used as a

Fig. 67. — Pistil of the vine with hypogynous
Btamena. The corolla and calyx (also hypogy-
nous) removed. Enlarged.

Fig. 68.— Superior ovary of the poppy.

shade-tree, has flowers with stamens only (staminate) on one individual,
and those with pistils only {pistillate) on another. Such plants are termed
dioecious; while those with both kinds upon the same individual are
termed rfionoecious. Still others have not only perfect flowers — that is,
those with both stamens and pistils — but these imperfect staminate and
pistillate flowers also ; such plants are termed polygamous.

THE FLOWEE.

37

To sum up the irregularities of flowers as they actually exist, let almost
any one be compared with a typical flower, which is perfect, having both
kinds of essential organs; complete, having all the sorts of organs
which any flower possesses, namely, calyx, corolla, stamens, and pistils ;
regular, all parts of each set being alike ; symmetrical, with the same
number of parts in each set.

The aiTangement of the floral organs upon the receptacle next demands
attention.

The calyx is commonly attached to the lower border of the receptacle ;

Fig.

J. — Perigynous stamens and petals
of the peach.

Fig. 70.

-Perigynous s-tamens and petals of the
wild rose.

the corolla next above, its petals alternate with or opposite the sepals ;
above the corolla are the stamens, and above these the pistils. In such an
orderly arrangement as this the organs beneath the pistils are said to be
hypogynous, and the pistil, in relation to them, is said to be superior
(Figs. 67 and 68). All the organs in this case are inserted on the re-
ceptacle.

In other cases the calyx and pistil only have direct relation with the
receptacle, the corolla and stamens being inserted on the former ; they are
then said to be perigynous (Figs. 69 and 70). Again, the calyx may be

Fig. 71.— Calyx— superior.

Fig. 72,— Calyx— half-superior.

coherent with the pistil in whole or in part ; in these cases the calyx is
said to be superior or half-superior (Figs. 71 and 72), while the corolla
and stamens are, as before, perigynous. In case the tube of the calyx
ends at the summit of the ovary, its lobes as well as the petals and sta-
mens appearing as if inserted on the ovary, they are termed epigynous.

38

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

FUNCTIONS OF THE FLOWER.

The only function of the flower which requires our attention is the re-
production of the species.

The manner in which this is accomplished is sufficiently simple, and, to
one acquainted with the phenomena of reproduction in animals, readily
understood.

As the flower expands the anthers expel their pollen through pores or

Fig. 73. — An anther open-
ing by pores or chinks at
the top.

[Fig. 74.— An anther open-
ing by valves.

Fig. 75.— Anthers depositing pollen directly on the stigma, through
which the pollen- tubes are seen passing to the ovules.

valves opened for this purpose (Figs. 73 and 74). The pollen is either shed
directly on the stigma or is carried there by the ^vind or by insects, and
once there it is retained by a glutinous secretion of the stigma (Fig. 75).

From each pollen-cell (Fig. 76) is then protruded a minute tube, the
pollen-iube, which insinuates itself through the stigma, and continuing its

FUNCTIONS OF THE FLOWEE.

3&

growth until it readies an ovule, penetrates this at a minute pore prepared
for its reception, and there deposits its contents (Figs. 77 and 78) ; ferti-
lization is then an accomplished fact, and the pollen and poUen-tube wither
away while the ovary and ovule continue their growth \mtil the fruit is
matured.

Even the most careless observer of plants must have noticed that in

Fig. 76. — Different forms of pollen. Magnified.

many of our common species the fruit often contains abortive or imperfect
seeds. Pea-pods, for example, are often seen with only a single perfect
seed ; and ears of Indian com with half the kernels imperfect are exceed,
ingly common. In these instances and in aU others of like character the
ovules, represented by the imperfect seeds, have failed to be reached by
the fertilizing pollen-tube. Not unfrequently, also, dioecious plants, of

Pig. 77.

-Vertical section of an ovule before
fertilization. Magnified.

Fig. 78. — Vertical section of an ovule after fertili-
zation, with pollen-tube in situ. Magnified.

the pistillate kind, and hence naturally fertile, bear flowers year after year
without producing fruit, much to the bewilderment of their owners. The
cause is not far to seek. Such plants are remote from individuals pro-
ducing staminate flowers, and must of necessity remain barren until this
fault be remedied.

Another point of interest in this connection is the production of
hybrids, by the crossing of related species or varieties.

40

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

Every farmer knows that if two varieties of com, say yellow and white,
be planted side by side, the result will be a great many ears of speckled
corn, those with both white and yellow kernels intermingled. Now, corn
is a monoecious plant, the pollen being j^roduced in vast quantities bj- the
tassels (stamens), while the silk of the ears represent the exposed portions
of the pistils. Naturally two varieties growing side by side will have their
showers of pollen intermingled by the wind, and grains of each falling
upon the silk of the same ear will produce a mixture of different colored
kernels, for the pollen will determine the character of the kernel produced
by the ovule which it fertilizes.

Again, the ]3umpkin and squash are closely related species, and cannot
be grown side by side without hybridization. But, as in the animal king-
dom, the production of hybrids is limited to closely related species or
varieties, and cannot be effected by the crossing of in-
dividuals of widely different genera. Strictly speaking,
the hybrid is the product of the crossing of related
species, but in a wider sense it may, without impro-
priety, be applied in plant life to the crossing of varie-
ties, as in the instance of corn.

THE FRUIT.

The fruit is the fertilized and matured ovary en-
closing the seeds, capable of reproducing the j^lant.
Not unfrequently, also, it comprises the remaining
parts of the pistil, more or less altered, or the enlarged
and variously modified calyx and receptacle.

Fruits are distinguished as simjjle or compound.
A simple fruit consists of a single matured pistil,
whether this be simple or compound, together with its
enclosed seed or seeds, the seed-vessel, termed peri-
carp, being the matured ovary, and the seed the ferti-
lized and matured ovule.

The pericarp is distinguished into three layers,
namely, epicarp (outer layer), endocarp (inner
layer), and mesocarp (middle layer). In many fruits
the mesocarp is very thick and fleshy, and is then
known as the sarcocarp.
There are three principal kinds of simple fruits, fleshy fruits, sto^ne-
fruits, and dry fruits.

In fleshy fruits the whole pericarp thickens and becomes soft in ripen-
ing. Of this kind are the berry, pepo, and pome.

In the berry the flesh is uniformly soft throughout, as in the cur-

FlO. 79.— Currants-
berries.

THE FRUIT.

41

rant (Fig. 79), huckleberry, tomato, and grape. The strawberry, black-
berry, and raspberry are not, botanically, berries, as will appear later.

The pepo is the kind of fruit found in the gourd family ; it is com-
monly hard without and softer within.

The pome finds its type in the apple, in which the mass of tissue is
composed of the thickened, adherent calyx, the thin pods containing the
seeds being the only representatives of the pistil.

The stone-fruit is technically known as a drupe. It comprises an
outer fleshy portion enclosing a stone or putameriy containing the seed
(Figs. 80 and 81).

Dry fruits are those in which the pericarp retains an herbaceous text-
ure during its development, and results in a membranous or hardened
coating to the seed. In some of these the pericarp opens at maturity and

Fig. 80.— Cherries. Example of i
drupe.

Fig. 81.— Vertical section of
a cherry.

Fig. 82. — Achenium of a com-
posite plant.

permits the seeds to escape ; such fruits are termed d e h i sc e nt . In others,
as weU as in all fleshy and stone-fruits, the pericarp remains closed ; these
are termed indehiscent.

Of indehiscent dry fruits a common form is the achenium, or
akene, a 1-seeded fruit, appearing like a seed, but being covered closely
by the pericarp. Of this kind are all the fruits of the composite^ (Fig.
82) and many of the ranunculacece. The real botanical fruit of the straw-
berry is also an achenium, for each of the so-called seeds is an achenium
immersed in the fleshy, edible receptacle (Fig. 83). In the raspberry and
blackberry each grain is a minute berry or stone-fruit surrounded by a
fleshy mass, in the one case separable from the receptacle, in the other
fused with it (Figs. 84 and 85),

The achenia of the compositse are commonly crowned with a tuft of
bristles or hairs, termed the pappus (Fig. 82), designed to favor their

42

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

distribution by the wind. That of the dandelion will serve as an illus-
tration.

The utricle is an achenium with a loose, bladdery pericarp.

Fig. 83. — A strawben-y, showing
the seeds (achenia) immersed in the
fleshy receptacle.

Fig. 84 — A raspberry.

Fig. 85.— a blackberry.

The caryopsis has the pericarp incorporated with the seed, as in
wheat, rye, and Indian corn.

A n Ut is a dry indehiscent fruit with a hard -woody or bony shell, aa
in the acorn, chestnut, and cocoanut. The acorn rests in a cup-shaped in-
volucre, termed the cup, orcupule; the chestnut in a prickly bur.

Fig. 86.— Samara of the maple.

Fig. 87.— Samara of
the ailanthuR.

Fig. SB -Follicle
of aconite.

A samara, or key-fruit, is either a nut or an achenium, or any other
dry fruit furnished with a wing to favor its distribution by the wind. Of
this kind are the fruits of the maple (Fig. 86), elm, tulip tree, and ailan-
thus (Fig. 87).

THE FRUIT.

43

Capsule, or pod, is the general name for dry seed-vessels which split
open at maturity in some regular manner. It presents many different
forms.

The follicle is the fruit of a simple pistil which splits along its inner
suture — that is, the suture formed by the united edges of the leaflet which
formed the pistil (Fig. 88).

The legume splits along both sutures, as we see in the bean and pea
(Fig. 89). It is common to a large order of plants, the leguminosoi.

The true capsule is the product of a compound pistil. It may be one
or many-celled, and may discharge its seeds through chinks or pores, as in

A

/

Fig. 89.— Legume of
the pea.

Fig. 90.— Capsule of poppy.

Fig. 91.— a silique.

the poppy (Fig. 90), or burst irregularly, or, as is most common, open by
valves.

Dehiscence by valves is loculicidal when the pod splits down the back
of each cell; septicidal when the cells first separate from each other
through their partitions and then open along their inner margin.

The silique is the pod found in the cruciferce. It is divided into two
cells by a false partition, and generally opens by two valves from below
upward (Fig. 91).

The si Hole is a short, broad silique, like that of the shepherd's purse.

44

ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

The pyxis is a pod wliicli opens transversely, the upper portion form-
ing a Hd or cover (Fig. 92).

Compound fruits are those resulting from many blossoms aggregated
into one mass. The most common form is the strobile, or cone, the
fruit of the comferce.

The cone is composed of open pistils, commonly in the form of flat
scales, regularly overlying each other, and all pressed together into a coni-
cal shape (Fig. 93). Each scale bears one or two seeds on its inner sur-

FiG. 92. — Pyxis, of henbane.

Fig. 93.— a pine cone.

face. When mature and dry the scales diverge and permit the seeds to
escape.

In some plants the scales forming the cone become fleshy and more
or less united to each other, so as to form a fruit resembling a berry ; of
such a character are the cones of juniper, commonly known as juniper
berries.

THE SEED.

Ovules which have been fertilized and undergone subsequent develop-
ment become seeds.

The seed consists of a kernel covered by an integument. The integu-
ment or seed-coat is divisible into two layers, an external often hard and
crustaceous, termed the testa, and an internal one, which is thin and
deHcate.

The testa sometimes fits the kernel closely, as in the bean ; again, it
is expanded into a wing (Fig. 94) or is tufted with long, soft hairs, as in

THE SEED.

45

the milk- weed, or with more delicate fibres, as in cotton (Fig. 95). Some
seeds have an additional covering, more or less expanded in form, termed
an aril I us, or aril ; of such character is the mace of nutmeg and the
scarlet pulp enclosing the seeds of the woody bitter-sweet (Celastrus scan-
dens), so much used for winter decoration.

All the expansions of the external seed-coat are evidently designed to
favor the distribution of the seeds.

The scar left where the seed-stalk separates is termed the hilum ; the
minute orifice through which the pollen-tube entered, now closed up, is
termed the micropyle.

The kernel is the essential part of the seed. In many seeds it is all
embryo — that is, a minute folded-up plantlet ; in others it comprises not

Fig. 94.— Winged seeti of the pine.

Fig. 95.— Cotton seed.

only the embryo, but a mass of nourishing matter in which this is im-
bedded, termed the albumen.

The albumen is composed of starch, gluten, oily matters, etc., and is
designed to nouiish the young plantlet during the early stages of its de-
velopment, before its roots have taken firm hold of the soil. It should be
borne in mind that this diltfers in every essential particular from animal
albumen.

The embryo, or germ, is the embryo plantlet whose development we
have studied in the bean and Indian corn. It is distinguishable into three
parts, namely, (1) the radicle, called also and more properly the caul id e,
or rudimentary stem, to one end of which are attached (2) the cotyle-
dons, or seed-leaves, between which is the rudimentary bud termed the
(3) plumule, while the other end becomes the descending axis.

And here we leave this branch of our subject, having outlined, in a gen-
eral way, the history of flowering plants from their germination in the seed
to their reproduction in seed again.

From this history that of flowerless or cryptogamous plants
differs in many essential particulars, but most of all in their earliest and
latest stages, in germination, and in reproduction. This subject cannot be

46 ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

entered into in detail here, for however active cryptogamous plants may
be in the causation of disease — and surely this is a vexed question just
now — they are not, as a rule, particulai'ly efficacious in its cure, at least
so far as our present knowledge goes.

Of the lowest orders we shall say nothing save that their life history is
similai- to that of the lowest orders of the animal kingdom, being, in fact,
nothing but the history of single cells.

The highest orders, termed acrogenous cryptogams, have a dis-
tinct axis, growing from its apex only, containing woody tissue and vessels,
and usually with some foUage. They are destitute of true flowers, but pro-
duce, instead of seeds, minute bodies termed spores. From these spores
ai-e produced new plants, but in a manner altogether different from the
germination of the seed of a flowering plant. In the first place, from the
spores are developed organs analogous to stamens and pistils ; the latter
being fertilized by the former, a new plantlet is the result. In other
words, reproduction is not finally accomplished by the jDarent plant,
though the materials for its accomplishment are fully prepared.

To this class belong very few medicinal species, male fern [Aspidium
Filix-mas), shield fern {Aspidium marginale), and club-moss (Lycopodium)
being the only ones indigenous to North America.

CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS.

The unit of classification in vegetable as in animal life is the species ;
and a knowledge of all known species would, in one sense, comprise the
knowledge of the whole vegetable kingdom. But as species indicates a
relationship of individuals, so different species bear relationship to each
other, and groups of species relationships to other groups, and so on until
the entire vegetable kingdom is included.

An illustration will best serve to define a species. Take, for example,
peppermint. We have here a plant of a certain aspect, with stem, leaves,
flowers, and fruit to a certain extent peculiar to itself. The seed of one
individual or of a thousand will produce plants of essentially the same
character, year after year, generation after generation. We might plant
beside this another of somewhat similar aspect, spearmint, and this would
also reproduce itself generation after generation without change. There
would never be an intermingling of the two ; the seed of the one would
never produce the other, but each would always reproduce itself. Now,
then, all the individual peppermint plants existing are the direct descend-
ants of others which preceded them, and those of others still, and we can
reasonably trace the chain backward to one common ancestor. The sama
with spearmint. To express this history of a plant we use the term
species, signifying all individuals descended from a common stock.
Hence the species pepj)ermint comprises all the individuals having its pe-

CLASSIFICATION OF PLANTS. 47

culiar characteristics, and the species spearmint all the individual mints of
this kind.

But these two species bear an evident relationship to each other, as
evinced by their square stems, opposite leaves, peculiar flowers and seeds,
as well as in their similar but distinct aromatic properties. This relation-
ship is expressed by the term genus, which signifies a group of related
species.

But if we investigate a little further we shall find many other plants
having a general resemblance to these two mints in their manner of
growth, mode of flowering, etc. Take catnip, for example. Here w^e find
the square stem, opposite leaves, and a similar mode of flowering, but still
some well-marked differences wliich have placed it in another genus. But
these two genera have still marks of relationship which place them, to-
gether with many other genera, in a still greater group termed an order.
Nor do we stop here, for we have seen that a plant may have polypetalous,
gamopetalous, or apetalous flowers, and obviously orders of polypetalse are
more nearly related to each other than to gamopetalse or apetalse ; hence
orders are grouped in divisions. And again, the three divisions of poly-
petalse, gamopetalse, and apetalae, being found in exogenous plants, are
more nearly related to each other than to endogenous plants ; hence
the distinction of classes. But the two classes of flowering plants are
yet more nearl}' related to each other than to flowei'less plants, and an-
other term, sub-kingdom, is required to express that fact.

To express this grouping of plants in a natural way w^e have : Sub-
kingdom. Class. Division. Order. Genus. Species.

In this system of classification the order, genus, and species has each its
distinctive name. Names of orders are often derived from some well-
marked characteristic of the plants composing it, as labiatce, an order
characterized by labiate flowers ; leguminosce, having fruit in the form of a
legume ; crucifene, having flowers in the form of a cross. Often, again,
they are derived from that of some genus which they include whose name
was established before this classification was introduced, as magnoliacece,
from magnolia ; r an unculacece, from rsmunculus ; rosacecSj from rose ; sola-
nacece, from solanum, etc.

The generic name is in many instances of ancient origin ; in other in-
stances it has been derived from names of individuals or from some
structural peculiarity, etc.

The specific name most commonly characterizes some structural feature :
Gentiana quinqueflora (Jive-flowered G.), G. crinita {fringed G.), etc. It not
unfrequently commemorates some individual or country, as Gentiana An-
drewsii (Andrews' gentian), Cornus Canadensis, etc., and is then commonly
written with an initial capital.

To illustrate the manner in which these names are employed, we will
make use of a single example. The order GENTiANACEiE includes all plants

48 ELEMENTS OF BOTANY.

in the known world having the general structure of a gentian, comprising
many genera, as gentiana, sabbatia, frasera, etc.

The genus gentiana includes all the gentians, and their names are
"written thus :

Gentiana quinqueflora Lamarch — Five-flowered gentian.

Gentiana crinita Froelich — Fringed gentian.

Gentiana Andrewsii Grisebach — Andrews' gentian, etc.

The words Lamarck, Froelich, and Grisebach being the names of the
botanists who described the plants and gave them their specific names.

Such is a brief outHne of the classification of plants at present em-
ployed. It is variously modified to suit circumstances, but these modifi-
cations do not require our attention here. There is, however, one point
which requires a passing glance. In speaking of species, these were
treated of as being absolutely distinctive. Now, in reality this is far from
the fact, for often species — as described — are difficult to distinguish one
from another. Again, the same species may present plants of, in some re-
spects, different aspects ; as for example, a plant whose flowers are habitu-
ally blue may produce individuals ^\\i\\ white flowers. Now when such
variations from the specific standard tend to reproduce themselves year
after year, they are termed varieties ; hence we not unfrequently see the
specific name followed by the word variety and another name, as Anemone
patens Linne, var. Nuttalliana Gray, signifying that the plant is a variety of
anemone patens as characterized by Linne, which variety was named for
Nuttall and described by Gray.

The plants of any region or country arranged systematically according
to this — or any other — system of classification is termed the flora of that
region or country, and such a flora is of immense service to the student
who wishes to familiarize himself with the plants about him. With this
flora before him and an unknown plant in his hand, he is enabled to trace
out analytically, step by step, the relationship of the unknown with the
known, and finally to fix the plant's specific location.

We will suppose him with a flowering plant in his hand, but one which
he has never seen before. He begins by ascertaining whether it be ex-
ogenous or endogenous ; if exogenous, whether polypetalous, gamopeta-
lous, or apetalous ; and then whether it bear evident relationship to plants
of any order with which he is familiar. If not, he must search through
the characters of orders until he can fix its ordinal location, then its ge-
neric place, and finally its specific name. For facilitating such analyses arti-
ficial keys are supplied in most published floras.

A medical flora, such as is attempted in the second part of this volume,
is an orderly arrangement of the medicinal plants of any region or country.
Obviously a key cannot readily be availed of in such a work, for, to be of
any service, it must be capable of application to all the plants which the
territory includes.

GLOSSARY

OK

DICTIONARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS.

(COMBINED WITH AN INDEX.)

Amulescentj without an apparent stem —

the true leaf- and flower-bearing stem

being short or subterranean.
Acfienium (or akene), a dry 1-seeded fruit,

Fig. 82, p. 41.
Acicular^ needle-shaped.
Acrogenous, growing only from the sum-
mit, as the stems of ferns and mosses.
A:iuleate^ armed with prickles.
Acuminate, taper-pointed.
Acute^ sharp-pointed.
Adruite (anther), attached by one face to

the side of the filament, p. 33.
Adventitious roots^ p. 6.
Adventitious roots of paradtic plants^ Fig.

13, p. 7.
Air-plants^ those nourished by aerial roots,

p. 9.
Akene (or achenium), a dry 1-seeded fruit.

Fig. 82, p. 41.
Alate^ winged.
Albumen^ p. 45.
Alburnum, sap-wood, p. 15.
Alternate^ one after another, as alternate

leaves.
Alveolate, like honeycomb.
Androicium, a collective name for the

stamens.
Annual, a plant which germinates from

the seed, produces flowers and fruit, and

dies the same season, p. 9.
Annual rings (of wood). Fig. 19, p. 14.
4

Antlier, the essential part of the stamen,
Figs. 59, 73, 74, p. 32.

Apetalous, without a corolla, p. 32.

Aphyllous, destitute of leaves.

Appressed, in close contact but not united.

Arboreous (or arborescent), tree-like.

Arillus (or aril), a fleshy, false coating to
the seed, p. 45.

Aristate, armed with a bristle-like point.

Articulation, the joint at which a part sepa-
rates, as the petiole from the stem, p.
20.

Ascending stem, one which arises obliquely,
p. 10.

Assurgent, ascending.

Awn, a bristle-like appendage.

Axil, the angle on the upper side between
the leaf and stem.

AxiUary bud, a bud placed in the axil of a
leaf. Axillary buds often remain dor-
mant indefinitely ; when they begin to
grow they become terminal buds, i.e.,
buds terminating growing branches, p.
10.

Baccate, like a berry.
Barbate, bearded.
Bark, p. 15.

Bast-ceUs, the long wood-cells of bark, p. 15.
Beaked, ending in a beak or narrow tip.
Bean, its structure and germination. Figs.
1-5, p. 2.

-0

GLOSSARY OR DICTIONARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS.

Berry ^ a fruit pulpy or juicy throughout,
Fig. 79, p. 40.

Bicarinate., two-keeled.

BidentatCy with two teeth.

Biennuil, a plant which germinates from
the seed one season and produces flowers
and fruit and dies the next, p. 9.

Bifd, two-cleft.

Bifoliate^ with two leaflets.

BUabiate, two-lipped.

Bdocular, two-celled.

Bipartite, two-parted.

Bipinnate, twice pinnate, Fig. 31, p. 21.

Biserrate, doubly serrate, as when the teeth
of a serrate leaf are themselves serrate.

I^,ad6 (or lamina), the expanded portion
of a leaf, p. 17.

Bracts, the leaves of inflorescence, p. 25.

Bractlets (or bracteoles), secondary bracts.

Brandies (and stem), p. 9.

Buds and leaves, p. 17.

Bulb, a short, usually scaly and subter-
ranean stem, Figs. 16-18, p. 11.

Caducous, falling off quickly, p. 31.

Ccespitose, growing in tufts.

Calyx, the external floral envelope, p. 31.

Cambium layer, p. 15.

Canaliculate, channelled.

Cancellate, resembling lattice-work.

Canescent, grayish-white, hoary.

Capitate, head-like.

Capsvle (or pod), a dry seed-vessel which

splits open in a regular manner, p. 43.
Carina, a keel.
Carinate, keeled.
Carpel, a simple pistil or one division of a

compound pistil.
Caruncle, an excrescence at the scar of

some seeds.
Caryopsis, a fruit having the pericarp in-
corporated with the seed, p. 42.
■Catkin (orament). Figs. 46, 47, p. 28.
■Caudate, tailed.
Caulide (or radicle), the stem part of the

embryo, p. 45.
•Cauline, belonging to the stem, as cauline

leaves.
Chlorophyll, the green coloring matter of

plants, p. 24.
Cinereous, ashy-gray.
Circinate, rolled inward from the top.

Class (of plants), p. 47.

Clarification of plants, p. 46.

Claw, the narrow, stalk-like base of some
petals.

Cleft, cut more than half-way to the base,
p. 19.

Climbing, rising by clinging to other ob-
jects. Plants climb in many different
ways : by twining, by means of adven-
titious roots, by tendrils, by the petioles
of the leaves, etc.

Column, the united stamens, or stamens
and pistils of some plants.

Complete (flower), having calyx, corolla,
stamens, and pistils, p. 37.

Compound leaf, Fig. 30, p. 20.

Compressed, flattened on opposite sides.

Concentric rings (of wood), Fig. 19, p. 14.

Cone, the fruit of the Coniferm, Fig. 93,
p. 44.

Connate, leaves united about the stem, p.
23.

Contracted, narrowed or shortened.

Coriaceous, leathery.

Corm, a fleshy bulb, p. 12.

Corolla, the inner floral envelope, p. 31.

Cortical, pertaining to the bark {cortex).

Corymb, a sort of flat or convex flower-
cluster, Figs. 39, 40, p. 26.

Cotyledons (or seed-leaves), the first leaves
of the embryo, Figs. 1-3, pp. 2, 45.

Crenate, scalloped, Fig. 28, p. 19.

Cryptogamous (or flowerless)^Z«/ife, p. 45.

Cuneate, wedge-shaped.

Cup (or cupule), the involucre in which
an acorn rests, p. 42.

Cuspidate, armed with a small cusp, or
tooth.

Cyme, a sort of flat-topped flower-cluster,
Fig. 50, p. 29.

Decandrous, with ten stamens.

Deciduous, falling off, as leaves which fall
in autumn, p. 22.

Declined, turned to one side.

Decompound, several or many times com-
pounded or divided, p. 21.

Decw'rent (leaves), prolonged down the
stem.

Definite, a fixed number.

Dehiscent (fruits) ; opening at maturity,
p. 41.

GLOSSARY OR DICTIONARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS.

51

Dentate, toothed, Fig. 28, p. 19.
Depressed, flattened vertically.
Determinate inflorescence, p. 25.
DkidelpJious (stamens), united hy their

filaments into two sets, p. 82.
Diandrous, having two stamens.
Dichotomous, forked.
Didynamous, having four stamens in two

pairs, one of which is shorter than the

other.
Difjitately reined, p. 19.
Dlgynous, having two pistils or styles.
Dicecious (plants \ those which have stam-

inate and pistillate flowers on different j

individuals, Figs. 46, 47, p. 36.
Dissepiments, the partitions of an ovary or

fruit.
Didded, cut to the base, p. 20.
Division (of plants), p. 47.
Drupe, a stone-fruit, p. 41.
Ducts (or vessels). Fig. 23, p. 14.
Du7'amen, heart-wood, p. 15.

Echinate, armed with prickles.

Emarcjinate, notched at the apex.

Embryo (or germ), the rudimentary plant-
let in the seed, p. 45.

Endocarp, the inner layer of the pericarp,
p. 40.

Endogenous plants, without distinction of
bark, wood, and pith, Fig. 25, p. 16.

Ensiform, sword-shaped.

Entire, the margins not toothed or indent-
ed.

Epicarp, the outer layer of the pericarp,
p 40.

Epidermis, the outer covering or skin.

Epifjynous, upon the ovary, p. 37.

Equally pinnate, with leaflets in pairs, p.
20.

Erect stem, one growing straight up, p.
10.

Erosr, eroded, appearing as if gnawed.

Essential floral ojr/ans, those necessary to
reproduction, namely, stamens and pis-
tils, p. 32.

Exogenous plants, with bark, wood, and
pith, each distinct. Fig. 19, p. 12.

Exstipulate, without stipules.

Extrorse (anther), fixed to the side of the
filament which looks away from the pis-
til, p. 33.

Falcate, scythe-shaped.

Fascicle, a close cluster, p. 30.

Fascicled roots, those which grow in a bun-
dle or cluster, p. 5.

Filament, the part of the stamen which
supports the anther, p. 32.

Flavescent, yellowish, or turning yellow.

Fleshy fruits, p. 40.

Flora, the plants of a district or country,
or a systematic arrangement and descrip-
tion of them.

Floral organs, p. 31.

Flower, p. 25.

Flower-hud, p. 25,

Flowerless (or cryptogamous) plants, p. 45.

Foliaceous, leaf-like.

Follicle, a fruit which opens along its inner
suture. Fig. 88, p. 43.

Footstalk (or petiole), the stem of a leaf,
p. 17.

Foveate, deeply pitted.

Fruit, p. 40.

Functions of leaves, p. 24.

Functions of roots, p. 8.

Functions of stem and branches, p. 16.

Functions of tliefioimr, p. 38.

Fusiform, spindle-shaped.

Galeate, helmet-shaped.

Gamopetalous, monopetalous, p. 32.

Gamosepalous, monosepalous, p. 31.

Geniculate, bent like a knee.

Genus, p. 47.

Germ (or embryo), the rudimentary plant-
let in the seed, p. 45.

Glabrous, smooth.

Glands, small cellular organs which secrete
oily, resinous, or other products.

Glaucous, covered with a bloom— a fine
white powdery coating which rubs ofE, as
the bloom of a grape.

Glomerule, a dense head-like cluster, p. 30.

Gymnospermous, naked-seeded.

Gyncecium, a collective name for the pis-
tils.

Gynandrous, with stamens and pistils
j united.

I Habitat, the situation in which a plant
j grows without cultivation.
Hairs, hair-like appendages on the surface
I of plants.

52

GLOSSARY OR DICTIONARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS.

JIalf-aupenor (calyx), partially enclosing

the ovary, Fig. 72, p. 37.
IlasUite, halberd-shaped.
Head, the inflorescence of the so-called

compound flowers. Figs. 48, 49, p. 28.
Heart-icood (or duramen), the older, often

colored wood of exogenous stems.
Ilerh, a plant which dies altogether, or

down to the ground, after maturing its

fruit,
HerbaceouSy having the texture of an herb,

i.e., with little woody tissue, p. 12.
Hilum, the scar on the seed marking its

former attachment to the seed-vessel,

pp. 2, 45.
Hoary, grayish-white.
Ham, a spur or other like appendage.
Hybrid, a cross-breed, p. 39.
HypogynouSy inserted below the pistils,

Figs. 67, 68, p. 37.

Imbricate, overlapping one another.
Impari-pinnate, unequally pinnate.
Incanous, hoary with white pubescence.
Indefinite, not i^niform in number, or very

numerous.
Indehiscent (fruit), not opening at maturity,

p. 41.
Indeterminate infiorescence, p. 25.
Indian corn, its structure and germination,

Figs. 6-9, p. 3.
Indigenous, native to the country.
Induplicate, with edges turned inward.
Inflorescence, the arrangement of flowers,

p. 25,
Infundibuliform, funnel-shaped.
Innate (anther), attached by its base to

the apex of the filament, p. 33,
Internode, the space between two nodes or

joints, p. 9.
Introrse (anther), fixed to the side of the

filament which looks toward the pistil,

p, 33.
Inxolucel, the bracts at the base of a partial

umbel, p. 28,
Involucre, a whorl of bracts about the base

of a single flower, an umbel or a head.
Involute, rolled inward from the edges.
Irregular, with like parts dissimilar, as an

irregiilar corolla, one with some of its

petals unlike the others.

Joint (or node), that part of a stem from
which a leaf or leaves spring.

Keel, a projection like the keel of a boat.
Kernel, p. 44.

Lahellum, the odd petal of orchidaceous
plants.

Laciniate, slashed or cut into narrow lobes.

Lanuginoys, cottony or woolly.

Lamina (or blade), the expanded portion
of a leaf, p. 17.

Leaflets, the separate blades of a com-
pound leaf. Fig. 30, p. 20.

Legume, a pod which opens along both su-
tures. Fig. 89, p. 43.

Lenticular, lens-shaped.

Liber, the inner, fibrous bark of exogenous
plants,

Ligule, the strap-shaped corolla of many
compositsB.

Limb, the free border of a monosepalous
calyx or monopetalous corolla, pp, 31, 32.

Linear, narrow and flat.

Lip, the principal lobes of a bilabiate calyx
or corolla.

Lobe, a prominent division, as of a leaf, p.
19.

Loculicidal (dehiscence), opening down the
back of each cell, p. 43.

Lyrate, lyre-shaped.

Medullary rays, cellular tissue connecting
the pith and growing surface of the stem.
Fig, 24, p. 14,

Mesocarp, the middle layer of the pericarp,
p. 40.

Micro2')yle, the closed orifice of the seed, p.
45.

Mid-7'ib, p. 17.

Mid-vein, p. 17.

Mixed inflorescence, p, 31.

Monad elplious (stamens), united by their
filaments into one set, p. 32.

Monandrous (flower), having but one
stamen.

Moniliform, necklace-shaped.

Mon/reiovs (plant\ one with staminate and
pistillate flowers on the same individ-
ual, 1). 30,

Monogynous, having but one pistil.

GLOSSARY OR DICTIONARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS.

53

Monopetalous, with petals more or less
united, Fig. 56, p. 32.

Monosepalous, with sepals more or less unit-
ed, Fig. 53, p. 31.

Mucronate, armed with a small sharp
point.

Multilocular, many-celled.

JSfaked, destitute of both calyx and corolla,

p. 33.
Nertes (of leaves), p. 17.
Net-veined leaves, common to exogenous

plants, p. 18.
Node (or joint), that part of the stem from

which a leaf or leaves spring, p. 9.
Numerical arrangement (flower), Figs. 64-

66, p. 35.
Nut, a dry indehiscent fruit having a

woody or bony shell, p. 42.

Ochroleucous, yellowish-white.

Order (of plants), p. 47.

Ovary ^ the organ which contains the ovules,

Figs. 62, 75, p. 33.
Ovule, the rudimentary seed. Figs. 75, 77,

78, p. 33.

Pahnately compound, p. 20.

Palmately veined, Fig. 18, p. 19.

Panicle, a compound raceme, p. 26.

Pappus, a tuft of bristles or hairs crowning
the achenia of the Cmnpositm, Fig. 82,
p. 41.

Parallel-veined leaves, common to endo-
genous plants, p. 18.

Parietal (placentae), attached to the walls
of the ovary.

Parted, deeply cut, p. 20.

Pedately veined, p. 19.

Pedicel, a secondary peduncle.

Peduncle, a branch terminated by a flower,
p. 25. I

Pentagynous, with five pistils or styles. I

Pentandrous, with five stamens. I

Pepo, the fruit of the gourd family, p. 41.

Perennial, a plant which lives several or
many years, p. 9.

Perfect (flower), having both kinds of es-
sential organs, p 37.

Perfoliate, a leaf which appears to be per- \
forated by the stem. p. 23. j

Perianth, the floral envelopes. I

Pericarp, the matured ovary, or seed-ves-
sel, p. 40.
Perigynous, petals and stamens inserted

upon the calyx. Figs. 69, 70, p. 37.
Petaloid, like a petal or petals, as a peta-

loid calyx.
Petals, the separate leaflets of the corolla,

p. 31.
Petiole (or footstalk), the stem of a leaf, p.

17.
Pilose, hairy.
Pinnae, primary branches of a bipinnate

or tripinnate leaf, p. 21.
Pinnately compound, p. 20.
Pinnately (or feather) xeined^ Fig. 26, p.

18.
Pinnules, secondary branches of a bipin-
nate or tripinnate leaf, p. 21.
Pistil, the organ which is fertilized and

bears the seeds. Fig. 62, p. 33.
Pistillate (flower), one with pistils, but

without stamens. Fig. 47, p. 36.
Pitclier, p. 22.
Pith, the central mass of cellular tissue of

exogenous stems, Figs. 20, 21, p. 13.
Plicate, plaited.
Plumose, feathery,

Plu7nide, the rudimentary bud of the em-
bryo, p. 45.
Pollen, the fertilizing element, Fig. 76,

pp. 32, 38.
PoUen-tube, Figs. 75, 78, p. 38.
Polyadelphous (stamens), united by their

filaments into several sets, p. 33.
Polygamous (plants), having staminate,

pistillate, and perfect flowers on the

same individual, p. 36.
Polypetalous, with petals distinct. Fig. 55,

p. 32.
Polysepalous, with sepals distinct. Fig. 52,

p. 31.
Pome, the apple, pear, and similar fruits,

p. 41.
Prickles, sharp elevations of the bark.
Primary roots, p. 5.
Prostrate stem, one which lies flat on the

ground.
Pihescent, hairy or downy with soft hairs.
Punctate, dotted.

Putamen, the stone of stone-fruits.
Pyxis, a pod which opens transversely. Fig.

92, p. 44.

54

GLOSSARY OR DICTIONARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS.

Raceme, an inflorescence with nearly equal
secondary axes along the primary one,
Fig. 38, p. 2C.

Jiaduite, furnished with ray-flowers.

Hadical, proceeding from the root, as radi-
cal leaves.

Radicle (or caulicle), the stem part of the
embryo, p. 45.

Rctyy the marginal flowers of a head, when
ligulate or different from the others.

Rec€2)tacle, the axis or support of a flower,
p. 25.

Regular (flower), with all parts of each set
alike, p. 37.

Repand, wavy-margined, p. 19.

Retiise, blunted and somewhat indented.

RTiachis, the axis of a spike or other body.

Rhizome (or rootstock), a creeping subter-
ranean stem. Fig. 15, p. 11.

Ribs (of leaves), p. 17.

Ringent, gaping open.

Root, pp. 4, 7.

Root-hairs, Fig. 14, p. 8.

Rootstock (or rhizome), a creeping subter-
ranean stem, Fig. 15, p. 11.

Rostrate, beaked.

Rotation of crops, p. 8.

Runcinate, coarsely saw-toothed.

Runner, a slender prostrate branch, root-
ing at the end or joints.

Samara (or key -fruit), a winged achenium,

Figs. 86, 87, p. 42.
Sarcocarp, a thick, fleshy mesocarp, p.

40.
Scabrous, rough to the touch.
Scales, reduced leaves, p. 17.
Scandent, climbing.
Scape, a peduncle rising from the ground

or near it.
Scarious, thin, dry, and membranous.
Scorpoid cyme (or raceme), Fig. 51, p. 30.
ScuteUate, saucer-shaped.
Secondary roots, p. 6.
Secund, one-sided, as a one-sided raceme.
Seed, p. 44.

Sepals, the separate leaflets of the calyx.
Septicidal (dehiscence), cells first separating

from each other, then opening along

their inner margin, p. 43,
Sericeous, silky.
Serrate, saw-toothed. Fig. 28, p. 19.

Sessile, without a stalk, as a sessile leaf,
one without a petiole, p. 17.

Setaceous, bristle-form.

Slmithing, wrapped about the stem.

Shrvhs, woody plants under about twenty
feet in height, p. 12.

SUicU, a short, broad silique, p. 43.

Silique, the pod of the Cruciferce, Fig. 91,
p. 43.

Simple leaf. Fig. 29, p. 20.

Simple stem, one without branches, p. 10.

Sinuate, strongly wavy, Fig. 28, p. 19.

Spatlie, a bract which enfolds an inflo-
rescence.

Species, p. 46.

Spike, an inflorescence with flowers sessile
on the primary axis, Figs. 43, 44, p. 28.

Spine, a thorn.

Spores, p. 46.

Squarrose, with thickly set scales, leaves,
or other appendages, spreading widely
from the axis.

Stamen^ Fig. 59, p. 32.

Staminate (flower), one with stamens but
without pistils. Fig. 46, p. 36.

Staiulard, the upper petal of a papilionace-
ous flower.

Stem (and branches), p. 9.

Stignui, the part of the pistil on which the
pollen is deposited, Figs. 62, 75, p. 34.

Stipe, the stem of a pistil when it has
any.

Stipulate, furnished with stipules.

Stipules, appendages at the base of certain
leaves. Figs. 32-34, p. 23.

Stomata (stoma, singular), the breathing-
pores of leaves, Figs. 36, 37, p. 24.

Stone fruit, p. 41.

Strict, close and narrow.

Strobile, a multiple, cone-shaped fruit, like
that of the common hop.

Style, the portion of the pistil between the
ovary and stigma, Fig. 62, p. 34.

Sub-kingdom (of plants), p. 47.

Succulent, juicy.

Suffruticose, slightly woody, p. 12.

Superior (calyx), enclosing the ovary, Fig.
71, p. 37.

Symnutrieal (flower), with the same num-
ber of parts in each set, p. 37.

Syngenesious (stamens), with anthers unit-
ed into one set. Figs. 60, 61, p. 33.

GLOSSARY OR DICTIONARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS.

55

Tcqy-root, a root with a stout tapering body,
Fig. 10, p. 4.

Tegmen, the inner §eedcoat.

Tendril, a modified branch or leaf used for
climbing.

Terminal hud, the bud terminating the
main stem or a growing branch, p. 10.

Ternate, in threes.

Testa, the external seed-coat, p. 44.

Tetradynamous, having six stamens, two
of them shorter than the others.

Thickened fascicled roots, Fig. 11, p. 5.

Throat, the point where the tube and limb
of a monosepalous calyx or monopetal-
ous corolla meet, pp. 31, 32.

Thyrse, an ovoid panicle, p. 26.

Trailing stem, one which runs over the sur-
face of the ground or other objects.

Trees, woody plants of a greater height
than twenty feet, p. 12.

Tri-'pinnate, thrice pinnate.

Ti'uncate, cut off.

Tube, the undivided portion of a mono-
sepalous calyx or monopetalous corolla,
pp. 31,32.

Tuber, a thickened, bud-bearing portion of
a subterranean stem, p. 12.

Twining stem, one which climbs by twin-
ing about some support, p. 10.

Umbd, an umbrella - like inflorescence,
Figs. 41, 42, p. 26.

UmheUetj a secondary umbel, p. 28.

Uncinate, hook-shaped.

Unequally pinnate, with leaflets in pairs
surmounted by an odd terminal one,
Fig. 30, p. 21.

Unguiculate, furnished with a claw.

Unisexual, having stamens or pistils only.

Utricle, an achenium with a loose, blad-
dery pericarp.

Valvate, opening by valves.

Valve, one of the parts of a dehiscent pod

or similar body which opens.
Varieties (of plants), p. 47.
Veinlets (of leaves), p. 17.
Veins (of leaves), p. 17.
Venation, the veining of leaves, p. 17.
Ventricose, inflated on one side.
Verrucose, warty.
Versatile (anther), attached at its middle so

as to turn easily, p. 33.
Verticil, a whorl.
VerticiUate branches, p. 10.
Vessels (or ducts). Fig. 23, p. 14.
VexMum, the standard of papilionaceous

flowers.
ViUose, shaggy with long, soft hairs.

Wood, Figs. 22, 23, p. 13.

Woodyf having the texture of wood, p. 12.

MEDICINAL PLANTS

OF

ITOETH AMEEICA.

PH^NOGAMOUS OR FLOWERING PLANTS.

CLASS I. — DICOTYLEDONOUS OK EXOGENOUS PLANTS.

Stems with bark, wood, and pith distinct ; when perennial, increasing
in size by the annual addition of a layer of wood outside that already
formed. Leaves net-veined. Parts of the flower commonly in fives or
fours. Embryo with two cotyledons, or seed-leaves, rarely with several in
a whorl.

Division I. — Polypetalous Exogenous Plants.

Flowers with both calyx and corolla, the latter absent in only a few
genera and species. Petals each separate and distinct.

RANUNCULACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Calyx : sepals 3 to 6, generally 5, distinct,
usually deciduous, and, except in clematis, imbricated in the bud. Corolla :
petals 3 to 15, occasionally irregular or deformed, and sometimes absent.
In the latter case the sepals are usually colored, and petal-hke. Stamens
indefinite, distinct, very rarely few and definite. Ovaries numerous, rarely
few or solitary, distinct. Ovules solitary or several, inverted. Fruit either
achenia, seed-like, dry follicles, or berries ; seeds solitary or several. Em-
bryo minute, at the base of fleshy or homy albumen.

Herbs, rarely shrubs, occasionally shrubby climbing plants. Leaves
alternate, opposite in clematis, variously divided, without stiprdes.

Almost the entire order is characterized by a colorless, acrid, and often
poisonous juice. The acrid principle is, however, generally volatile, and

58

RANUNCULACE^.

is often entirely dissipated in the process of drying. Occasionally, as in
aconite, the active principle is stored up more abundantly and permanently
in a tuberous root.

Though the ranunculacese are represented in the United States by a
comparatively large number of genera and species, few of these have as yet
been found worthy a place in the Pharmacopoeia. Doubtless fui'ther care-
ful investigation in this field may yield important results.

CLEMATIS. — ViRGiN's-BowER.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx : sepals 4, rarely more, colored, petaloid,
the valvate margins turned inward in the bud. Corolla none, or, if
present, the petals small Stamens indefinite in number, distinct. Ova-
ries numerous, distinct. Achenia in a head bearing the persistent styles
as naked, hairy, or plumose tails.

Perennial, herbaceous or slightly woody plants, generally climbing by
means of their leaf-stalks ; occasionally low and erect. Leaves opposite.
Clem at is VIorna Linne. — Leathej'-Flower.

Description. — Calyx ovate, at length bell-shaped, the purplish sepals

very thick and leathery, tipped with
short recurved points. Corolla wanting.
The long tails of the fruit very plumose.
An herbaceous cHmber. Leaves
pinnate ; leaflets 3 to 7, ovate or oblong,
sometimes slightly cordate, 2- to 3-lobed
or entire ; the uppermost often simple.
Peduncles bearing single, large, nod-
ding flowers, which appear from May to
August.

Habitat. — In rich soil fi'om Pennsyl-
vania to Ohio and southward.

Clematis VirginlanaLinn^ — Com-
mon Virgin' s-Bower.

Description. — Flowers poly gam o-di-
cecious. Calyx: sepals small, obovate
spreading, white. Corolla wanting. Fruit
with conspicuous feathery tails. An her-
baceous perennial. Stem climbing and
running freely over shrubs, fences, etc. Leaves ternate ; leaflets ovate,
acute, cut or lobed, somewhat cordate at the base. Flowers in axillary
panicled clusters, appearing in August.

Habitat. — On the alluvial banks of streams and along fences ; common
from Canada to Florida.

Fig. 96.— Clematis Virginiana.

ANEMONE WIND-FLOWER. 59

Parts Used. — The fresh leaves, flowers, and stem — not official.

Constituents. — The above-described species of clematis, as well as many-
others, both indigenous and foreign, possess an acrid principle whose ex-
act nature is as yet undetermined. It is of a volatile character, however,
and is dissipated by heat, and in the process of drying the plants.

Preparations. — Alcohol is a solvent for the active principle of clematis,
and an alcoholic tincture of the fresh plant the best preparation.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Clematis appears to be Httle more than
an acrid irritant. Applied externally, the leaves of some species strongly
irritate and even vesicate the skin. Administered internally, in small
doses, it may produce diuresis and diaphoresis ; in large doses, active
purgation. It has been employed in syphilis, scrofula, chronic rheuma-
tism, etc., but without ever attaining an established reputation. It is used
at present almost exclusively by homoeopathic practitioners.

ANEMONE. —Wind-Flo WER.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx : sepals many, distinct, petaloid. Corolla
none, or with petals resembling abortive stamens. Stamens numerous,
distinct. Ovaries numerous, distinct. Achenia pointed or tailed, flat^
tened, not ribbed.

Perennial herbs, with radical leaves, those of the stem two or three
together, forming an involucre some distance below the flower.

Anemone patens Linne, var. Nuttal liana Gray. — Pasque-Flower.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 6, purplish or white, 1^ inch long, spread-
ing. Stem simple, erect, naked except the involucre, bearing a single ter-
minal flower which develops in advance of the leaves. Leaves ternately
divided, the lateral divisions 2-parted, the middle one stalked, 3-parted,
the segments deeply once or twice cleft into narrowly linear and acute
lobes. Lobes of the involucre like those of the leaves, united at the base
into a shallow cup. The entire plant is villous with long silky hairs. It
blooms in March and April.

Habitat. — In prairie regions from Illinois westward and northward.

Part Used. — The herb — United States Pharmacopoeia. The official name,
Pulsatilla, includes the herb not only of this plant but of A. pulsatilla and
A. pratensis also.

Constituents. — All parts of the fresh plant are extremely acrid ; applied
to the skin it causes irritation and even vesication. This acrid property
is diminished or wholly lost by drying and long keeping ; hence to be effi-
cacious it should be used as fresh as possible, or at least preparations made
from the recent plant should be employed. The acridity of pulsatilla is
due to the presence of anemonin, a crystalline substance which is exceed-
ingly liable to change and is destroyed by heat.

Preparations. — None are official. An alcoholic tincture of the fresh
plant is reliable.

60

RANUJSrCULACEJE.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Pulsatilla is an acrid irritant which, in
lai'ge doses, has often produced serious and alainning effects. In safe
medicinal doses, however, its effects are by no means so well known. At
various times and by numerous authors it has been highly praised as a
remedy in diseases of the eye, in rheumatism, amenorrhcea, dysmenoiThcea,
etc. In this country it has been employed chiefly by homoeopathic prac-
titioners, and usually in very minute doses. Many of the results claimed
for it under such circumstances are at least doubtful. Certain it is that
other practitioners have not been able to confirm them. A few years since

Pio. 97. — Anemone patens, var. Nuttalliaton.

it was highly recommended as a remedy in gonorrhceal epididymitis, and
many cases were recorded tending to prove its efficacy, but subsequently
cases treated without medicine were shown to make quite as satisfactory
progress. The author has employed it in a number of cases of this affection
but without any apparent effect. He has also employed it in numerous
cases of dysmenorrhoea, generally of hysterical subjects, and though he has
frequently observed decided relief from pain during one or two menstrual
periods, he is more inclined to attribute this to the mental and moral effect
of a new remedy given with the positive assurance that rehef would follow,

RANUNCULUS CROWFOOT — BUTTERCUP. 61

than to the medicinal effect of the drug. For in some instances, after
Pulsatilla had lost its effect, a new drug— it has appeared to matter little
just which one — has again given temporary relief.

As a remedy in rheumatism, dropsy, paralysis, etc., Pulsatilla does not
require serious attention. That its acrid and irritating properties might
be made available in stimulating excretion is possible, but our knowledge
is at present too limited to estabUsh the point, and other better known
agents are always at hand.

HEPATIC A. —Liverwort.

Character of the (rewMS. ^-Involucre of 3 leaflets placed close to and
enveloping the flower bud, but becoming more distant after expansion by
the growth of the intervening portion of the scape ; otherwise similar to
anemone, of which genus many botanists consider this only a section. The
name hepatica has, however, become so well known that it ought to be re-
tained for sentimental, if not for scientific reasons.

Perennial herbs, with a short rootstock and numerous strong fibrous
rootlets. Leaves all radical, of a thick leathery texture, persisting through
the winter, the new ones appearing after the flowers, the old ones then
withering away. The mature leaves have a dark brownish color, variegated
with irregular lighter-colored spots, somewhat resembling that of the liver,
whence the common name. Flowers numerous, on slender hairy scapes,
each bearing a single one. They appear early in spring, soon after the
snow is gone.

Hepatica triloba Chaix. — Round-lohed Hepatica. .

Description. — Sepals 6 to 9, white, purpHsh, or blue. Leaves with 3
rounded, obtuse lobes ; leaflets of the involucre also obtuse.

Habitat. — In upland woods ; common both here and in Europe.

Hepatica acutiloba De Candolle. — Sliarp-lobed Hepatica.

Description. — Sepals 7 to 12, white, pinkish, or pale purple. Leaves with
3 acute or pointed lobes ; occasionally 5-lobed ; leaflets of the involucre
also acute.

Habitat. — Widely distributed, like the preceding, but less common.

Part Used. — The leaves — not official.

Constituents. — Common vegetable principles, such as mucilage, sugar,
tannin, etc.

Preparations. — Used in decoction and syrup.

Medical Properties and Uses. — As a medicine hepatica is wholly inert,
and unworthy a place in the materia medica.

RANUNCULUS. —Crowfoot. —Buttercup.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx : sepals generally 5, sometimes but 3.
Corolla : petals generally 5, sometimes more, occasionally but 3. Stamens

62 RANUNCDLACE^.

commonly numerous, occasionally few, always distinct. Ovaries numjer-
ous, distinct. Achenia aggregated in a head.

Annual or perennial herbs, mth alternate stem-leaves. Flowers solitary
or corymbed, generally yellow, sometimes white.

All the ranunculi possess an acrid principle of a volatile nature ; few of
them have been used medicinally.

Ranunculus bulbosus Linne. — Bulbous Crowfoot or Buttercup.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 5, smaller than the petals, reflexed. Co-
rolla : petals 5 to 7, round, wedge-shaped below, with a small scale at the
base, deep, shining yellow. Achenia with a short beak, collected in a
globular head.

A perennial herb growing erect from a bulbous base ; leaves and stem
hauy. Kadical leaves ternately divided, the lateral divisions sessile, the
terminal stalked and 3-parted, the divisions wedge-shaped, cut, and toothed.
Flowers solitary, large, on long furrowed peduncles ; they appear through-
out the summer.

Habitat. — A native of Europe ; naturalized in the Northern Atlantic
States, growing in meadows and pastures.

Ranunculus repens Linne. — Creeping Crowfoot.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 5, spreading, smaller than the petals.
Corolla : petals 5, obovate, with a small scale at the base, bright yellow.
Carpels strongly margined, pointed by a stout, nearly straight beak, col-
lected in a globular head.

A low perennial, hairy or nearly smooth, with the stem ascending, or
creeping along the ground. Leaves ternately divided, the divisions mostly
stalked, wedge-shaped or ovate, unequally 3-cleft or parted, and variously
cut. Peduncles furrowed. It blooms throughout the summer.

Habitat. — In wet shady places ; common.

Ranunculus acris Linnd — Tall Crowfoot.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 5, spreading, shorter than the petals, yel-
lowish-green. Corolla : petals 5, nearly as large as those of R. bulbosus,
with a scale at the base, bright yellow. Cai-pels ovate, compressed, smooth,
in a globular head.

A perennial herb. Stem erect, 2 to 3 feet high, hairy. Leaves mostly
stalked, deeply divided into 3, 5, or 7 palmate segments, which are cut
into lanceolate or linear acute lobes. Peduncles round, not furrowed. It
blooms in summer.

Habitat. — A native of Europe ; naturalized here, and common in mead-
ows, pastures, and waste places.

Ranunculus sceleratus Linne. — Cursed Crowfoot.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 5, small. Corolla : petals 5. Scarcely
larger than the sepals, pale yellow. Carpels numerous, in oblong cylin-
drical heads.

A smooth perennial herb. Stem erect, 1 foot high, thick, hollow.

EANUNCULUS CROWFOOT BUTTERCUP. 63

Lower leaves petioled, divided into 3 or more obtusely toothed or lobed
segments. It blooms during summer.

Habitat. — In pools and ditches ; common both here and in Europe.

The above-described species of ranunculus are the most important of
the genus, though many others possess nearly identical properties.

Fart Used. — The herb — not official.

Constituents. — The ranunculi are all more or less acrid, some of them
extremely so. Little is known of the acrid principle, save that it is
volatile, and is diminished or entirely lost by drying and long keeping.

Pi-ejMrations. — Used only in the fresh state.

Medical Froperties and Uses. — The ranunculi are too acrid to render
their internal use either desirable or safe. Most of them are avoided by
domestic animals ; one may often see E. acris, for example, growing lux-
uriantly in pastures where almost every blade of grass is cropped close.
Their acrid properties have, however, led to their employment externally as
rubefacients or vesicants in cases where other and perhaps better agents
were not at hand, or were for any reason contra-indicated. As is well
known, cases of idiosyncrasy occur in which cantharides are inadmissible
on account of their effect upon the urinary organs. In some such cases
ranunculus has been used with good effect. One of the faults of this agent
is its extreme violence. The fresh plant, bruised and applied to the skin,
may vesicate in an hour or hour and a haK, and may possibly produce an
ulcer not easy to heal. It is, therefore, far less safe as a rubefacient than
mustard, and, as a rule, much less desirable as a vesicant than cantharides.
It has been employed to some extent in European countries as an external
application in chronic rheumatism, neuralgia, etc., but never sufficiently to
have obtained a place in the pharmacopoeias. In this country it is used
still less, and is little more than mentioned in works on materia medica.

An interesting observation regarding the possible effect of R. acris on
pregnant cows was reported to the author by his brother, Mr. F. M. John-
son. In a herd of cows pastured for years in succession in an old field
thickly beset with this weed, abortion was frequent and troublesome. As
soon, however, as this pasture was broken up and the herd moved to an-
other part of the farm in which the plant did not grow, abortion dis-
appeared. Now although, as stated above, domestic animals avoid this
plant, yet when feeding where it is very abundant, they must occasionally
swallow it accidentally ; and though there is no positive proof that the abor-
tions were due to the plant in question, the facts as stated are interesting
and significant. It is at least possible that ranunculus exerts an influence
upon the reproductive organs like that which is claimed by , some for
Pulsatilla.

64 RANUNCULACEJE.

COPTIS.

Coptis trifolia Salisbiiry. — Goldthread.

Description. — Calyx: sepals 5 to 7, petal-like, white, deciduous. Corolla :
petals 5 to 7, smaller than the sepals, club-shaped, yellow at the base, hollow
at the apex. Stamens 15 to 25, hypogynous. Pistils 3 to 10, on slender
stalks. Capsules stellately diverging, stalked, oblong, compressed, acu-
minate with the persistent style, 4- to 8-seeded. Seeds oblong, black,
smooth, and shining.

A small perennial, with evergreen leaves arising from a horizontal rhi-
zome which sends off in every direction long slender fibres of a bright
yellow color, whence the common name of goldthread. Leaves smooth,
veiny, somewhat coriaceous, all radical, oh long petioles, ternately divided,
the leaflets about an inch long, roundish, acute at the base, lobed and
crenate, the crenatures acuminate. Scape slender, round, bearing one
starry-white flower, about two-thirds of an inch in diameter, and a minute
ovate, acute bract some distance below it. Blooms in May.

Habitat. — Swamps and bogs from Canada and the Northern United
States southward along the mountains to Maryland.

Parts Used. — The whole plant may be employed, but the rhizomes and
rootlets are chiefly used. Formerly official, it has been discarded from the
United States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — Goldthread has a strongly bitter taste, unattended with
astringency. Its most important constituent is berherina ; another alka-
loid, coptina, exists in small proportion. The latter appears to bear some
analogy to hydrastia. It contains neither tannic nor gallic acid.

Preparations. — There are no official preparations of this plant. It
yields its virtues to alcohol and to water. The alcoholic tincture is of a
beautiful yellow color, and in cases where alcohol is not contra-indicated,
may be employed as fully representing the drug. An infusion is also
efficient.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Analysis proves goldthread to be a pure
and simple bitter. Clinically it acts like calumba, quassia, and other
drugs of this class. It was formerly much used as a wash for aphthous
isore mouth, exerting in this instance an influence like that of hydrastis.
As a tonic dui'ing convalescence, and in weakened condition of the di-
gestive organs, it may be substituted for calumba, quassia, etc., as oc-
casion requires.

HYDRASTIS.

Hydrastis Canadensis Linne. — Golden Seal, Yellow- Root, Yellow
Puccoon.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 3, small, petal-like, of a pale rose-color,
falling away soon after the flower expands. Corolla absent-. Stamens

HYDRASTIS. 65

very numerous, hypogynous, linear-spatulate ; anthers oval, innate. Ova-
ries 12 or more, 2-ovuled ; styles short, stigmas dilated, 2-lipped, indupli-
cate. Fruit a crimson head of baccate 1- or 2-seeded carpels, succulent,
and resembling a large raspberry. Seeds obovate ; testa crustaceous,
nearly black, shining, lined with a thin membranaceous tegmen.

An herbaceous perennial, with a horizontal rhizome, from which is sent
up in early spring a simple hairy stem 6 to 12 inches high, bearing two
leaves, and, at its summit, a single flower. There is generally also a single
radical leaf on a long petiole. The leaves are palmately 3- to 5-lobed, the
lobes acute, unequally serrate ; the lower cauline leaf petiolate, the upper
sessile. The leaves, at the time of flowering, are small and not fully ex-
panded, but subsequently they increase much in size, ultimately attaining
a width of 5 to 6 inches.

The rhizome is one-half inch to 2 inches in length, from one-eighth to one-
half inch in diameter, simple, or with a few short branches, terminated by
a broad scar, longitudinally wrinkled, annulate from leaf scars, and bearing,
especially below, numerous small fibrous roots. Both rhizome and roots
are of a yellow color, and have an intensely bitter taste, without astringency.

Habitat. — Canada to Carolina and westward. Rare east of the AUe-
ghanies, more common along these mountains and west of them. Grows
in rich moist woods.

Paints Used. — The rhizome and rootlets — United States Pharmacopceia.

Constituents. — The most important constituents of hydrastis are two
alkaloids, viz. : (1) hydrastia, a white crystalline body, tasteless at first,
but eventually imparting an acrid sensation to the tongue and fauces —
not bitter, as sometimes erroneously stated ; (2) berberina, which is in yel-
low needle-shaped crystals and has an intensely bitter taste. The latter
alkaloid is found in numerous plants of the orders Berberidacece, Ranan-
cidaceoe, Menispermacece, etc. Besides these alkaloids, hydrastis contains
starch, sugar, etc., and traces of a third alkaloid, which, however, exists in
such small proportion as to be of no practical importance. The article long
known as hydrastin, and extensively used, chiefly by eclectic practitioners,
is an impure hydrochlorate (muriate) of berberina. Both hydrastia and
berberina unite with acids to form salts, and it is in the form of salts that
they are usually employed.

Preparations. — Extractum hydrastis fluidum — fluid extract of hydras-
tis ; tinctura hydrastis — tincture of hydrastis. — United States Pharmaco-
pceia. In certain cases where it is desirable to employ large doses, the
alkaloids or their salts are more eligible.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Numerous and diverse properties have
been attributed to hydrastis, so much so, indeed, that there is little agree-
ment among difterent authors upon the subject. That it is a powerful
tonic all admit, and it is probable that to its tonic action alone are due the
many widely different eft'ects observed by those who have written upon

66 RANUNCULACEiE.

the drug. It has been used successfully as a substitute for quinine in the
treatment of intermittents, in convalescence from acute disease, and in
general where a vegetable tonic is indicated. This fact is worthy of re-
membrance, since there are numerous instances in which quinine is indi-
cated but cannot be employed on account of idiosyncrasy. It is not,
however, as a substitute for quinine that hydrastis has been most em-
ployed or has gained its greatest reputation. It seems to exert an es-
pecially tonic influence upon mucous sui'faces, and has been employed
beneficially in a great variety of catarrhal affections. Prior to its use in
scientific medicine it had been employed by the aborigines as a topical ap-
plication in catarrhal affections of the eyes and as a stimulant to old
ulcers. It is still used with benefit in such cases, and in chronic coryza,
in gonorrhoea, leucorrhoea, hemorrhoids, and prolapsus ani. That it
exerts an influence upon the Hver seems well demonstrated, and it has
been used with benefit in torpid conditions of this organ, and in catarrhal
inflammation of the gall-bladder and gall-duct. Though not directly
cathartic in its action, in certain cases of habitual constipation it produces
a laxative effect. It has been employed beneficially in glandular swell-
ings, undoubtedly through its general tonic power, and hence has prob-
ably derived its undeserved reputation as a remedy for cancer.

XANTHORHIZA.

Xanthorhiza apiifolia L'Heritier. — Yellow-Root, Shrub Yellow-Boot.

Description. — Calyx: sepals 5, petal-like, deciduous, spreading, ovate-
acuminate, brownish-purple. Corolla : petals 5, very small, 2-lobed, ele-
vated upon a claw, colored like the sepals. Stamens 5 to 10, hypogynous,
filaments thick, purple, anthers adnate. Ovaries 5 to 15, each bearing two
pendulous ovules attached to the middle. Pods 1-seeded, oblong, the style
becoming lateral during development.

A shrubby perennial, 1 to 3 feet high, with a large rootstock and numer-
ous round, slightly branched stems. Outer bark gray, smooth, and shin-
ing ; within bright yellow. Leaves alternate, unequally 1- to 2-pinnate, on
long stalks. Leaflets in two pairs with an odd terminal one, 2 to 3 inches
long, rhomboid-ovate or lanceolate, tapering at the base, sessile, incisely
lobed and dentate, smooth, dark green above, lighter beneath. Flowers
polygamous, in long, drooping compound racemes, appearing from April
to June. The rootstock is from 3 inches to 1 foot or more in length, from
one-eighth to one-half inch in thickness, more or less branched, yellowish-
brown externally, internally of a deep yellow, and having an exceedingly
bitter taste.

Habitat. — Central New York (one station only) to the middle and upper
districts of the Carohnas and Georgia, chiefly along the mountains and
higfhlands.

XANTHOEHIZA.

er

Parts Used. — The rhizome and roots. Formerly official, it has been
discarded from the United States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — No exact analysis seems to have been made of this plant,
though it has been shown to contain herherina in small proportion, and
probably to this it owes, in a great measure, its bitterness and tonic prop-
erties.

Preparations. — There are no official preparations of yellow-root. It
yields its virtues to both water and alcohol, and may be employed in tinct-

FiG. 98. — Xanthorhiza apiifolia.

nre, decoction, infusion, or even in powder, though in the latter form it
would be difficult to administer it in efficient doses.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Like hydrastis and coptis, both of which
it resembles in respect to constituents, xanthorhiza possesses simple
bitter tonic properties. It has, however, a much smaller percentage of
berberina than either of them, and, so far as this alkaloid goes, should
therefore be less efficient when administered in like doses. It has been
employed chiefly as a domestic remedy, but some competent observers
esteem it more highly than either gentian or calumba.

68 RANUNCULACE^.

Cimicifuga racemosa Elliott (Actcea racemosa Linne, Mdcrotys ser-
pentaria Eaton). — Black Snakerootj Black Cohosh^ Bugbane, Squaw Boot.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 4, in pairs, the inner pair smaller, white,
falling soon after the flower expands. Corolla : petals 4 to 6, small, stamen-
like, on claws, 2-horned at the apex. Stamens numerous, with slender white
filaments, hypogynous ; anthers adnate. Ovary soHtary, flask- shaped, 1-
celled, with about 10 sessile ovules in two rows, no style, stigma sessile,
forming a dry pod in fruit.

An herbaceous perennial, with a short, thick, horizontal rootstock, from
which spring several simple stems, 4 to 8 feet high, bearing, about midway,
large, decompound leaves, and at the summit long, wand-like tracemes.
Leaves 2 to 3, the lower very large, the upper smaller, alternate, on strong,
round, partially clasping petioles, ternate, the primary divisions bi-pinnate ;
leaflets 1 to 3 inches long, cut-serrate, the terminal one largest, and more
or less 3-divided, thin, smooth, of a bright green color. Flowers very
numerous, about one-half inch in diameter, in simple or sparsely branched
racemes, 8 to 12 inches long ; pedicels about one-fourth inch long, bracts
subulate, rachis pubescent. The plant flowers early in July in the latitude
of New York, and continues in bloom during some weeks, ripening its
fruit in September. Bhizome 2 to 6 or more inches in length, one-half
to 1 inch thick, horizontal, somewhat flattened, irregularly corrugated and
knotted, simple or branched, thickly beset above with the scars and stumps
of fallen stems, and laterally and beneath with long, strong roots, one-
twelfth to one-eighth inch in diameter. Scattered irregularly among the
stumps of previous stems are a number of terminal buds prepared for the
next season's stems. The rhizome and roots of recent growth are of a
dark reddish-brown color, the older portion of the rhizome almost black ;
its odor is earthy and unpleasant, and its taste bitter and nauseous.

Habitat. — Common everywhere from Canada to Georgia, growing in
rich open woodlands and upon hillsides, but avoiding very wet or rocky
places. When in bloom its long and graceful racemes form a conspicuous
feature of the localities where it grows.

Palis Used. — The rhizome and rootlets — United States Pharmacopveia.
Official name : Cimicifuga — Black Snakeroot.

Constituents. — ^Numerous analyses have been made of this plant with-
out, however, yielding any very satisfactory result when considered from
a therapeutic standpoint. In addition to the common plant constituents
like starch, gum, tannic and galUc acids, mineral salts, etc., a small pro-
portion of volatile oil, having the peculiar odor of the fresh drug, was de-
tected by one analyst, besides two resins of different character. Another
analyst found no volatile oil, but isolated a crystalline substance, probably
a neutral principle, whose alcoholic solution has an intensely acrid taste.
That the fresh drug possesses some active volatile principle would seem
probable from the fact that it certainly deteriorates by keeping, and all

ACTiEJA- — BANEBERRY. 69

observers who have had experience in the matter agree that it is thera-
peutically much more active when fresh than when long kept

Preparations. — Extractum cimicifugse fluidum — fluid extract of cimi-
cifuga ; tinctura cimicifugse — tincture of cimicifuga. — United States Phar-
macopoeia. Of the unofficial preparations, the one most employed is an
impure resin termed cimidfagin or macrotin, obtained by precipitation
from an alcoholic tincture with water. The drug may also be adminis-
tered in substance or in decoction, though the latter form is objectionable
since water does not completely extract its virtues.

Medical Properties and Uses. — In small or moderate doses cimicifuga is
a tonic which may be usefully employed in a great variety of affections, as
enfeebled condition of the digestive system due to alcoholism, fevers,
phthisis, bronchitis, etc. It has been employed also in acute and chronic
rheumatism, amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, and in cardiac disease, where it
acts like, but less efficiently than, digitalis. It has been used as an aid to
parturition instead of ergot, and after delivery to relieve after-pains, in
puerperal mania and convulsions, and as a remedy for chorea, especially
when of rheumatic origin. In very large doses it produces a decided
sedative effect, causing vertigo, dilatation of the pupil, and a tendency to
somnolence. "To obtain curative effects from cimicifuga, it must be ad-
ministered in sufficiently large doses to produce some of its cerebral ef-
fects."— Bartholow.

ACT^ A. — Banebekky.

Character of the Genus. — Sepals 4 to 5, falling when the flower expands.
Petals 4 to 10, small, flat, spatulate, on slender claws. Stamens numerous,
hypogynous, with slender white filaments. Ovary solitary, stigma sessile.
Fruit a many-seeded berry ; seeds compressed, smooth, horizontal. Per-
ennial herbs, with bi-ternately divided leaves, and flowers in a thick termi-
nal raceme.

Actaea spicata Linne, var. rubra Michaux. — Red Baneherry.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 4, ovate, greenish. Corolla : petals often
8 to 10, white, oval, acute, much shorter than the stamens. Stamens nu-
merous ; filaments filiform. Ovary smooth, white ; stigma oval, 2-lobed,
recurved at the ends. Ben-ies red, shining, about 16-seeded, on long
pedicels about one-fourth the size of the common peduncle.

Stem roundish, smooth, about 2 feet high, with bi- or tri-temately di-
vided leaves, on long smooth petioles, partly sheathing at the base ; leaflets
ovate, sharply cut, and toothed. Kacemes ovate or hemispherical, appear-
ing in April and May. Khizome closely resembling that of cimicifuga,
which see.

Habitat. — Rich woods from Hudson's Bay to Pennsylvania and westward
to the Rocky Mountains. Less common than the following.

70 RANUNCULACEJS.

Actdea alba Bigelow. — White Baneherry.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 4, oblong, white. Corolla : petals 4 to 8, as
long as the stamens, slender, mostly truncate at the ends, stamen-like,
white ; filaments shorter than in the preceding species. Ovary and stigma
like those of the preceding. Berries white, tipped with red, about 8-seed-
ed, on thickened, red pedicels the size of the common peduncle. Stem and
leaves larger and rather smoother than the preceding. Khizome similar.

Fig. 99,— Actfea alba.

Racemes oblong, the flowers appearing a week or two later than those of
the other species.

Habitat. — Rich woods from Canada to Georgia and westward to the
Mississippi.

Parts Used. — The rhizome and roots — not official.

Constituents.— l^oihing definite is known as to the composition of these
plants, though they are supposed to possess properties similar to those of
cimicifuga.

Preparations. — There are no commercial preparations of the American

MAGNOLIA.

71

species of actsea. From the apparent similarity of the plants to cimicifuga,
they might safely be administered in hke manner.

Medical Properties and Uses. — As akeady remai'ked, the chemical con-
stituents of actsea are supposed to be similar to those of cimicifuga, and
therefore the former might be substituted for the latter in case of necessity,
though such necessity is scarcely to be supposed. As domestic remedies
both species have been employed, though rarely. In scientific medicine
they have seldom been mentioned.

MAGNOLIACE^.

Character of the Order. — Trees or shrubs with alternate, coriaceous leaves,
and convolute stipules which cover the buds and are deciduous. Sepals
usually 3 to 6, deciduous ; petals 3 or more, imbricated ; stamens numerous,
distinct ; anthers adnate ; carpels 1-celled, numerous, on an elevated re-
ceptacle, in fruit forming a sort of fleshy or dry cone.

The order comprises about a dozen genera and more than seventy
species, very few of which, however, are indigenous to North America.
The flowers of many species are fragrant and ornamental. As a whole the
magnoliacese are characterized by aromatic tonic properties.

MAGNOLIA.

Stamens numerous.

Character of the Genus. — Sepals 3 ; petals 6 to 12.
imbricated, with short filaments, and
long anthers, the latter opening inward.
Pistils numerous, crowded upon the
elongated torus, cohering, and in fruit
forming a fleshy and somewhat woody
conical mass. Carpels dehiscent upon
the back, 1- or 2-seeded, the seeds at
maturity being suspended from the open
capsules by an extensile thread of spiral
vessels. Trees or shrubs. Leaves al-
ternate, or clustered at the summit of
the branches. Flowers large, solitary,
terminal. Stipules large, adnate to the
petiole, deciduous.

Magnolia glauca Linne. — Small
or Laurel Magnolia.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 3, mem-
branaceous, sj)atulate, concave, resem-
bling petals but much less delicate. Co-
rolla : petals 9 to 12, ovate, narrowed at fig. lOO.-Magnoiia giauca.
the base, concave, erect, arranged in circles of three. Seeds obovate, scarlet.

A shrub 5 to 20 feet high, with divaricating branches and smooth, gray-

72 MAGNOLIACEiE.

ish bai'k. Leaves oblong or oval, obtuse, coriaceous, of a deep yellowish-
green above and glaucous or bluish-white beneath. Bark of young twigs
smooth, bright green. Flowers globular, about 2 inches in diameter, creamy-
white, and very fragrant. Cone of the fruit oval, 1 to 1^ inch long, greenish.

Habitat. — In swamps from Cape Ann north of Boston, south to Florida
mostly near the coast, though occasionally found some distance inland.
North of Southern New Jersey it is not very common, nor does it attain
any considerable size. In its northern stations the leaves are deciduous,
but southward they become persistent. In the latitude of New York it
blooms in May and June, and at this season the flowers are collected in
large quantities for sale in the cities. It is known by a variety of local
names, as Sweet Bay, White Bay, Sivamp Sassafras, Beaver Tree, etc.

Magnolia acuminata Linne. — Cucumber Tree.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 3. Corolla : petals 6 to 9, oblong-ovate,
scarcely expanding, glaucous-green tinged with yellow. Fruit cylindrical,
about 3 inches long ; when green somewhat resembUng a young cucum-
ber, whence the common name.

A large tree, 60 to 80 feet high and 4 to 5 feet in diameter at the base.
Leaves scattered, oblong, acuminate, 6 to 9 inches long, green above, slightly
pubescent beneath, deciduous. Flowers 3 to 4 inches in diameter, slightly
fragrant, appearing in May and June.

Habitat. — From Western New York south to Georgia and west to Ohio,
in rich woods. In the Southern States it is confined to mountainous dis-
tricts. The wood somewhat resembles bass-wood (Tilia), though it is more
compact, and is applied to the same uses.

Magnolia Umbrella Lam. {31. tripetalaJj.). — Umbrella Tree.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 3. Corolla : petals 9, oblong-lanceolate,
acute, white. Fruit oblong, 4 to 6 inches long, rose-colored.

xA small tree, 25 to 35 feet high, with irregular branches. Leaves clus-
tered at the summit of the branches, oblong-lanceolate, 12 to 18 inches long,
pointed at both ends, downy beneath, soon becoming smooth, deciduous.
Flowers 4 to 6 inches in diameter, white, of an unpleasant odor, appearing
in May and June.

Habitat. — From Pennsylvania southward and westward, in deep, rich
soils and shady locations.

Part Used. — The bark — United States Pharmacopoeia. Official name.
Magnolia.

Constituents. — Both the root and stem bark of the above-described
species of magnolia contain an aromatic and a bitter principle : the former
being volatile is diminished by desiccation and entirely lost when the bark
is kept for a length of time. The bitter principle is permanent, but has
not been isolated ; it is not associated with any astringent. A crystalline
principle has been discovered in some of the species, but its therapeutic
action, if it have any, has not been demonstrated.

LIRIODENDRON. 73

Preparations. — There are no official preparations. The bark yields its
virtues readily to diluted alcohol, and a tincture prepared by means of
this menstruum is an eUgible form in which to administer the drug. It
may also be given in powder or infusion, though in the latter form the
aromatic property is greatly diminished. A tincture of the seeds is also
said to be an efficient preparation.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Magnolia is an aromatic bitter tonic.
If administered freely it may induce diaphoresis and thus be useful in
febrile affections. It is said to exert an antiperiodic influence in inter-
mittent and remittent fevers, and has long been a favorite domestic
remedy for these diseases in regions where the bark is readily accessible.
Even in full doses it produces none of the disagreeable cephalic effects
of cinchona, and therefore is worthy of trial when from any reason the
latter or its alkaloids cannot be borne. It has been used with asserted
benefit in both acute and chronic rheumatism. In some forms of dyspep-
sia it is also commended.

LIRIODENDRON.

Liriodendron Tulipifera Linne. — Tulip Tree.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 3, oblong, obtuse, concave, spreading,
petal-like, deciduous. Corolla : petals 6, in two rows, oblong, obtuse,
concave at the base, 2 inches long, greenish-yellow marked with orange,
slightly spreading, forming a bell-shaped flower. Stamens numerous,
hypogynous, shorter than the petals, inserted upon a conical rece^Dtacle ;
anthers linear, opening outward. Pistils numerous, flat, long and nar-
row, imbricating and cohering together, forming an elongated cone.
Fruit cone-shaped, made up of numerous imbricated, 1-celled, 2-seeded,
indehiscent, samara-like seed-vessels, which are in form lanceolate, com-
pressed, and at the base triang-ular and tumid. The entire mass of seed-
vessels is coherent until maturity, when they fall from the stems in a
body or separate from each other and fall singly.

A large tree, often attaining the height of 100 feet, with a diameter
at the base of 4 or 5 feet. In very favorable circumstances it has been
known to grow much larger, attaining a height of 140 feet, with a diam-
eter of 8 or 9 feet. The trunk is nearly straight, the branches some-
what scattered, and, compared with the size of the tree, rather small below
but larger toward the top. Wlien growing in the forest the stem for
thirty or foriy feet is, in general, free of branches, but under other circum-
stances the lowest branches are much nearer the ground. The leaves are
alternate, on long foot-stalks, and when fully grown are from 4 to 8 inches
in length, by about the same in breadth, somewhat cordate at the base and
more or less deeply 4-lobed, two of the lobes being at the base and two at
the apex, the latter separated from each other by a broad and shallow

74 MAGNOLIACE^.

notch, -whicli gives the leaf the appearance of having been cut off. Above
the leaves ai*e smooth and shining, of a dark yellowish-green ; underneath
much lighter, and strongly veined. The flowers are 2 to 3 inches in di-
ameter, beautifully tinted, resembling some varieties of the tulip, whence
the common name, and, as they are produced in immense numbers, add
greatly to the beauty of this majestic tree during the period of its inflo-
rescence. The flowers appear, in the latitude of New York, about the first
of June, when the tree is in full leaf.

Habitat. — From Canada to Florida and westward to Eastern Kansas,
growing more luxuriantly in rich moist ground, though occurring not un-
frequently in elevated and dry situations. Under the name of white wood
it is extensively used in cabinet work, in the inner wood-work of houses*
for carriage panels, etc. In some sections of the country it is known as
white poplar, in others yellow poplar ; both unfortunate appellations, since
it in no way resembles the true poplars, but is, on the contrary, a tree sui
generis, being the only species of its genus in the known world.

Part Used. — The bark, taken indiscriminately from the root, trunk, or
branches — not official.

Constituents. — The bark of the tulip tree has a pungent, aromatic, bitter
taste, and to analysis yields a crystalline principle, termed liriodendrin,
having the same sensible properties. Whatever medicinal effects may be
attributed to the drug are doubtless due to this principle. It may be
obtained in a crystalline form from the alcoholic tincture, or as an amor-
phous powder from the infusion. It exists in greater proportion in the
fresh bark than in that which has been long kept.

Preparations. — There are no official preparations, nor is the active
principle prepared in commercial quantities. The drug may be adminis-
tered in powder, or in the form of infusion or tincture. The earlier
writers, from whom most of our knowledge of this subject comes, preferred
to administer it in substance.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Like magnolia, the tulip tree possesses
aromatic, bitter tonic properties. Some of the earlier writers upon Amer-
ican medicinal plants considered it nearly, if not altogether, as efficacious
as cinchona in the treatment of intermittent fevers. It was, however,
administered in combination with flowering dogwood (Cornus Jlorida),
probably a much more efficient drug. It has also been used as a stimu-
lant diaphoretic in both acute and chronic rheumatism, and as a simple
tonic in dyspeptic ailments, and in convalescence from acute dysentery
and other acute diseases. At present it can scarcely be said to hold a
place in scientific medicine, and even as a domestic remedy it is probably
seldom employed.

PLATE II.

ohnson.Del.

LIRIODENDRON TULIPIFERA,

IXC-KI"., I.ITH.N.T,

Plate II.— Liriodendron tulipifera.

Fig. 1. — Flowering branch,, one-half natural size.
Fig. 2. — Mature fruit, one-half natural size.
Fig. 3. — Single seed-vessel, natural size.

MENISPERMUM — MOONSEED. 75

MENISPERMACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Shrubby climbing vines, with alternate, pal-
mate, or peltate leaves, on slender petioles, without stipules ; flowers small,
dioecious or polygamous, in axillary racemes or panicles ; sepals and pet-
als similar, in three or more rows, imbricated in the bud ; stamens 6 or
more, hypogynous ; ovaries 3 to 6 ; fruit a 1-seeded drupe with a long curved
embryo in scanty albumen.

An order comprising about sixty genera, mostly tropical, three only, and
of each but a single species, being natives of the United States. Of exotic
species, Calumba (Jateorrhiza calumba Miers), Pareira ( Chondodendron to-
mentosum Kuiz et Pavon), and Cocculus Indicus (Anamirta paniculaia Cole-
brooke) are among the best known and most important.

MENISPERMUM. — Moonseed.

Menispermum Canadense Linne. — Canadian Moonseed.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 4 to 8, ovate-oblong, greenish-yellow. Co-
rolla : petals 6 to 8, much smaller than the sepals, orbicular, obtusely cuneate
at the base. Stamens 12 to 20 in the sterile flowers, as long as the sepals ;
anthers of 4 spherical lobes. Pistils 2 to 4 in the fertile flowers, raised on a
short common receptacle. Fruit a stipitate, globular drupe, about one-
third of an inch in diameter, nearly black, the pulp small in quantity.
After flowering the pistil in development becomes incurved, so that the
mark of the stigma is near the base of the drupe, and the stone, laterally
compressed, forms an almost complete ring, or is lunate, whence the com-
mon name.

Stem shrubby at the base, or entirely herbaceous, 8 to 15 feet or
more in length, slender, springing from a long and freely rooted rhizome.
Leaves 3 to 4 inches in length and of somewhat greater breadth, peltate
near the edge, 3- to 7-angled or lobed, pubescent on the veins, dark green
above, glaucous beneath ; petioles about as long as the leaves. The flowers
appear in June and July ; the fruit rijjens in September, is covered with a
bloom, and resembles small clusters of frost grapes. In addition to its
common name of moonseed, it also bears that of yelloiv sarsaparilla, and
yellow iMrilla, the latter evidently a contraction of the former. At one
time it was introduced into commerce as Texas sarsaparilla, and was em-
ployed to some extent as a substitute for true sarsaparilla (Smilax offici-
nalis).

Habitat. —In moist woods and along the banks of streams, from Canada
to the Carolinas and westward ; common.

Parts Used. — The rhizome and rootlets — United States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — In an analysis of moonseed made by Professor Maisch
there was found a small quantity of berberina, and a larger proportion of

76 BERBERIDACEJE.

a white alkaloid, soluble in ether and alcohol, and sparingly in water. Its
other constituents were not determined, but are probably unimportant.

Preparations. — There ai'e no official preparations of moonseed. It
yields its virtues to water and alcohol, and may be administered in decoc-
tion or tincture.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Moonseed is said to be tonic, alterative,
and diuretic. If these reputed properties depend to any considerable ex-
tent upon the berberina present in the drug, they must, of necessity, be
of a feeble character, since the proportion of tliis alkaloid is small. The
therapeutic activity of the white alkaloid has not been demonstrated. As
stated above, moonseed was at one time employed as a substitute for sarsa-
parilla, to which it was, by some observers, pronounced superior as an al-
terative. Inasmuch, however, as the medicinal virtues of sarsaparilla itself
are of a rather doubtful character, this recommendation of moonseed is not
particularly convincing. It is probable that the plant, by virtue of its bit-
terness, which it shares with calumba and other species of the menisper-
macese, and which is due, at least in part, to berberina, possesses feeble
tonic powers, and that whatever effects it may cause, or seem to cause,
are due merely to its tonic action. Taking this view of the subject, one
can readily see how it might occasionally be beneficial in scrofulous, cuta-
neous, arthritic, rheumatic, s^-phihtic, and mercui'ial diseases, for all of
which it has been recommended.

BERBERIDACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Shrubs or herbaceous perennials with alter-
nate or radical, compound, often spiny leaves ; sepals and petals in two
or more rows of 2 to 4 each, imbricated in the bud, deciduous ; stamens
as many as the petals, and opposite them, hypogynous ; anthers 2-celled,
opening upward by valves hinged at the top ; ovary solitary, 1-celled ;
fruit a berry or capsule, 1- or many-seeded.

Podophyllum and Jeffersonia differ in some respects from the general
structure of the order, both being many-seeded, the fonner having more
stamens than petals and the latter having the sepals in one row.

The order comprises about a dozen genera and more than one hundred
species. Seven genera are represented in the United States, and four of
these comprise species of medicinal value. In general they possess acrid
and bitter properties.

BERBERIS. —Barberry.

Character of the Genus. — Sepals 6, orbicular, vdth 2 to 6 bractlets out-
side. Petals 6, obovate, concave, shorter than the sepals, with two glan-
dular spots inside above the short claws. Stamens 6, irritable. Style

BERBERIS BARBERRY.

77

short ; stigma circular, depressed. Fruit a 1- to 9-seeded berry ; seeds
erect, with a crustaceous integument.

Shrubs with yellow inner bark and wood, bristly serrate, often spiny
1- to 9-foliate leaves. Yellow flowers in drooping racemes, and acid fruit.

Berberis vulgaris Linne. — Common Barberry.

Description. — Flower and fruit as in the generic description above.
Leaves on the young shoots mostly reduced to sharp triple or branched
spines ; on older branches they are produced in clusters or rosettes, and
are ovate-oblong, with sharp bristly teeth. The flowers, in long drooping
racemes, are produced from the axils
of these leaves. The ben'ies are ob-
long, 2-seeded, scarlet, and possess a
gratefully acid and somewhat astrin-
gent taste.

A shrub, 4 to 8 feet in height,
diffusely branched at the top, with a
whitish or light gray, shining bark
on the young shoots, and a much
darker gray on the old stems. Flow-
ers in May and June and matures its
fruit in autumn.

Habitat. — Common barberry is a
native of Euroi^e, but has become
naturalized and grows wild in some
sections of New England. It is com-
mon in cultivation all over the country
as an ornamental shrub.

Berberis Canadensis Pursh. —
American Barberry.

Description. — Flowers and fruit as
in the generic description above.
Petals notched at the apex. Leaves
repandly toothed, and less bristly
pointed than in preceding species.
Bacemes fewer flowered. Berries oval.

A shrub from 1 to 3 feet in height. Formerly considered by many
botanists a mere variety of B. vulgaris. Flowers in May and June.

Habitat. — Mountainous regions from Virginia to Georgia.

Berberis Aquifolium Pursh. — HoUy-Ieaved Barberry.

Description. — Calyx: sepals suborbicular, membranaceous. Corolla:
petals connivent, the innermost bifid at the apex. Berries dark pui-ple.

A shrub from 2 to 5 feet in height, with evergreen, pinnate leaves ;
leaflets in 3 to 6 pairs, with an odd terminal one, coriaceous, ovate-lanceo-
late or elliptical-oblong, inequilateral or slightly cordate at the base, repand

Fio. 101.— Berberis vulgaris.

78 BERBERIDACEJE.

with thorny or spmy teeth, resembling those of holly, whence the specific
name.

IlabitaL — Western coast of North America, from Oregon southward.

Parts Used. — The bark of the stem and root, and the berries — not
official

Constituents. — The most important constituent of barberiy is undoubt-
edly berberina, which, however, is present in only small proportion — much
smaller than in hydrastis. Another principle, oxycanthin, sometimes called
herberia, is present, also in small proportion. This is a white alkaloid,
soluble in ether, alcohol, and chloroform, nearly insoluble in water, and
has a bitter taste. The other constituents of the bark are unimportant.
The berries are pleasantly acid, but have no constituents of special value.

Preparations. — There are no official preparations. The bark yields its
virtues to alchol and water, and may be administered in tincture or in-
fusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Whatever therapeutic effect may be pro-
duced by bai'beiTy is undoubtedly due to its most active principle, ber-
berina. As this is present in but small proportion, the bark cannot be a
ver}^ active agent. The European species, B. vulgaris, has been used to
some extent as a tonic, chiefly in domestic practice. The American species
have also been experimented with, but are not much esteemed. The berries
are sometimes used to prepare a cooling and refreshing drink in fevers, etc.

CAULOPHYLLUM.— Blue Cohosh.

Caulophyllum thalictroides Michaux.— ^Zwe Cohosh.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 6, ovate-oblong, greenish-yellow, with 3
small bracts at their base. Corolla : petals 6, reniform or hooded, thick
and gland-like, with short claws, much shorter than the sepals, and oppo-
site them. Stamens 6, hj^ogynous, opposite the petals, with short, thick
filaments ; anthers ovate or oblong, opening upward by two valves hinged
at the top. Pistil solitary, gibbous ; style short ; stigma minute and
unilateral. The ovary bursts soon after flowering by the development of
the seeds, which are thus left naked on their thick stalks, and, having a
blue, fleshy integument, they look like drupes.

An herbaceous perennial, with a nearly horizontal, somewhat branched
and knotty rhizome, from which springs a simple smooth and glaucous
stem, 1 to 2^ feet in height, bearing at its summit a small raceme or pani-
cle of greenish -yellow flowers, and a little below a large, sessile, triternately
compound leaf. Leaflets 1 to 2^ inches long, about half as broad, ob-
ovate wedge-shaped, 2- to 3-lobed, the lateral ones sessile, the terminal
petiolulate. A smaller tritemate leaf is sometimes situated at the base of
the panicle.

The flowers appear in April or May, while the leaf is yet small ; the fruit

JEFFEKSONIA TWIN-LEAF. 79

matures in August. The plant is known in various sections of the country
as Pappoose Boot, Squaw Root, and Blueberry Boot.

Habitat, — In rich, moist woods from Canada to South CaroUnaand west-
ward. A very common plant, and quite widely distributed.

Parts Used. — The rhizome and rootlets — United States Pharmacopceia.

Constituents. — In addition to the ordinary constituents of plants, such
as albumen, gum, starch, mineral salts, etc., there have been found in
caulophyllum two resins, and a principle analogous to saponin. The resins,
in an impure condition, are obtained by precipitation from the concentrated
alcoholic tincture with water. The precipitate, which amounts to twelve
per cent, of the root employed, is known as caulophyllin. It has a sweetish-
bitter and afterward somewhat acrid taste, similar to that of the root,
and probably represents whatever activity the plant is possessed of.

Preparations. — There are no official preparations of caulophyllum. As
the root yields its virtues to alcohol, it may be administered in tincture, or
in the form of the so-called caulophyllin, a commercial article readily ob-
tainable.

Medical Properties and C'ses.— Antispasmodic, demulcent, diaphoretic,
diuretic, emmenagogue, and parturient properties have been attributed to
this plant, but upon what evidence it is difficult to decide. Eafinesque
says that " as a powerful emmenagogue it promotes dehvery, menstruation,
and dropsical discharges," and that it was used "by the Indians and their
imitators for rheumatism, dropsy, colic, sore throat, cramp, hiccough, epi-
lepsy, hysterics, inflammation of the uterus, etc." It would seem that
many authors, in writing upon this plant since the time of Rafinesque, have
repeated his assertions in one form or another, not only without question
but generally without credit also. At any rate, little seems to have been
added to, while much has been subtracted from, the estimated value of the
plant as a remedy since Rafinesque's time. King, however, says (American
Dispensatory) : "In decoction, blue cohosh is preferable to ergot for expe-
diting delivery in all those cases where the delay is owing to debihty or
want of uterine nervous energy, or is the result of fatigue." This state-
ment will be taken cum grano salis by those who, like the author, have
made an experimental comparison — or rather contrast — of the two.

JEFFEKSONIA. —Twin-Leaf.

Jeffersonia diphylla Persoon. — Twin-Leaf, Bheumatism Root,
Description. — Calyx : sepals 4, petal-like, fugacious. Corolla : petals 8,
oblong, flat. Stamens 8, shorter than the petals ; anthers linear-oblong,
on slender filaments. Ovary solitary, ovoid, soon becoming gibbous ;
stigma 2-lobed, nearly sessile ; ovules 5 or G, attached to one side of the
ovary below the middle. Fruit a somewhat stipitate capsule, opening by
semi-lunar slit near the summit. Seeds numerous, crowded

80 BERBERIDACE^.

in several rows on a lateral placenta, with a fleshy lacerate aril on one
side.

An herbaceous perennial, with a thick, somewhat fleshy, horizontal,
fibrous-rooted rhizome, from which arises a simple 1-flowered scape, and a
tuft of loug-petioled, bifoHate, or deeply 2-parted radical leaves, with ob-
long, foliaceous sheaths at their base. Leaves glaucous beneath ; lamina
parted into 2 semi-ovate segments, appearing like a pair of leaves (whence
the name twin-leaf), each 3 to 4 inches long, nearly 2 inches wide, obscurely
toothed or sinuate. Flowers white, about 1 inch in diameter, appearing
in April or May. The fruit matures in July.

Habitat. — In rich, shady woods, on limestone soils, fi'om New York to
Tennessee. Not very common.

Parts Used. — The rhizome and rootlets — not official.

Constituents. — In addition to the common plant constituents, one analyst
has discovered in Jeffersonia a bitter principle and an acrid acid analogous
to that existing in Polygala Senega, termed polygalic acid, having the acrid
and nauseous taste of the root, and capable of producing persistent nausea
and vomiting. Another analyst found a small quantity of berberina and a
larger proportion of a white alkaloid.

Preparations. — There are neither official nor commercial preparations
of this plant. Its virtues are yielded to boiling water, and it may therefore
be administered in decoction or infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Jeffersonia is said to be alterative, anti-
spasmodic, diuretic, diaphoretic, and expectorant. That it may possibly
produce an alterative effect through the tonic influence of its alkaloid ber-
berina is not unlikely, but the other eflects attributed to it are probably
largely due to its mode of administration rather than to its specific proper-
ties. Being rather nauseous, large quantities of it in decoction might
readily induce antispasmodic, diaphoretic, or expectorant effects. It has
been used as a substitute for senega, to which it bears some analogy as
shown by analysis, and in chronic rheumatism, secondary syphilis, nervous
affections, etc., chiefly in domestic practice. Rafinesque thought it worthy
of investigation.

PODOPHYLLUM. —May-Apple.

Podophyllum peltatum Linn6. — May-Apple, Mandrake.

Description. — Cal}^ : sepals 6, unequal, obtuse, imbricate, pale green,
-caducous, with 3 small, fugacious bractlets at their base. Corolla : petals
6 to 9, obovate, twice the length of the sepals, white. Stamens 12 to 18,
twice the number of the petals, hypogynous, with short, slender filaments ;
anthers linear-oblong, about the length of the filaments, 2-celled, open-
ing longitudinally, and not upward by valves as is the rule with the order.
Ovary ovoid, 1-ceUed, with many ovules ; stigma sessile, large, thick, and

PODOPHYLLUM — MAY-APPLE. 81

undulate or lobed. Fruit a succulent berry as large as a medium-sized
plum, smooth, yellowish-green when ripe, of a mildly acid taste and, to
many people, an agreeable flavor. Seeds 12 or more, covering the large
lateral placenta, in several rows, each seed enclosed in a pulpy aril, the
whole forming a soft mass which fills the cavity of the fruit.

An herbaceous perennial having a creeping, fibrous-rooted rhizome,
1 to 6 feet in length, from which arise in early spring both flowering and
flowerless stems about 1 foot in height. The flowerless stem is termi-
nated by a single, large, round, 7- to 9-lobed leaf, centrally peltate, the
lobes oblong, wedge-shaped, somewhat toothed or lobed at the apex. The
flowering stem bifurcates 6 to 8 inches above the ground, and each
branch bears at its summit, about 4 inches above the bifurcation, a single
one-sided leaf, the stalk fixed near the inner edge, lobed and toothed in a
manner similar to the leaves of the barren stems. At the bifurcation
is situated a single white flower about 2 inches in diameter, upon a short,
curved peduncle.

The plant blossoms in May and ripens its fruit in August and Sep-
tember.

Habitat. — This is a very common plant in rich, moist soil along the bor-
ders of woods and streams from Canada to Florida. Its beautiful foliage,
and still more beautiful flowers, render it an object of interest entkely
apart from its medicinal importance. It is, moreover, very hardy, and
flourishes along the fences of cultivated fields long after many of its more
tender natural associates have been exterminated. In view of its medic-
inal importance this is indeed gratifying, since it is a fact that many of
our valuable indigenous medicinal plants will soon be completely eradi-
cated by the progress of the very civilization which has recognized and
utilized their virtues. Their natural habitat is the virgin soil of the un-
broken forest, and once this is turned by the plow they disappear for-
ever.

Parts Used. — The rhizome and rootlets — United States Pharmacopceia.
The leaves partake of the properties of the root, but are not employed.
The fruit, on the contrary, is entirely innocuous, and may be eaten, in any
reasonable quantity, with impunity.

Constituents.— Vodo-plijWum has a bitter, acrid taste, somewhat similar to
that of other plants of the order. Its active properties reside in a resinous
substance which is obtained by precipitation from a concentrated alco-
holic tincture by means of water acidulated with hydrochloric acid. This
has long been used and sold under the incorrect name podophyllin. It
consists of two resins, one soluble in both ether and alcohol, the other
in alcohol only, and is a mixture of the active and some of the inert
principles of the root. The ultimate composition of these resins is still
a matter of dispute among analysts. In addition to the resin, there
also exist in the root the ordinary vegetable principles, but, as demon-

82 NYMPHS ACE^.

strated by Professor ^Maisch and others, neither berberina nor any other
alkaloid.

Preparations. — Abstractum podophylli — abstract of podophyllum ; ex-
tractum podophylli — extract of podophyllum ; extractum podophylli flu-
iduni— fluid extract of podophyllum ; resina podophylU — resin of podo-
phyllum (incorrectly termed podophyllin). — United States Pharmacopoeia.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Podophyllum is an active cathartic, in-
creasing the intestinal secretions and producing copious and somewhat
watery stools, resembhng jalap in its mode of operation, though its effects
are produced much more slowly. Its action is attended with considerable
griping, and sometimes nausea, which, however, may be, to a great ex-
tent, obviated by administering it in combination with other cathartics or
with sedatives. In over-doses it produces violent emeto-catharsis, and has
not unfrequently caused fatal prostration. That it exerts a special in-
fluence upon the functions of the liver seems to have been abundantly
demonstrated by clinical experience ; and in those cases of inactivity of
this organ so frequently met with in the condition vaguely but ex-
pressively termed " biliousness," few remedies act as satisfactorily. As an
aid to overcoming the habit of constipation, administered alone or in
judicious combinations, few drugs equal and fewer still surpass it in
ef&cacy. Thus, though analogous to jalap in some respects, it has a
wider range of usefulness. It is used by eclectics as a substitute for mer-
cury in the treatment of syphilis, and has even been denominated *' vege-
table calomel," on account of its supposed efiicacy as an alterative. There
is little reason, however, for supposing that it exerts any direct or spe-
cific effect upon syphilis, or that its alterative influence extends beyond the
mere increasing the hepatic and intestinal secretions. It would, therefore,
be extremely unwise to rely upon it to the exclusion of mercury and the
iodides in the treatment of so grave a disease as syphilis.

NYMPH^ACEiC.

Character of the Order. — Aquatic perennial herbs, with horizontal rhi-
zomes and peltate or cordate fleshy leaves, either floating on the surface
of the water or borne above it upon long petioles. Sepals usually 4,
sometimes confounded with the numerous petals, and these often passing
gradually into stamens ; stamens indefinite in number, inserted in the
torus above the petals, with jietaloid filaments, and adnate, introrse
anthers, opening by two longitudinal clefts ; torus large and fleshy, sur-
sounding the ovary, which is many-celled and many-ovuled, with radiat-
ing stigmas. Finiit many-celled, indihescent ; seeds very numerous, borne
on the sides or back of the cells, and not on the ventral suture.

An order comprising five genera in North America, namely, Brasenia,
Cabomba, Nelumbium, Nuphar, and Nymphsea, and these are represented

NYMPHiEA WATER-LILY. 88

by only a few species, none of which are very important medicinally.
They are generally astringent and somewhat demulcent. The plant de-
scribed below, Nymphcea odorata^ is the most important medicinally,
though species of the genus nuphar possess similar properties but to a
more limited extent.

NYMPHS A. — Water-Lily.

Nymphaea odorata Alton. — Sweet-scented Water-Lily.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 4, green outside, white within, nearly free,
withering but not falling away. Corolla : petals numerous, in many rows,
gadually passing into stamens, imbricate, inserted upon the ovary. Sta-
mens indefinite, inserted upon the ovary above the petals, the outer ones
with dilated, petal-like filaments. Ovary 18- to 30-ceUed, the concave sum-
mit bearing at its centre a tubercle, from which the stigmas, equal in num-
ber with the ceUs, radiate like the spokes of a wheel, projecting and in-
curving at the margin, forming a scalloped border. Fruit depressed-
globular, many-celled, many-seeded, covered with the bases of the decayed
petals.

A perennial aquatic herb, having a rough, knotty rhizome as large as a
man's arm, from which proceed flower- and leaf-stems, 1 to 6 feet in length,
varying in this respect according to the depth of water in which the
specimen grows. Leaves orbicular, cordate-cleft to the base of the petiole,
which is inserted about the centre, 6 to 10 inches wide, the margin entire,
the upper surface dark, glossy green, repelling water, the under lighter
green tinged with crimson or purple ; petioles in section nearly semicir-
cular, very flexible, porous, the pores filled with air to buoy the leaves up
and permit them to float easily upon the surface of the water. Flower-
stems round, otherwise resembling the petioles, retracting after flowering,
so that the fruit matures under water. Flowers soHtary, 3 to 5J inches
in diameter, white, rarely pink or rose-colored, very sweet scented, open-
ing early in the morning and closing in the afternoon for several days
in succession. The season of flowering extends throughout the summer,
from June to September.

Habitat. — The margins of lakes, ponds, and slow-flowing streams with
muddy bottoms from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, often covering the
surface of the water for acres in extent, and presenting a scene of rare
loveliness. Indeed, there is only one other aquatic plant indigenous to
North America {Nelumbium luteum — Water Ghinquepin) at all compar-
able to this in beauty. The latter belongs to the same order and grows
in similar situations, but is rare and local east of the Alleghanies.

Part Used. — The rhizome — not official.

Constituents. — The rhizome of the water-lily has an extremely astrin-
gent and bitter taste, the astringency being due to the presence of tannic
and gaUic acids, which are its only medicinal constituents.

84 SARRACENIACE^.

Preparations. — There are neither official nor commercial preparations ;
and even the rhizome itself is seldom kept by the apothecaries.

Medical Properties and Lses. —Kecords of the employment of this
plant are extremely meagre in medical literature. It has been used as an
astringent in dysentery, diarrhoea, and catarrhal affections, in the last-
named cases both internally and locally. It has also been employed
topically as a discutient, and as an astringent poultice to suppurating ul-
cers. As it depends for its efficacy upon the tannic and gallic acids which
it contains, it is hardly worthy of consideration when a choice of remedies
is to be made.

SARRACENIACEiC.

Character of the Order. — Perennial bog or marsh plants, with hollow,
pitcher-like, or trumpet-shaped radical leaves and hypogynous, polyan-
drous flowers.

A small and unimportant though curious order of plants, comprising
but three genera, of which two, Sarracenia and Darlingtonia, are indigenous
to North America.

SARRACENIA. —Pitcher-Plant.

CJiaracter of the Genus. — Sepals 5, with 3 bractlets at their base, col-
ored, persistent. Petals 5, oblong or obovate, incurved upon the ovary,,
colored, deciduous. Both sepals and petals are imbricate in aestivation.
Stamens indefinite in number, hypogynous ; anthers
oblong, adnate, 2-celled, bursting internally and longi-
tudinally. Ovary solitary, 5-celled, many-ovuled ; style
short, expanded at its summit into a large, 5-angled,
umbrella-shaped lamina, with a small, incurved stigma
at each angle. Capsule, crowned by the persistent
style, 5-celled, each cell opening by a locuHcidal valve.
Seeds verj^ numerous, minute, attached to 5 placentae
which project from the axis into the cavity of the cells.
Perennial herbs, with short, fibrous-rooted rhizomes,
radical, hollow, pitcher-like, or ti*umpet-shaped leaves,
and naked scapes, bearing each a single nodding flower.
Sarracenia purpurea Linne. — Pitcher -Plant, Side-
saddle Flower.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 1 inch long, half as wide,

brownish-red or purplish externally, greenish within.

Fig. 102. -Sarracenia Corolla : petals longer and narrower than the sepals,

purpurea. Contracted toward, dilated at, the base, lighter in

color externally than the sepals, still lighter within, folding inward, and

nearly concealing the expanded style. Stamens numerous, completely

covered by the style, which is 1 inch or more wide, Hght grayish-

SARRACENIA PITCHER-PLANT. 85

green ; angles emarginate, the small, hooked stigmas projecting down-
ward from the angles of the notches. Scape simple, smooth, about 1 foot
high, surrounded at its base by a cluster of about half a dozen leaves,
which are pitcher-like in form, upon short clasping petioles, dilated
above, and terminated by an erect, round, heart-shaped hood, lined with
stiff bristly hairs, pointing downward. The openings of the leaves are di-
rected upward in such manner as to collect rain-drops, and their cavities
are generally about full of water. A fully developed leaf will contain a
half ounce or more of liquid. Owing to the downward direction of the
hairs lining the mouths of the pitchers, insects faUing into them are
unable to get out, and it has been contended by some that the plant
derives a part of its nourishment by a sort of digestion of insects thus cap-
tured and drowned. The flowers are produced in June.

Habitat. — In cold bogs and marshes, from Hudson's Bay to Florida.
Quite common about the margins of ponds in tamarack swamps.

Sarracenia flava Linne. — Trumpet-leaf, Watches.

Description. — Leaves erect, 2 to 3 feet long, trumpet-shaped, narrowly-
winged; lamina 3 to 4 inches wide, yellow, erect, orbicular, slender-
pointed, tomentose within, reddish at the base, or reticulated with purple
veins. Scapes as long as the leaves. Flowers 4 to 5 inches wide, yellow,
appearing in April and May. — Chupman.

Sarracenia y?ino\3.nsM.\Q)iQ.voL.— Spotted Trumpet-Leaf.

Description. — Leaves erect, trumpet-shaped, broadly winged, spotted
with white near the yellowish summit ; lamina ovate, concave, arching
over the orifice of the tube, hairy and reticulated with purple veins
within. Flowers 2 inches wide, yellow, on scapes shorter than the leaves,
appearing in May. — Chupman.

Habitat. — The two species of yellow-flowered sarracenia grow in low,
wet pine barrens, from North Carolina to Florida and westward.

Parts Used. — The rhizome and rootlets — not official.

Constituents. — Analyses of these plants by different chemists have
yielded different results. Professor U. C. Shepard found " an acid or an
acid salt, and also an astringent property, due neither to tannic nor gaUic
acid, and a salt of some alkaloid, related perhaps to cinchonia, which,
should it prove new, may be called sarracenin " (Porcher). Stan. Martin
obtained a bitter alkaloid, sarracenina, whose sulphate is crystallizable, and
F. Schmidt isolated an acid yellow coloring matter, sarracenic acid. So
far as ascertained, the proximate principles obtained by analysis have not
been subjected to therapeutic experimentation.

Preparations. — There are neither official nor commercial preparations.
The powdered root may be administered in substance, or a tincture or in-
fusion may be employed.

Medical Properties and Uses. — According to Dr. Porcher, sarracenia is
used to a considerable extent in the Southern States as a bitter tonic and

86 PAPAYERACEiE.

stomachic in dyspeptic affections. In over-doses it produced in his own
person some cerebral disturbance, which he attributed to the presence of
a narcotic principle. And to this narcotic principle he attributed also
some of the reUef obtained by use of the plant in painful indigestion.

PAPAVERACE^.

Character of the Order. — Annual or perennial herbs, with a thick colored
or milky juice, regular flowers, the parts in twos or fours, numerous hy-
pogynous stamens, and a 1-celled ovaiy, with 2 or more parietal placentae.
Sepals usually 2, rarely 3, falling when the bud opens. Petals 4 to 12,
rarely more, spreading, commonly crumpled in the bud, and of short du-
ration. Fruit a dry capsule or pod, containing numerous small, oily seeds.
Leaves alternate, without stipules ; commonly covered with a bloom. Pe-
duncles generally 1-flowered.

A family of plants represented in the United States by about a dozen
genera, comprising altogether a not much greater number of species, of
which but two are of any medicinal importance. Indeed, the entire order
as distributed over the globe is, with a few notable exceptions — chiefly pa-
paver and sanguinaria — comparatively unimportant, either medicinally or
economically. They generally possess acrid and more or less narcotic
l^roperties.

SANGUIN ARI A. — Bloodroot.

Sanguinaria Canadensis Linne. — Bloodroot.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 2, hght green, falling as the bud opens.
Corolla : petals 8 to 12 or more, one-half to 1 inch long, oblong-si^atulate,
spreading, white or slightly rose-tinted, increasing in size for two or three
days after the bud opens, and then falling away. Stamens about 24, in
several rows, much shorter than the petals, those in the inner rows long-
est ; anthers narrow, opening longitudinally. Ovary linear-oblong, 1-
celled ; stj'le short, stigma 2-grooved. Capsule oblong, pointed at both
ends, tipped with the style, 1-celled, 2-valved. Seeds numerous, roundish,
smooth, with a prominent ridge along the raphe.

An herbaceous perennial, having a thick, fleshy, fibrous-rooted rhizome,
1 to 3 inches long, from which are sent up in early spring one or more simple,
round scapes, each bearing a single flower, which expands in advance of
the unfolding of the leaf enclosing it as it emerges from the ground. The
leaves, all radical, are, when first unfolded, about 7-lobed, but become,
later in the season, broadly reniform, and attain a breadth of 6 to 7 inches.
They are borne upon long channelled petioles, are dark shining gi'een above,
gra^dsh-green and strongly reticulated beneath. The rhizome is reddish-
brown externally, paler within, and pours out, when wounded, an abun-
dance of reddish orange-colored juice, whence the common name of the

PLATE \\\.

Johnson . Del.

SANGUINARIA CANADENSIS

Plate III.— Sanguinaria Canadensis.

Fig. 1. — Flowering plant, lialf natural size.
Fig. 3. — Pistil and stamens, natural size.
Fig. 3.— Cross-section of rhizome, natural size.

SANGUINARIA — BLOODROOT. 87

plant. Nor is tlie colored juice characteristic of the root only ; it occurs
in the leaves and flowers as well.

Habitat. — In rich, open woods from Canada to Florida and westward to
the Mississippi. Formerly very common, it is becoming rapidly scarcer,
and ill the cultivated parts of the Atlantic States will ere long be consid-
ered comparatively rare. In the latitude of New York it blooms about
the middle of April, and, like many of our early blooming plants, is of
short duration. In favorable localities the first blossoms are quickly suc-
ceeded by myriads, so that the ground is almost white with them, pre-
senting a most charming aspect.

Part Used. — The rhizome — United States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — Sanguinaria has a bitter, acrid taste, which persists for
some time, accompanied by a sensation of constriction and irritation in the
throat. This is most evident in the fresh rhizome, but does not disappear
from the dried drug, which in powder is extremely irritating to the res-
piratory tract if inhaled. These irritant properties appear to reside
mainly in an alkaloid, sang ainarina, which possesses them to an intense
degree. This, when pure, is in white verrucose or needle-shaped ciystals,
soluble in both alcohol and ether, and, with acids, forms salts of a bright
red color. Two other alkaloids and a peculiar acid have also been found
in the drug, but sanguinarina appears to be the chief medicinal, as it is
the only commercial, constituent.

Preparations. — Acetum sanguinarise — vinegar of sanguinaria ; extrac-
tum sanguinarise fluidum — fluid extract of sanguinaria ; tinctura sangui-
nariae — tincture of sanguinaria. — United States Pharmacopoeia.

Medical Properties and Uses. — In veiy small doses sanguinaria exerts a
tonic influence, promoting gastro-intestinal secretion and thus aiding di-
gestion. It is sometimes employed in this manner in dyspepsia, with
asserted benefit. It is not, however, as a tonic that it exerts its greatest
influence, but as an expectorant in diseases of the respiratory organs.
In these cases it is employed in much larger doses than when its tonic
eflects are desired. In still larger doses it is emetic, and both too power-
ful and violent to be employed with safety. In over-doses it produces
excessive prostration, insensibility, irregularity and feebleness of the pulse,
and even fatal collapse. The dry powder is sometimes used as a sternuta-
tory in chronic nasal catarrh, and it was formerly employed as a topical
application to ulcers to repress fungous granulations or to excite indolent
sores to greater and more healthy activity.

That sanguinaria was formerly highly esteemed by the medical profes-
sion generally, will become evident to the reader of our past and even
present literature ; that it is comparatively little used here in the East now
is none the less apparent and true. Whether this is to be attributed to a
mere change in therapeutic fashions or to a preference for expectorants of
a milder character, is not easy to decide. At any rate, sanguinaria ap-

88

PAPAVERACE^.

peai-s to have followed antimony and squill into comparative and probably
unmerited disuse.

CHELrDONIUM.— Celandine.

Chelidonium majus lAnn^.— Celandine.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 2, ovate, yellowish, caducous. Corolla :
petals 4, sub-orbiculai', contracted at the base, yellow, early deciduous.
Stamens indefinite in number, liypogynous, shorter than the petals ; an-
thers 2-lobed. Ovary elongated, cylindrical, slightly bent, composed of 2
cai-pels separated by an incomplete partition, many-ovuled ; style very short,
the 2-lobed stigma apparently sessile upon the ovary. Fruit a dry pod, Un-

ear, 2-valved, the valves opening from below
upwai'd, becoming detached and leaving the
dissepiment persistent upon the stem.

An herbaceous perennial, with a fusifoi-m
root, erect, branching, somewhat hairy stems,
1 to 2 feet high, alternate, pinnately divided
or bi-pinnatifid leaves, and small flowers in
small pedunculate umbels at the summits
of the branches. Leaflets 3 to 7, the lobes
incised, crenate, petiolulate, or decuri'ent
upon the common petiole, glabrous above,
glaucous underneath. The flowers are pro-
duced throughout the summer. All parts
of the plant are pervaded with an acrid,
saffron-colored juice.

Habitat. — A native of Europe, celandine
has become fully naturalized here, growing
about old buildings and fences and along roadsides.

Fart Used. — The entire plant — United States Pharmacopoeia.
Constituents. — Celandine has a rather unpleasant odor, and a persistent,
acrid, bitter taste, which is stronger in the root than in the leaves. The
juice possesses the same sensible properties, though to a more intense de-
gree. The odor is lost in drying, but the taste remains. An analysis of
the plant by Probst yielded a peculiar acid, chelidonic, two alkaline princi-
ples, the one, chelerythrine, forming salts with acids, the other, cheledonine,
uniting with acids without neutralizing them, and finally a neutral crys-
tallizable, bitter principle termed chelidoxanthin. Chelei7thrine is said to
be an acrid narcotic poison, while cheledonine has been shown to be iden-
tical with sanguinarine, the most important constituent of bloodroot.

Preparations. — There are no official preparations. The expressed juice
is very active, and affords a convenient mode of administration when ob-
tainable. The dried root or herb maj^ be administered in substance, de-
coction, or infusion, or a wateiy extract may be employed.

Fig. 103.— Chelidonium majus.

DICENTRA. 89

Medical Properties and Uses. — In medicinal doses celandine is diapho-
retic, diuretic, expectorant, and purgative ; in over-doses it is an acrid nar-
cotic poison, producing not only excessive purgation but great cerebral
distui'bance. It bears, therefore, a close analogy in its action to sangui-
naria. In both, the acrid-properties are much more apparent than the nar-
cotic, so that fatal effects may be produced before narcotic symptoms be-
come very evident. In this respect they are in marked contrast with the
poppy, a member of the same order of plants, whose stimulating properties
are of secondary importance compared with its narcotic influence.

Celandine is a remedy which has come down to us from the fathers of
medicine, and is interesting chiefly on account of its historical associations,
for it is seldom employed at the present day. Its action, as outhned above,
suffices to indicate the classes of cases to which it is apphcable, but a cata-
logue of the diseases in which it has been employed would be formidable.
As a drastic purgative it was formerly used in dropsy ; and it was espe-
cially esteemed in jaundice, an idea which, as Woodville remarks, probably
had its origin in the absurd doctrine of signatures, though there can be
little doubt that it might, through its stimulant properties, be of occasional
benefit in this condition. The fresh juice has been used as a topical ap-
plication to corns and warts and in the squamous stages of various skin
diseases. It requires to be employed with caution, for it is extremely irri-
tating.

FUMARIACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Herbs with brittle stems, watery juice, alter-
nate, dissected, exstipulate leaves, and irregular, unsym metrical flowers.
Sepals 2, deciduous. Petals 4, cruciate, irregular, one or two of them saccate
or spurred, and the two inner ones often cohering at the apex so as to in-
clude the anthers and stigma. Stamens 6, in two sets of three each, placed
opposite the larger petals, hypogynous, the filaments often united ; the
middle anther of each set 2-celled, the outer ones 1-ceUed. Ovary 1-celled ;
style filiform ; stigma with 2 or more points. Fruit a 1-celled pod, either
1-seeded and indehiscent or several-seeded with two parietal placentae.

An unimportant though interesting order of plants, closely allied to
the iMpamracece in general structure, but having watery instead of milky
juice. There are but three strictly North American genera, namely, Adlu-
mia, Corydalis, and Dicentra. Fumaria, though flourishing here without
cultivation, is not indigenous, but has been introduced from Eui'ope.

DICENTRA.

Dicentra Canadensis De Candolle {Corydalis formosa Pursh). —
Squirrel Corn, lurkey Corn.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 2, small and scale-Hke, deciduous. Corolla :

90 FUMARIACEJE.

petals 4, slightly coherent, the two outer equally spurred, the spurs short,
rounded, obtuse, slightly incurved, giving the whole a somewhat heart-
shaped outline ; inner petals with a projecting, conspicuous crest. Stamens
in two sets, with filaments iinited. Stigmas 2 -crested and somewhat 2-
horned. Pod 10- to 20-seeded.

A low, smooth, stemless perennial, whose undergroimd shoots bear small
yellow tubers, resembling peas or kernels of Lidian corn, whence the com-
mon names. Leaves all radical, 10 to 12 inches high, bi-ternate, the leaf-
lets deej^ly pinnatifid, the lobes linear-oblong, sub-glaucous. Scape 6 to
10 inches high, simple, smooth. Flowers 4 to 10, nodding, fragrant,
greenish-white tinged with rose-color, appearing in IVIay and June.

Habitat. — In rich woods from Canada to Pennsylvania, Kentucky and
westward ; most common northward.

Part Used. — The rhizome — not official.

Constituents. — Dicentra has a faint, peculiai' odor and a characteristic
slightly bitter taste, which is quite persistent, and for some time greatly
increases the flow of saliva. It has yielded to analysis an alkaloid termed
corydalin, together with a peculiar acid, a volatile oil, a tasteless and an
acrid resin, bitter extractive, and ordinar}^ vegetable constituents. A com-
mercial article, improperly termed corydalin, is considerably used by eclec-
tic practitioners, and is said to fairly represent the medicinal constituents
of the plant. It is prepared from the alcoholic tincture by precipitation,
and is an impure resinous substance.

Preparations. — None are official. It may be administered in infusion,
tinctui'e, or extract, or in the form of the so-called corydalin.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Dicentra is said to be tonic, diuretic, and
alterative. As a tonic King considers its action similar to gentian and
Colombo, or other pure bitters ; and its alterative properties " in syphilis,
especially in the constitutional form, when occurring in debilitated or
broken-down constitutions . . . not equalled by any other agent."
Not, however, because "it exerts any real influence as an antisyphilitic,
projDcrly so called," but simply in the office of an alterative tonic. Though
the evidence in favor of its efficacy as a remedy must necessarily be col-
lected chiefly from eclectic sources, there is enough of it to justify the
conclusion that dicentra is not inert, but, on the contrary, is worthy of
more careful examination than it has hitherto received.

FUMARIA. — FuMrroRY.

Fumaria officinalis Linne. — Common Fumitory.

Description. — Calyx: sepals 2, ovate-lanceolate, acute, sharply toothec ,
shorter than the coroUa, caducous. CoroUa : petals 4, the upper one ol
the outer pair spurred at the base, the lateral pair cohering at theii* tips
and forming a quadrangular mouth. Stamens 6, in two sets of three each.

FUMARIA FUMITORY.

91

Ovary oval ; style filiform, about as long as the stamens, deciduous. Pod
roundish, somewhat heart-shaped, 1-seeded, indehiscent.

A small, leafy, much-branched annual, about 1 foot high. Leaves bi-
pinnate, the pinnulse mostly 3-lobed, of a pale green color. Flowers
small, reddish-purple, in dense spikes or racemes.

Habitat. — A native of Europe but naturalized here, growing in waste
places about dwellings and in
cultivated grounds.

Part Used. — The herb — not
official.

Constituents. — Fumitory has
a bitter, disagreeable taste,
strongly marked in the fresh
herb and stiU more so in the
dried specimen. It has jdelded
to analysis a pecuHar crystal-
lizable acid, termed fumaric
acid, and an alkaloid, also
crystalline, termed fumarine.
These are supposed to be the
active constituents of the plant,
but experiments in support of
the supposition appear to be
lacking.

Preparations. — None are of-
ficial. The expressed juice of
the fresh plant is an efficient
preparation ; the decoction and
infusion are also eligible forms
of administration.

Medical Pr^operties and Uses.
— Fumitory was highly es-
teemed by the ancients as a blood purifier, and was also beheved to exert
a special influence upon the eyes. In more recent times it has been re-
garded as tonic and depurative, and as being specially beneficial in dis-
eases of the skin. At one time or another it has, therefore, been em-
ployed with asserted benefit in a great variety of cases. Cullen found it
more beneficial in skin diseases than in any other class of cases. Others
have used it in scrofulous and scorbutic affections ; others as a vermifuge,
though as Cazin remarks, it is no more anthelmintic than other bitters.
It is sometimes employed externally in cutaneous affections, in the form
of a decoction made by boiling the plant in milk.

Fio. 104. — Fumaria ofRcinalis.

92

CRUCIFERJE.

CRUCIFERiC.

Character of the Order. — Herbs with alternate, exstipulate leaves, cruci-
form flowers in terminal racemes or corymbs, and a pungent, acrid, watery
juice. Sepals 4, deciduous. Petals 4, hypogynous, placed opposite each
other in pairs, theu- limbs spreading and foi-ming a cross. Stamens 6»
four of equal length placed in pairs opposite each other, the remaining
two, shorter, placed beneath them and opposite each other. Ovary of 2
imited carpels, with 2 parietal placentse, separated by a membranaceous
partition ; style short or absent, often persistent ; stigmas 2, opposite the
placentae. Fruit a silique or sihcle, usually 2-celled, rarely 1-celled, 1- to
many-seeded, dehiscent by the separation of the valves from the persistent

placentae, or occasionally
indehiscent, and either
lomentaceous or nucu-
mentaceous. Seeds cam-
pylotropous, g e n e ra lly
pendulous, attached in a
single row to each side
of the placenta. Embryo
with cotyledons variously
folded on the radicle.

This is a very natural
and easily recognized fam-
ily of plants, the cruciform
flowers (Fig. 105) and pe-
culiarly arranged stamens
(Fig. 106) serving for im-
mediate identification of the order. The identification of the genera is,
however, quite another matter. Here the characters are taken from the
pods and seeds, and in some instances are, to the beginner at least, very
perplexing.

All the crucifers possess, to a greater or less extent, acrid and irritat-
ing properties, but none of them are positively poisonous. The acrid
principle is usually of a volatile character, somewhat dissipated in drying
and entirely so by boiling. Though generally present in all parts of the
plant, it is often most concentrated in the seeds, and may be obtained
from many of them by distillation in the form of a volatile oil. Whatever
of medicinal importance the order may have is undoubtedly due to the
acrid princij^le present, and this appears to act merely by virtue of its
stimulant and irritant properties. Hence all statements attributing spe-
cific virtues to any plant of the order should be viewed with suspicion.
There is no one order in the vegetable kingdom of more strongly marked

Fig. 105. — Form of flower com-
mon to the Cruciferae.

FiO. 106. —Arrange-
ment of stamens com-
mon to the Cruciferse.

NASTURTIUM. 9S

characteristics, both of organic structure and chemical composition, thao
this ; and hence to know a single plant of the family well — for example,,
mustard — is to know them all. Many of them — for instance, the cabbage
and turnip — have been modified to a considerable extent by long cultiva-
tion, and have become valuable articles of food.

NASTURTIUM.

Character of the Genus. — Pod a silique or silicle, linear-oblong or glob-
ular, nearly or quite round. Seeds small, numerous, marginless, in two
irregular rows in each cell. Cotyledons accumbent. Annual, biennial, or
perennial herbs, aquatic or growing in marshes and wet places, with white
or yellow flowers, and com-
monly smooth, shining, pin-
nate or pinnatifid leaves.

Nasturtium officinale
Robert Brown. — Water-cress.

Description. — Calyx : se-
pals ovate, caducous. Co-
rolla : petals white, twice the
length of the sepals. Siliques
one-half to two-thirds inch
long, bending upward, more
or less, on divergent, ascend-
ing pedicels, of nearly the
same length. Root biennial,
long, and creeping. Stem
spreading and rooting.
Leaves pinnate ; leaflets 3 to
11, roundish or oblong, near-
ly entire, the terminal one
largest.

^aft'ito^. -Introduced from ^'«- lO^-^-turtium officinale.

Europe, where it has long been cultivated as a salad. Escaping from cul-
tivation here, it has become established in brooks and ditches.

Nasturtium Armoracia Fries (Gochlearia ArmoraciaIADn6). — Horse-
radish.

Description. — Calyx : sepals ovate, obtuse, caducous. Corolla : petals
white, twice the length of the sepals. Style very short, persistent. Pod
nearly globular, about 4-seeded, seldom attaining perfection here or in
Britain. Root perennial, large, tapering, 6 to 12 inches long. Stem erect,
2 to 3 feet high. Radical leaves long and large, crenate, seldom pinnat-
ifid : stem-leaves smaller and narrower than the radical, the lower ones
7

94

CEUCIFER^.

often deeply toothed or pinnatifid, the upper lanceolate, sparsely toothed.
Flowers small, in numerous racemes, forming a terminal panicle.

Habitat. — Introduced from Europe and cultivated chiefly as a condi-
ment Escaping from cultivation, it has become, to some extent, natural-
ized. It gi'ows best in deep, rich, moist soil, and when once well estab-
lished is difficult to eradicate.

Two strictly indigenous species of this genus, namely, N. palustre De
Candolle — Marsh-cress, and N. lacustre Gray — Lake-cress, possess jDroperties

similar to those described
above, but as they are sel-
dom, if ever, employed, their
description is omitted.

Parts Used. — Water-cress,
the herb ; horseradish, the
leaves and root. Neither is
official.

Constituents. — Water-cress
distilled with water yields a
volatile oil, probably identical
with volatile oil of mustard ;
horseradish, treated in like
manner, yields a similar oil,
having the same chemical
composition as volatile oil of
mustard, but a slightly differ-
ent odor. This oil does not
pre-exist in the plant, but is
formed during the process of
distillation, as is the case with
many other volatile oils. It is
intensely acrid and in'itatiug.
Preparations. — None are
official. The expressed juice
of water-cress has been ad-
ministered. Horseradish is
generally employed in infusion, though there is an official (British Phar-
macopoeia) preparation, Spiritus armoracioe compositus — compound spirit of
horseradish.

Medical Properties and Uses. —Water-cress, though used chiefly as a
stimulating salad to sharpen the appetite and aid digestion, possesses mild
antiscorbutic properties, and is used in domestic practice as a " blood
purifier " in the spring of the year. It probably acts simply as a stimulant
to the functions of digestion and assimilation. Externally it is sometimes
employed as a counterimtant. Horseradish possesses properties similar to,

Fig. 108.— Nasturtium (cochlearia) Armoracla.

BRASSICA SIN APIS. 95

l)ut more intense than those of water-cress. It is chiefly used as a stimu-
lating condiment. Externally the bmised root, or more frequently the
leaves are used as a counterirritant.

The acrid principles of these plants appear, clinically, to be eliminated
by the kidneys, and hence, incidentally, they produce a decided diuretic
effect. The urine is not only increased in quantity, but partakes also of
the acrid character of the plant employed. In one case that came under
the author's observation the individual, though in perfect health so far as
the genito-urinary tract was concerned, suffered extremely from vesical
pain and irritation for hours after Using horseradish as a condiment.

BRASSICA.— SiNAPis.

Character of the Genus. — Pod linear, cylindrical or nearly so, smooth
or with stiff hairs, more or less beaked at the top, the beak consisting of
the persistent style alone, or including a portion of the pod and a single
seed. Seeds globose, in a single row ; the cotyledons folded longitudi-
nally over the radicle.

Annual or biennial herbs, smooth or bristly, the lower leaves generally
deeply pinnate or lyrate, the upper sometimes entire. Flowers yellow, in
axillary and terminal racemes.

No plants of this genus are indigenous to North America, but several
foreign species have become naturalized, the most important of which are
described below.

Brassica alba Boissier {Sinapis alba Linne). — White Mustard.

Description. — Flowers rather large, about one-half inch in diameter.
Pods three-fourths to one inch long on divergent ascending pedicels, more
than half the length occupied by the stout, flattened, often ciu-ved, 1-seeded
beak ; the valves and lower joart of the beak covered with stiff, bristly hau's.
Stem 1 to 2 feet high, smooth or with stiff hairs. Leaves pinnately lobed
or divided, the lobes ovate or oblong, coarsely toothed, the terminal one
largest.

Habitat. — Introduced from Eui'ope and sparingly naturalized in culti-
Tated grounds.

Brassica nigra Koch (Sinapis nigra Linne). — Black Mustard.

Description. — Flowers smaller than in white mustard. Pods about one-
half inch long, on short, appressed pedicels, smooth, slightly conical at the
base, the apex tipped with the short, persistent style. Stem 2 to 3 feet
high, erect, freely branched. Lower leaves deeply divided, with one large
ovate or oblong terminal lobe and smaller lateral ones ; upper leaves often
entire.

Habitat. — Introduced from Europe. Better established than white mus-
tard.

Part Used. — The seed. Official name : Sinapis alba — white mustard ;
Sinapis nigra— black mustard. — United States Pharmacopoeia.

96

CRUCIFER^.

Constituents. — The white mustai-d-seed is about one-twelfth of an inch
in diameter, ahnost globular, and of a yellowish color ; the black mustard -
seed one twenty-fifth of an inch in diameter, similar shape, blackish-
brown. Both yield a yellow powder, and both contain a considerable
percentage of fixed oil, which is bland, inodorous, and non-drying. Their
active instating constituents are, however, though similar, far from identi-
cal, that of black mustard being
a volatile oil, while that of white
mustard cannot be obtained by
distillation. In neither case
does the acrid principle pre-ex-
ist in the seed, but is formed by
chemical reaction or fermen-
tation of existing principles
when brought into contact with
each other in the presence of
water. The reaction differing
so widely in results in the two
cases is thus explained : Black
mustard has as one of its constit-
uents a crystallizable substance
termed sinnigrin, which in the
presence of another constituent^
myrosin, an albuminous body,
and water, is decomposed, yield-
ing sugar, bisulphate of potas-
sium, and the volatile oil of
mustard. White mustard, on
the other hand, though contain-
ing myrosin, has instead of sinnigrin a similar complex substance, termed
sinalhin, which is decomposed by myrosin in the presence of water, yield-
ing sugar, sulphate of sinapin, and sulphocyanate of acrinyl, the latter
being the acrid principle.

Preparations. — Of white mustard, none ; of black mustard, Charta
sinapis — mustard paper. — United States Pharmacopoeia.

Medical Properties and Uses. — These are too well known to require
more than mere mention. As an aid to digestion it is used in eveiy
household. As a prompt and efficient emetic it is almost always at hand
and the first to be employed in emergencies. As a rubefacient its sphere
of usefulness is practically unlimited.

CAPSELLA.

Capsella B ursa- pastor is Moench (T/i/aspi Bursa-pastoris Uime). —
Shepherd's Purse.

Fig. 109.— Brassica (sinapis) nigra.

CAPSELLA.

97

Desmp^ion.— Flowers small, white. Pods obcordate-triangular, jdat-
tened at right angles to the partition, wingless, each valve 10- to 12-seeded,
in long, loose racemes. Cotyledons incumbent.

A small annual, with an erect, hairy stem
and a long, tapering root. Radical leaves
clustered, pinnatifid or toothed, rarely entire ;
stem-leaves oblong or lanceolate, entire or
toothed, clasping the stem with projecting
auricles. It flowers from early spring until
winter.

Habitat. — A native of Europe or West-
ern Asia, it has followed man into almost
every extra-tropical region and become one
of the commonest weeds known.

Part Used. — The herb — not official.

Constituents. — Shepherd's purse has a
pungent, bitter taste, and on distillation
yields a volatile oil identical with oil of mus-
tard.

Preparations. — There are none. The ex-
pressed juice or infusion may be employed.

Medical Properties and Uses. — This plant
has been used as a tonic, astringent, and
antiscorbutic. There is perhaps more tes-
timony in support of its efficacy as an as-
tringent in hemorrhages from the lungs,
kidneys, bladder, uterus, etc., than for any other purpose, but even this
testimony is incomplete and unsatisfactory. Once highly esteemed, it
has fallen into entire — and probably merited — neglect.

Fig. 110. — Capsella Bursa-pastoris.

VIOLACE.^.

Character of the Order. — Perennial, rarely annual, herbs, with simple
alternate or radical stipulate leaves and nodding flowers, either solitary
or in cymes, racemes, or panicles. Calyx of 5 persistent sepals. Corolla
somewhat irregular, 1-spurred, of five unequal petals, imbricated in the
bud. Stamens 5, hypogynous, their filaments projecting beyond the an-
ther cells and converging over the pistil. Ovary 1-celled, with 3 parietal
placentae ; style club-shaped ; stigma simj^le, turned to one side. Fruit a
3-valved, many-seeded capsule, the valves, after opening, folding longitu-
dinally and projecting the seeds. Seeds comparatively large, anatropous ;
cotyledons flat.

An order of plants more remarkable for their beauty and fragrance —
many of them lack the latter quality — than for any medicinal or economic

98 VIOLACE^

properties. Represented in North America by two genera, namely, lonid-
ium {Solea) and Viola, the former comprising three and the latter about
thirty species. Very few plants of the order have been experimented
with therapeutically, and these have yielded no very important results.

VIOLA. —Violet.

Character of the Genus. — Sepals extended into auricles at the base>
and appearing as though joined at their sides. Petals somewhat unequal,
the lower one spurred at the base. Stamens closely embracing the ovary,
shghtly coherent, the two lower bearing spurs which project backward into
the spurred petal.

In addition to the conspicuous colored flowers, several of the speciea
bear, later in the season, other flowers, on fehort peduncles, which do not
open but become fertilized in the bud, and develop their capsules at or
near the surface of the ground ; these are much more fruitful than the
colored blossoms, and are both curious and interesting. Most of the spe-
cies are stemless perennials.

Viola cuculiata Aiton. — Common Blue Violet.

Description. — Caljx : sepals as in the character of the genus. Corolla :
petals variable as to size and color, generally comparatively large, pale or
deep violet-blue or purple, sometimes variegated or nearly white, the two
lateral and often the lower one bearded ; spur short and thick.

A stemless perennial. Rhizome thickly beset with fleshy teeth,
branching and forming compact masses. Leaves upright on long petioles,
cordate with a broad sinus, varying to reniform or triangular, smooth or
pubescent, the bases rolled inward when young. Scapes simple, 3 to 10
inches high, 1-flowered, produced in profusion. Flowers inodorous or
nearly so, appearing in April or May and continuing to be produced
throughout the summer.

Habitat. — This most common and most variable species is abundant in
wet places from the Arctic regions to the Gulf of Mexico.

Viola pedataLinne. — Bird-Foot Violet.

Description. — Calyx : sepals as in the preceding. Corolla : petals large,
beardless, pale or deep lilac-purple, or blue.

A stemless perennial. Rhizome erect, short, thick, abrupt. Leaves
all 3- to 5-divided, lateral divisions 2- to 3-parted, linear or spatulate, some-
times 2- to 3-toothed or cut at the apex. Flowers 1 inch broad, in masses
fragrant, appearing in May and, occasionally, another crop later in the
season.

Habitat. — In sandy soil ; nearly as widely distributed as the preceding,
but far less common.

Viola tricolor Linn6. — Pansy, Heart's ease.

Description. — Calyx : sepals as in the preceding. Corolla : petals large,
variegated with white, yellow, blue, purple, etc.

VIOLA — VIOLET. 99

Annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial, with short rootstock and
erect, angular, branching, leafy stem. Leaves narrowly oblong, ovate or
cordate, obtuse, sUghtly crenate ; stipules large, leaf-Hke, deeply divided
into several linear or oblong lobes.

Habitat. — A native of Europe, the pansy has long been cultivated here
as an ornamental plant, and is familiar to every one as a florist's flower. It
has escaped from cultivation and become, to some extent, naturalized. In-
deed, some authorities believe that a variety of the species is indigenous.
AVhen growing without cultivation it rapidly deteriorates in size but gains
as regards its medicinal activity, and hence the uncultivated plant only is
official.

Parts Used. — Of Viola tricolor, the herb. — United States Pharmacopoeia,
The other species are not official, though V. pedata was so at one time, the
rhizome being employed.

Constituents. — Very little is known of the constituents of the species
of violets here described. An allied species, V. odorata, of Europe, has
yielded to analysis an alkaloid — violin — analogous to emetin.^ All the
species are mucilaginous and emollient, but beyond this, and the fact just
stated regarding V. odorata, their constituents are yet to be investigated.

Preparations. — None are official. They are chiefly employed in decoc-
tion, though there is a commercial fluid extract of V. tricolor.

Medical Properties and Uses. — All species of the violet subjected to ex-
periment appear to be emetic and cathartic when administered in consider-
able doses. Their nauseating properties probably depend upon the pres-
ence of violin ; and to this and the mucilaginous property also existing
is doubtless due their expectorant eftect when administered in bronchial
and pulmonary affections. At present, however, little use is made of them.
The sweet violet of Europe is employed there in the preparation of a syrup,
which is used chiefly as a vehicle on account of its beautiful color and
agreeable odor.

Quite recently Dr. Piffard called attention to the value of viola tricolor
as a remedy in crusta lactea, for which it was much used in Europe years
ago. Owing to his recommendation of the plant many other physicians
have subjected it to experiment, among them the writer, who, though less
enthusiastic in his praise of it than Dr. Piffard, feels sure that it exerts a
remedial influence upon this troublesome disease.

CISTACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Shrubs or herbs, often viscid. Sepals 5, un-
equal, persistent, the outer two often small and bract-like, sometimes want-
ing ; the inner three larger and somewhat twisted in the bud. Petals 5,
equal, hypogynous, very fugitive, crumpled in the bud, and twisted in a

' See Rafinesque, vol. ii. , p. 275.

100 CISTACE^.

direction opposite to that of the sepals. Stamens indefinite, distinct,
hj-pogyiious ; filaments slender ; anthers innate. Ovary distinct, 1- to
many-celled, few- or many-ovuled, the ovules with a foramen at their apex ;
style single or none ; stigma simple. Fruit a capsule, usually 3- or t5-valved,
occasionally 10-valved, either 1-celled or imperfectly 5- to 10-celled.

Leaves simple, usually entire, the lower opposite, the upper alternate,
stipulate or exstipulate.

A small and unimportant order, comprising in North America three
genera, namely, Helianthemum, Hudsonia, and Lechea, the first-named
only being represented by medicinal species.

HELIANTHEMUM.— Rock Rose.

Character of the Genus. — Sepals and petals as in the character of the
order. Ovary 1-celled ; style short or none. Most North American species
bear two crops of flowers, of widely different aspect. The early flowers are
few in number, solitary or in terminal coi-ymbs, have large yeUow petals,
and produce manj^-seeded capsules, while the later ones are in axillary
clusters, the petals small and inconspicuous or absent altogether, and the
capsules few-seeded.

Helianthemum Canadense Michaux. — Frostweed, Bock Rose.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 5, the outer two small. Corolla : petals of
the early flowers 5, large and showy, opening but once, in sunshine, and
falling the next day. Expanded flower about 1 inch broad.

Stem erect, hairy, pubescent, 6 to 18 inches high, at first simple, ulti-
mately branching. Leaves alternate, entire, lanceolate-oblong, pubescent,
about 1 inch long. Early flowers solitary ; secondary flowers in axillary
clusters. Period of flowering, June to August.

Habitat. — In dry, sandy soil from Canada southward ; common.

Helianthemum corymbosum Michaux.

Description. — Like the preceding, except that the flowers are in terminal
corymbs, the showy ones becoming stalked, while the others are sessile,
and the whole plant being more pubescent.

Habitat. — In pine barrens from New Jersey to Florida, along the coast.

Part Used. — The herb — not official.

Constituents. — The only constituent of therapeutic activity thus far dis-
covered in these plants is tannin.

Preparations. — There are various commercial preparations.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Frostweed is a mild astringent, and prob-
ably nothing more, though it is not without advocates among those who
appear to think every plant must, of necessity, possess therapeutic virtues.
Of course such persons value it highly in scrofula, etc.

DROSERA — SUNDEW.

101

DROSERACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Low, glandular-hairy herbs, with tufted radi-
cal leaves, and flowers in naked 1-sided racemes, growing in bogs and
marshes. Sepals 5, equal, imbricate, persistent. Petals 5, hypogj'nous,
withering. Stamens distinct, hypogynous, equal in number with the
petals, and alternate with them, or two to four times as many. Qhoxy
single, 1-celled, many-ovuled, with 3 or 5 parietal placentae ; styles 3 or 5,
deeply bifid, appearing like 6 or 10. Capsule 3- or 5-valved, many-seeded.

An order represented in North America by two genera, namely Drosera
and Dioneea, together comprising eight species.

DROSERA. —Sundew.

Drosera rotund ifolia Linne. — Round-leaved Sundew.

Description. — Calyx : sepals as in the character of the order. CoroUa :
petals oblong, white. Styles very short, bifid. Seeds lineai*, with a
loose, membranaceous coat. Leaves or-
bicular, spreading, abruptly narrowed to
a long, hairy petiole. Scape erect, smooth,
4 to 10 inches high, 5- to 10-flowered.
The long, glandular hairs are tipped with
minute drops of glutinous material which
in sunshine look like dew-drops, whence
the common name, sundew. Annual or
biennial, flowering from June to August.

Habitat. — In sphagnous swamps and
bogs from the Arctic regions to the Gulf
of Mexico ; also in corresponding lati-
tudes of the Eastern hemisphere.

Part Used. — The herb — not official.

Constituents. — The juice of sundew is
bitter and acrid, but its chemical constit-
uents are unknown.

Preparations. — The expressed juice and
an alcoholic tincture of the recent plant
have been employed.

Medical Properties and Uses. —The ther-
apeutic virtues of this plant are alto-
gether problematical. It is said to have
been used with good effect in pulmonary phthisis, but as the same state-
ment has been made regarding almost every plant knowai, the reader, in
the absence of positive evidence, may draw his own conclusions. The
juice, employed topically, is said to cure warts and corns.

Fig. 111.— Drosera rotnndifolia.

102

HYPERICACE^.

HYPERICACE^.

Character of the Order. — Herbs or shrubs, with opposite, entire, dotted
leaves, and commonly yellow flowers. Sepals 4 or 5, distinct or cohering,
unequal, dotted, persistent. Petals 4 or 5, hypogynous, generally oblique
and twisted in the bud, often dotted. Stamens indefinite, hypogynous,

collected in three or more
clusters. Ovary single ;
styles several, rarely uni-
ted ; stigma simple, occa-
sionally capitate. Fruit a
capsule, many-valved,
many-seeded ; juice acrid
and resinous.

A comparatively large
order, but represented in
North America by only
three genera, namely, As-
cyrum, Hypericum, and
Elodes.

HYPERICUM.— St. John's
Wort.

Hypericum perfora-
tum Linn6. — St. John's
Wort.

Description. — Calyx : se-
pals 5, nearly equal, erect,
acute, persistent. Corolla :
petals 5, oblique, convolute
in the bud, ovate, twice as
long as the sepals, deep yel-
low with black dots. Sta-
anthers dotted like the petals.
Styles 3, separate, commonly diverging. Capsule 3-celled, many-seeded.

An herbaceous perennial weed, with a ligneous root and an erect
branching stem, 1 to 1:| foot high. Leaves opposite, entire, sessile, el-
liptical-oblong or oblong-linear, beset with numerous pellucid dots re-
sembling perforations, whence the specific name. Flowers numerous, in
open leafy cymes, appearing throughout the summer.

Habitat. — St. John's wort is a plant of Eastern origin which has become
naturalized in all temperate regions, and is to the farmer a most per-
nicious weed and one very difificult to eradicate.

Pig. 112. — Hypericum perforatum.

mens very numerous, in 3 or 5 clusters

SAPONARIA — SOAP WORT. 103

Part Used. — The flowering tops — not official.

Constituents. — St. John's wort has as yet yielded to analysis nothing
more interesting than a peculiar red coloring matter, and nothing what-
ever to inspire confidence in its therapeutic activity.

Preparations. — There are no official preparations. The flowering tops,
digested with olive or linseed oil, yield a yellowish-red product, tei-med
oleum hypericin or red oil, which is a preparation considerably used in do-
mestic practice.

Medical Properties and Uses. — In ancient times, when natm-e unaided
was supposed to be incompetent to heal a cut or cure a contusion, St.
John's wort was very highly esteemed, and, it may be added, it is still
esteemed by those who hold the same opinions of nature's powers. In
scientific medicine, however, it holds no place, having become obsolete
long ago. One author only of comparatively recent date considers "the
saturated tincture nearly as valuable as that of arnica for bruises, etc."
As tincture of arnica, however, apart from the alcohol which it contains,
is of doubtful efficacy in these cases, the above statement does not tend to
inspire faith in St. John's wort.

CARYOPHYLLACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Herbs, with stems swollen at the joints, op-
posite, entire leaves, and regular flowers. Sepals 4 or 5, distinct or coher-
ing, persistent. Pestals 4 or 5, with narrow claws, sometimes wanting.
Stamens distinct, not more than twice the number of the sepals, hypogy-
nous or perigynous. Ovary solitary, often supported on a stalk, commonly
1-celled, occasionally 3- to 5-celled, with a free central placenta ; styles 2
to 5, sometimes united into one. Fruit a 1-celled, many-seeded capsule,
opening by 2 to 5 valves or by teeth at the apex.

Few strictly North American species of this large order are known to
possess medicinal virtues. Indeed, plants of this order are everywhere
characterized by blandness and an absence of active or irritating properties.

SAPONARIA. — SoAPWORT.

Saponarta officinalis Linne. — Soapicort, Bouncing Bet.

Description. — Calyx : sepals united, forming a cylindrical tube, divided
at the apex into five pointed teeth. Corolla : petals 5, limb somewhat
cordate, claw long and angular with an appendage at the top. Stamens
10, longer than the calyx. Styles 2. Capsule short-stalked, 1-celled, 4-
toothed, many-seeded.

A perennial herb, strongly rooted, with erect stem 1 to 2 feet high.
Leaves oval, entire, pointed, 3-ribbed, connate. Flowers in axiUary and
terminal clusters, pale rose-colored or nearly white, often double, appear-
iag from July to September.

104 MALVACE^.

Habitat. — A native of Europe, soapwort has escaped from gardens and
is often met with fully established in waste places and along roadsides.

Part Used. — The root — not official.

Constituents. — Soapwort has a sweetish, glutinous, and somewhat bitter
taste, followed by a certain degree of acrimony. Its only important con-
stituent is saponin, which causes decoctions of the root, upon agitation, to
produce a saponaceous froth.

Preparations. — There are none. It may be employed in decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — A hundred years or more ago soaj^wort
was believed to be a valuable alterative, and was employed in syphilis,
gout, rheumatism, etc., with eftects similar to those attributed to sarsa-
13arilla. Little has been added to our knowledge of the plant since then.
As it, in common with quillaia (soap-bark), contains sajionin, it might rea-
sonably be employed for the same purposes as the latter. That saj)onin,
the active principle of these plants, is physiologically active is beyond
question, but its therapeutic effects require further investigation.

SILENE.— Catch Fly.

Si I en e Virginica Linne. — Fire Pink, Catch Fly.

Description. — Calyx : sepals united, forming an oblong-cylindrical
tube, 5-toothed at the apex, viscid-pubescent. Corolla : petals 5, oblong,
limb 2-cleft, 1 inch long. Stamens 10, longer than the calyx. Stjdes 3,
rarely 4. Capsule 1-celled, 3- or 6-toothed at the apex, many-seeded.

A viscid -pubescent perennial herb, 1 to 2 feet high. Leaves thin, the
lower spatulate, upper oblong-lanceolate. Flowers few, large, deep crim-
son, peduncled, in loose cymes, appearing from June to August.

Habitat. — In rich, open woods from Canada to Georgia and westward to
the Mississippi. Rare in New York and New England.

Part Used. — The root — not official.

Constituents. — Unknown.

Preparations. — There are none. It has been used in decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — From Barton we learn that this plant
was used in Virginia as an anthelmintic, but he seems to have had no
personal experience with it ; and since his time we have no record of ex-
periments to test its efficacy.

MALVACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Herbs or shrubs, with alternate, stipulate, pal-
mately veined leaves and regular flowers. Sepals 5, united at the base,
valvate in the bud, persistent, often bearing an involucre of bracts outside,
forming a kind of external calyx. Petals 5, convolute in the bud, often large
and showy. Stamens indefinite, hypogynous ; filaments coherent, forming

ALTHyE A M ARSH-M ALLO W.

105

a column and united at their base with the claws of the petals ; anthers
reniform, opening along the top. Ovary compound, formed by the union
of several carpels around a common axis ; styles as many as the carpels,
distinct or united. Fruit a many-valved and usually many-seeded capsule.
A large order of mostly tropical and sub-tropical plants, many of which
are cultivated for ornamental or economic purposes. In general they are
mucilaginous and have no active or deleterious properties. There are,
however, some exceptions. The species indigenous to North America
have not been investigated to any considerable extent, but from what is
known of the order as a whole, there is little reason for believing that such
investigation would yield very important results.

ALTH^A.— Marsh-Mallow.

A 1 1 h aea off I c i n al i s Linm'. — Marsh-Mallow.

Description. — Calyx : sepals united at the base, the free segments nar-
rowly triangular, acute ; involucre of 7 to 10, erect, subulate, triangular
segments half as long as the calyx ;
both calyx and involucre densely
pubescent, persistent. Corolla :
j^etals obcordate, w^edge -shaped,
coherent at their bases, i^ale rose-
color, twisted in the bud. Sta-
mens as in the character of the
order. Ovary roundish, flattened,
many-celled, each cell containing
a single ovule ; styles numerous,
coherent at the base, free above,
stigmatic on the inner side. Fruit
flattened-spherical, composed of
numerous dry, round, flattened,
indehiscent carpels attached to,
and radiating from a central axis,
separating from each other at ma-
turity.

An herbaceous perennial, mth
a large, long, fleshy, tapering root,
and numerous erect, stiff stems,
2 to 4 feet high. Leaves on long
petioles, the lower roundish-ovate,
the upper triangular-oval or some-
what 3- to 5-lobed, irregularly cut,
acutely serrate, finely pubescent ;

Pio. 113.— Althaea offlclnalis.

stipules narrowly triangular, caducous.
Flowers 1 to 2 inches wide, in axillary clusters of 2 to 4 each, and termi-
nal, leafy panicles, appearing in August and September.

106 MALVACE^.

Habitat. — Indigenous to Europe, but naturalized in salt marshes along
the coast of New England, New York, and New Jersey.

Part Used. — The root — United States Pharmacopoeia. The root of the
cultivated plant is commonly employed, and, as occurring in commerce, is
deprived of its bai'k.

Constituents.— The dried root contains as its most important constitu-
ents about twenty-five per cent, each of starch and mucilage. There are
also present pectin, asparagin, sugar, phosphate of calcium, cellulose, and a
Httle fatty oil.

Preparations. — Syrupus althsese — syrup of althaea. — United States Phar-
macopceia. This is made by dissolving sugar, without heat, in a cold in-
fusion of the root, and is therefore practically free from starch, bolHng
water being necessary to extract all the soluble constituents, while the
mucilaginous properties are readily imparted to cold water. The pow-
dered root is often used to impart a proper consistence to soft pill masses,
and also in the preparation of emollient poultices.

Medical Properties and Unes. — The constituents of marsh-mallow indicate
clearly enough its therapeutic application. It is emollient and demulcent,
and may be used freely in inflammatory affections, either internally or
topically as occasion requires. Being nutritious also it is, in certain cases,
superior to many demulcents in common use. As a topical application it
has a wide range of usefulness.

MALV A. — Mallow.

Malva rotundifolia Linne. — Common Mallow.

Description. — Calyx with a 3-leaved involucre ; otherwise as in altheea.
Corolla, stamens, ovary, styles, and fruit similar in structure to those of
althaea.

A small biennial herb, with a long, tapering root and procumbent
stems. Leaves round, heart-shaped, somewhat plaited, crenate, smooth,
bluish-green, on long petioles. Flowers small, whitish, appearing through-
out the summer.

Habitat. — One of the commonest weeds in door-yards and waste places
about dwellings. A native of Europe, it follows civilized man most persist-
ently and takes root wherever he establishes himself.

Part Used. — The herb, including the root — not official.

Constituents. — It possesses mucilaginous properties similar to those of
marsh-mallow.

Preparations. — The decoction is employed in domestic practice. The
fresh herb, bruised, is employed topically.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Similar to those of marsh-mallow.

GOSSYPIUM — COTTON.

107

GOSSYPIUM.— Cotton.

Gossypium herbaceum Linne. — Cotton Plant.

Description. — Calyx tubular-campanulate, obscurely 5-tootlied, much
shorter than the epicalyx of 3 large, cordate, deeply incised and toothed
leaves. Corolla : petals large, convolute in the bud, spreading when ex-
panded, irregularly obovate-truncate, wedged-shaped at the base, yellow,
with a purple sjDot changing to reddish-brown. Stamens numerous, uni-
ted and forming a long tube, connected at the base with the claws of the
petals. Ovary conical, 3- to 5-celled, many-ovuled. Style simple, longer
than the stamens • stigma clavate, sUghtly 3- to 5-lobed. Fruit a 3- to 5-

FiG. 114. — Gossypium herbaceum. Flower and fruit.

celled capsule, opening at maturity through the middle of the cells and
exposing numerous seeds covered with the white filaments so well kno^vn
as cotton.

A stout herbaceous plant, with an erect, branching, leafy stem, about 5
feet high, naturally perennial but cultivated as an annual. Leaves large,
3 to 6 inches long, 3- to 5-lobed, with a single gland below, strongly veined,
the lobes acuminate and mucronate ; petioles about as long as the blade,
stiff and angular. Lower leaves often 2- or 3-lobed. Flowers large, 3
inches broad, alternate, opposite the leaves ; pedicels similar to the
petioles but shorter.

Habitat. — The cotton plant has been cultivated for so great a length of
time that its natural habitat is uncertain. It flourishes within the limits
of 36° north and south of the equator. Though scarcely naturalized, the
extent to which it is cultivated in the Southern States entitles it to a place
among North American plants.

Part Used. — The bark of the root : Gossypii radicis cortex — cotton-
root bark. Gossypium — cotton — United States Pharmacopceia.

Constituents. — Of cotton it is only necessary to state that the article

108 LINAGES.

directed by the Phai'macopoeia is the so-called absorbent cotton^ prepared
by freeing the filaments from impurities and fatty matter.

Cotton-root bai'k contains, in addition to starch, glucose, and other
common vegetable constituents, a resinous body whose exact character is
as yet not fully established, but to which the medicinal virtues of the di-ug
are attiibuted.

Preparations. — Of cotton-root bark : Extractum gossj-pii radicis fluidum
— fluid extract of cotton root. Of cotton : Pyroxylinum — pyroxylin {gun-
cotton). — United States Pharmacopoeia.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Cotton root was introduced to profes-
sional notice as a specific uterine tonic after having long been used among
the negroes of the Southern States as an abortifacient. Its action upon
the uterus is similar to that of ergot, and it is used instead of the latter in
cases of uterine inertia during parturition, and in amenorrhoea, dysmen-
oiThcea, and scanty menstruation. Wliether its action upon the system
at large be also similar to that of ergot is unknown but worthy of inves-
tigation.

The fact that the bai'k of cotton root should be possessed of such active
properties is an interesting and suggestive one, for it affords the only in-
stance of specific virtues attributed to a plant of the order malvacece. It
will be noted that it is only the bark of the root that possesses these prop-
erties, all other parts of the plant partaking of the bland character of the
order, the seeds especially — which not unfrequentty possess the most
active principles of plants— in this instance yielding a bland oil which
is largely used as an adulterant of olive oil. Now in an order of plants
of such strongly marked characteristics as the malvacece, the discovery of
striking properties in any individual should stimulate investigation of
other related individuals, for it may reasonably be assumed that investi-
gation which starts with a rational clue will be more fruitful in results
than if conducted entirely in a haphazard manner.

LINACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Herbs, with entire, alternate, opposite or verti-
cillate, exstipulate leaves, and regular, symmetrical, hypogynous flowers.
Sepals 3 to 5, imbricate. Petals 3 to 5, convolute in the bud. Stamens
3 to 5, usually with intermediate abortive ones, united into a short tube at
the base. Pod having twice as many cells as there are styles, each 1-seeded.

A small order, represented in North America by the genus Linum, com-
prising no indigenous species of medicinal or economic importance. The
species described below, though introduced, has been under cultivation so
long that it requires brief notice.

LINUM FLAX.

10^

LINUM.— Flax.

Linum usitatissimum Linne. — Common Flax.

Description. — Calyx : sepals ovate, acute. Corolla : petals large, with
a broad limb and short claw, deep violet-blue, fugacious. Stamens 5, al-
ternating with five abortive ones, all united at the base, forming a short
tube ; anthers small, versatile, deep blue.
Ovary flask- shaped, 5-celled at the base,
each cell 2-ovuled ; styles 5, distinct.
Fruit an imperfectly 10-celled capsule.

An erect annual, 1 to 2 feet high.
Stem commonly solitary, stiff, smooth,
round, branching near the top. Leaves
alternate, sessile, linear-lanceolate, acu-
minate, entire. Flowers solitary, at the
ends of the branches.

Habitat. — Flax has been cultivated
from time immemorial, so that its na-
tive home is unknown. In all countries
where cultivated it becomes sparingly
naturalized, occurring spontaneously un-
der favorable circumstances.

Part Used. — The seed. Official name,
Linum — United States Pharmacopceia.

Constituents. — The most important
constituents of flaxseed are fixed oil and
mucilage — both too well known to re-
quire comment.

Preparations. — Oleum lini — oil of flaxseed. — United States Pharmacopoeia.
The seed, unground, is employed in decoction ; ground, under the name
oi flaxseed meal or ground flaxseed, in the preparation of poultices, etc.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Flaxseed tea is largely employed as a
demulcent in febrile and inflammatory affections, and topically as an in-
jection in diseases of the bladder, rectum, and vagina. The seed has also
been recommended as a substitute for cod-liver oil, on account of the nu-
tritious material which it contains. Flaxseed poultices are all but uni-
versally employed in cases requiring emollient applications. Flaxseed —
or, as it is commonly termed, linseed — oil is less used in medicine ancP
pharmacy than formerly. As a topical agent it is often objectionable on
account of its diying properties. It was formerly used in the official Lina-
mentum calcis — lime liniment — U. S. P. (carron oil), but has been displaced,
by cotton-seed oil, because the latter is not possessed of drying properties
and hence does not impart to surgical dressings the inconvenient and
disagreeable stiffness so generally experienced with the old preparation.

Fig. 115.— Linum nsitatissimnm.

11 0 GERANIACEJE.

Linseed oil has also been recommended as a substitute for cod-liver
oil, but as such has not borne the test, of clinical experience in a manner
to inspire faith in its efficacy. So far as the mere elements of nutrition
are concerned, there appears to be no great difference between the two,
but there ai'e other factors to be considered in the case of cod-liver oil
The traces, slight though they be, of iodine, bromine, phosphorus, etc., pres-
ent in this oil are certainly of therapeutic importance, and serve to make it
not, as some have claimed, a mere fatty food, but a strongly medicinal
food, for which we cannot reasonably expect to find a complete substitute
in the vegetable kingdom.

CERANIACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Annual or perennial herbs, or, in some exotic
species, low shrubs, with swollen joints, opposite or . alternate, commonly
palmately veined leaves, with or without stipules. Flowers commonly 5-
merous, regular and symmetrical, ihypogynpus ; sometimes 3-merous ; oc-
casionally unsymmetrical, especially as regards the calyx and corolla. In
the most pharacteristic genera the aiTangement is as follows : sepals 5,
imbricate, persistent ; petals 5, convolute in the bud, deciduous ; stamens
5 or 10 — when of the latter number the alternate ones shorter or abortive ;
ovary 5-celled, each cell 2-ovuled, arranged about an elongated axis, to
which the styles are adherent ; fruit 5-celled, each cell 1-seeded, separating
at the base when mature, curling upward, and -jvhen detached leaving the
dry axis persistinig.

The order is difficult to characterize as a whole, some of the unsym-
metrical individuals being very perplexing ; as these, however, are of no
medicinal importance they need not receive our attention. There ,are al-
together half a dozen North American genera, namely, Erodium,.noerkia,
Geranium, Impatiens, Jinananthes, and Oxahs. ... ; ,. > ;

m

Geranium mdiOu\3X.\\rx\JAmik— Spotted Geranium, Wild Granesbill.

Description. — Calyx : sepals lanceolate, pointed, hairy, persistent.
Oorolla : petals broadly pbovate or rounded, pale jDurple, becoming lighter
after expansion, fugacious ; claw short, bearded. Stamens 10, all with
perfect anthers, the five longer ones with small glands at their base alter-
nate with the petals ; anthers versatile, 2-celled, purple. Ovary 5-celled ;
pistils adherent to the axis, free at the summit and recurved, with stigmatic
surfaces inward. Fi'uit composed of 5 dry, haiiy, 1-seeded cai-pels, sepa-
rating at the base when mature, and curving upward elasticall}^ the inner
surface smooth.

An herbaceous perennial. Khizome cylindrical, 2 to 3 inches long.

PLATE IV.

.lohnson . Del.

GERANIUM MACULATUM

Plate IV.— Geranium maculatum.

!PlG. 1. — Flowering plant (young), natural size.
Fig. 2. — Flower, deprived of corolla ; natural size.

GERANIUM. 113

one-half inch thick, more or less branched, pale reddish-brown, with numer-
ous fibrous rootlets. Stem erect, 1 to 2 feet high, somewhat branched
dichotomously, hairy. Kadical leaves large, on long hairy petioles, deeply
cut into 5 or 7 segments, which are cuneate or oblong, and lobed and cut
at the end; stem-leaves similar in shape but much smaller, opposite,
placed at the forks of the stem, sessile or on short petioles. All the leaves
are at first green, but as they grow old become more or less blotched with
whitish spots. The flower-stalks arise from the forks of the stem, each
bearing two flowers, one inch in diameter, on short pedicels. The flowers
are produced from May till July.

Habitat. — Spotted geranium is one of the commonest plants in open
woods from Canada to Florida, and during its period of blooming is con-
spicuously beautiful. Though its flowers are less showy than those of
many of the exotic garden geraniums [pelargonium), to the lover of nature
they are far more interesting when seen displayed in lavish profusion in
their native home, the woods.

Part Used. — The rhizome — United States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — Geranium root has a simple astringent taste, due to a con-
siderable percentage of tannic and gallic acids, which appear to be its only
important constituents, though there are also present gum, starch, pectin,
resin, coloring matter, etc.

Preparations. — Extractum geranii fluidum — fluid extract of geranium.
— United States Pharmacopoeia. As geranium imparts its virtues readily to
both water and alcohol, it may be administered in decoction or tincture.
In many cases to which the drug is applicable the decoction is by far the
most eligible preparation.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Geranium is justly considered one of our
best indigenous astringents — one, however, whose virtues are not fully ap-
preciated by the profession at large. Though active and efficient, it is stiU
mild and unirritating and devoid of all unpleasant or offensive properties.
It is therefore particularly suited to the later stages of dian-hoea and dysen-
tery, especially in children. In such cases a decoction in milk has been
found very serviceable. It has also been employed internally in a variety
of hemorrhages, with asserted benefit. As a topical astringent it has a still
wider field of usefulness, and may be employed in any case to which this
class of remedies is applicable, such as catarrhal inflammations and hemor-
rhages from mucous surfaces. As an injection in gonorrhoea, gleet, and
leucorrhoea, the decoction is much more serviceable than a simple solution
of tannin, doubtless from the fact that there is present mucilaginous ma-
terial which exerts a soothing influence. In fine powder the drug may be
employed as a styptic in bleeding from the nose and from the gums after
the extraction of teeth.

Finally, geranium, though possessing no properties of a specific char-
acter, is undeniably a valuable astringent, and since the cases to which it

114

GERANIAOE^.

is applicable are so numerous and the plant everywhere so common, one
is led to wonder that it is not more generally employed.

OXALIS. — WOOD-SOIIREL.

Character of the (renus.— Sepals 5, distinct or united at the base, im-
bricate, persistent. Petals 5, sometimes united at the base, withering.
Stamens 10, more or less united at the base, those opposite the petals
longer than the others ; anthers versatile. Ovary of 5 united carpels, not

beaked ; styles distinct. Fruit a
5-celled, 5-angled capsule opening
by as many valves, each cell 2-
seeded.

Herbs, either annual or with a
tuberous or creeping perennial rhi-
zome. Leaves alternate or radical,
palmately trifoliate.

Oxalis Acetosella Linne. —
Wood-Sorrel.

Description. — Calyx : sepals
small, ovate, obtuse. Corolla : pet-
als obovate, unguiculate, one-half
inch long, Avhite with reddish
veins. Capsule ovoid. Perennial.
Root-stock creeping, slender, scaly
toothed. Leaves all radical on long
petioles ; leaflets broadly obcor-
date. Scapes 2 to 5 inches long,
1-flowered, appearing in June,
the AUeghanies northward ; also in

Fig. 116.— Oxalis Acetosella.

from

Habitat. — In cold woods
Northern Europe and Asia.

Oxalis stri eta Linne. — Yellow Wood-Sorrel, Shee^J-Sorrel.

Description. — Flowers similar in structure to the preceding, but smaller
and borne upon 2- to 6-flowered, axillary peduncles, yellow. Capsules elon-
gated. Annual, or by means of subterranean shoots, perennial. Stem erect,
leafy. Flowers appear throughout the summer.

Habitat. — Common in waste and cultivated grounds.

Part Used. — The leaves — not official.

Constituents. — All plants of this genus have, to a greater or less extent,
an agreeable acidulous taste due to the presence of binoxalate of potash,
their only important constituent. This salt was formerly extracted from
certain species of oxalis and was sold under the name of salt of sorrel, but
it is now prepared from oxalic acid and potash.

Preparations. — There are none, save the commercial binoxalate of pot-
ash, and, as above stated, this is no longer prepared from the plant.

XANTHOXYLUM PKICKLY ASH. 115

Medical Properties and Ut^es. — Oxalis is reputed to be useful in scurvy
and scorbutic affections generally. As, however, binoxalate of potash has
been shown to act more ejQ&ciently and more certainly than the plant, the
latter may be considered obsolete. An infusion is refrigerant, and may be
employed as a cooling drink in febrile affections.

RUTACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Herbs, shrubs, or trees, with alternate or op-
posite, exstipulate, simple or compound leaves, dotted with pellucid
glands, containing aromatic volatile oil. Flowers perfect or unisexual,
regular, hypogynous, 3- to 5-merous. Stamens as many or twice as many
as the sepals ; ovary of 2 to 5 cells, distinct or united, each cell 1- to 2-
ovuled ; styles usually coherent ; fruit a capsule or berry.

A large and widely distributed order, represented in North America
by eight genera, two of which, namely, Xanthoxylum and Ptelea, comprise
species of medicinal value.

XANTHOXYLUM.— Prickly Ash.

Character of the Genus. — Flowers dioecious. Sepals 4 or 5, in one
species wanting. Petals 4 or 5, imbricate in the bud. Stamens 4 or 5, in
the sterile flowers alternate with the petals. Pistils 2 to 5, distinct, but
with styles conniving or more or less united. Carpels sessile or stipitate,
2-valved, 1- to 2-seeded.

Trees or shrubs, with alternate unequally pinnate leaves, the leaflets
punctate with peUucid dots ; stems and leaf-stalks commonly armed with
prickles. Flowers small, greenish.

Xanthoxylum Amerlcanum Miller (X fraxineum Willdenow). —
Northern Prickly Ash, Toothache Tree.

Description. — Calyx absent. Corolla : petals 5. Pistils 3 to 5, dis-
tinct ; styles slender. Capsules stipitate, dotted, varying from green to
red, 2-valved, 1-seeded.

A shrub, 5 to 10 feet high. Leaflets in about 5 pairs, with an odd ter-
minal one, nearly sessile, ovate, acute, slightly serrate, somewhat downy
underneath. Both leaves and flowers in axillary clusters, the latter ap-
pearing in April or May, before the former are expanded.

Habitat. — In rocky woods and on river banks from Virginia northward
and westward ; not common east of the Hudson River.

Xanthoxylum clava Herculls Linnc (X Carolinianum Lam). —
Southern Prickly Ash, Toothache Tree.

Descriptioyi. — Calyx: sepals 5. Corolla: petals 5. Pistils 3; styles
short. Capsules 3, nearly sessile.

A small tree, with branches armed with long shai'p prickles. Leaflets

116 RUTACEJE.

in 3 to 5 pairs and an odd terminal one, ovate-lanceolate, crenate-serru-
late, oblique, shining above. Flowers in a terminal cyme, appealing in
June after the leaves are expanded.

Habitat. — In dry soil near the coast, from Florida to North Carolina
and westward.

Part Used. — The bark of both species — United States Pharmacopoeia.
The fruit is also used to some extent, but is not official.

Constituents. — Prickly ash has a taste which is at first aromatic, then
bitter, and finally persistently acrid. It contains volatile and fixed oils,
resin, gum, coloring matter, and berberine, the latter being probably its
most important constituent.

Preparations. — Extractum xanthoxyli fluidum — fluid extract of xanthox-
ylum. — United States Pharniacop(jsia. It yields its virtues readily to boil-
ing water and to alcohol, and may therefore be administered in decoction
or tincture. The fruit is used in like manner.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Prickly ash is stimulant and dia^Dho-
retic, and has long enjoyed a certain degree of popularity as a remedy for
chronic rheumatism. It powerfully stimulates secretion from mucous sur-
faces, causes a sensation of "svarmth in the stomach, and undoubtedly exerts
an eliminant influence. Hence it has been used with benefit in constitu-
tional syphilis. As a tonic it is manifestly inferior to its alkaloid, ber-
berine, but as an alterative and ehminant much superior. It is employed
topically in domestic practice as a remedy for toothache and as a counter-
irritant, and has been recommended as a local application in chronic
pharyngitis characterized by dryness of the mucous membrane.

PTELEA.— Shrubby Trefoil.

Ptelea trifoliata Linne. — Shrubby Trefoil, Hop Tree.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 3 to 5, small. Corolla : petals 3 to 5, im-
bricated in the bud, much longer than the sepals. Stamens 3 to 5, alter-
nate with the petals ; filaments densely villous below the middle, longer
than the style in the sterile flowers, shorter in the fertile ones. Ovary
2-celled, each cell 2-ovuled ; styles short or absent ; stigma 2-lobed. Fruit
an orbicular samara, 2-celled, 2-seeded, nearly one inch in diameter.

An unarmed shrub, 8 to 12 feet high. Leaves trifoliate, on petioles
about 2 inches long ; leaflets 2 to 4 inches long, oval or oblong, mostly
acute, obscurely crenate-serrate, the lateral ones somewhat oblique, pubes-
cent when young. Flowers polygamous, small, greenish-white, in com-
pound terminal cymes, appearing in May and June, and having a disagree-
able odor.

Habitat. — In rocky places from Pennsylvania to Florida and west-
ward.

Parts Used. — The fruit, leaves, and bark of the root — not official.

RHUS SUMAC. 117

Constituents. — The leaves contain tannic and gallic acids, the fruit a
soft acrid resin, and the bark a peculiar resin and the alkaloid berberine.

Preparations. — None are official. The fluid extract and tincture occur
as commercial articles and aftbrd eHgible modes of administration. It
may also be employed in infusion.

3fedical Properties and Uses. — Ptelea owes what little importance it
possesses to its bitter tonic properties, and these are doubtless owing in a
great measure to the berberine present. Moreover, as this alkaloid exists
in the bark of the root in but small percentage, the drug cannot be con-
sidered very active. The other constituents of the plant, though somewhat
aromatic, are probably of little medicinal value.

Like nearly all bitters, ptelea has been employed with success in inter-
mittents, but no one at the present day would think of relying upon it in
such cases. In convalescence and in atonic dyspepsia it may do the same
service as many other feeble tonics, by increasing the appetite and stimu-
lating the digestive functions.

ANACARDIACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Trees or shrubs, with a resinous or milky, often
caustic and 'poisonous juice, alternate, dotless, exstipulate leaves, and small,
inconspicuous, regular,- pentandrous flowers, with a l-ceUed ovary, bearing
a single suspended ovule, and having 3 styles or stigmas.

An order of strongly marked characteristics, comprising about one
hundred species, mostly indigenous to the tropics. Kepresented in North
America by three genera, namely, Pistacia, Schinus, and Rhus, the last-
named alone comprising medicinal species.

RHUS.— Sumac.

Character of the Genus. — Sepals 5, smaU, united at the base, persistent.
Petals 5, ovate, spreading, inserted under the margin of a flattened orbicu-
lar disk at the bottom of the calyx. Stamens 5, inserted in or under the
disk. Styles 3, distinct or united ; stigmas 3. Fruit a small dry drupe.

Shrubs or small trees, with alternate, unequally pinnate leaves, and small
yellowish or greenish-white polygamous or polygamo-dioecious flowers.

The genus may be divided into two sections, well-marked both as to
their structure and their properties.

§ 1. Non-poisonous Species. — Flowers polygamous, in a terminal thp*-
soid panicle. Fruit clothed with a dense coating of crimson hairs ; stone
smooth. Leaves unequally pinnate.

Rhus glabra Linne. — Smooth Sumac.

Description.— A smooth shrub, 2 to 12 feet high, the stem having a
large pith and a thin, white, woody layer. Leaflets in 5 to 15 pairs, with

118 ANACABDIACE.E.

an odd terminal one, lanceolate-oblong, pointed, serrate, smooth and glau-
cous above, whitish beneath. The flowers appear in June ; the fruit ripens
in September.

Habitat. — In dry, rocky, and rather ban-en places throughout the United
States and Canada.

Rhus typhlna Linne. — Staghorn Sumac.

Description. — A large shrub or small tree, 10 to 30 feet high, the young
branches as well as the leaf- and flower-stalks densely coated with soft vel-
vety hairs. Leaflets in 5 to 15 pairs, with an odd terminal one, oblong-
lanceolate, pointed, serrate. The flowers appear in June ; the fruit ripens
in September. . Much more robust than the preceding species. The pith,
though large in the young branches, is surrounded in later years by a thick
layer of rather dense yellow wood.

Habitat. — In rich uplands, United States and Canada.

Rhus copallina Linnc. — Dwarf Sumac.

Description. — A small shrub, 1 to 7 feet high, with straggling branches
and running roots. Branches and stalks downy. Petioles wing-mar-
gined ; leaflets in 4 to 10 pairs, with an odd terminal one, oblong or ovate-
lanceolate, oblique, smooth and shining above, pubescent beneath.

Habitat. — In barren and rocky situations, United States and Canada.

Parts Used. — Of Khus glabra, the fruit — United States Pharmacopoeia,
The fruit of both R. typhina and R. copallina is possessed of properties
identical with those of the official plant, and may be substituted as occa-
sion requires. The leaves and bark of all the species have been employed
but are not official.

Constituents. — Sumac berries, as they are called, have a pleasant acid^
astringent taste, due to the presence of malic acid in the dense crimson
pubescence which covers them. This acid is present both in a free state
and in combination as malate of calcium, and is associated with tannic and
gallic acids, coloring matter, etc.

Sumac leaves are comparatively rich in tannic and gallic acids, so much
so, indeed, as to be of economic importance in the tanning of leather.
Excrescences, or galls, are produced upon them which are said to be hardly
inferior to the galls of commerce. The bark is also possessed of astringent
properties, but to a more limited extent than the leaves.

Preparations. — Extractum rhois glabrae fluidum — fluid extract of rhus
glabra. — United States Pharmacoparia. Of the other species there are no
official preparations. The berries of all the species are frequently em-
ployed in infusion, and when they can be obtained in good condition this
form is undoubtedly the most eligible one to use, either topically or inter-
nally. The leaves may be employed in infusion or decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Sumac berries are astringent and refrig-
erant. An infusion has long been used in domestic practice, internally
for refrigerant effect in febrile and inflammatory aftections, and topically

RHUS — SUMAC.

119

as a gargle for sore throat. Nor has its use been confined entirelj^ to do-
mestic practice, for many excellent practitioners, especially those resident
in the country where the fruit is readily accessible, employ it habitually
as a cooling drink and, either alone or as a basis, for gargles.

The leaves and bark owe whatever of medicinal activity they possess to
the i^resence of tannic and gallic acids, and may be employed as simple
vegetable astringents wherever such remedies are indicated.

Fig. 117.— Rhus Toxicodendron. A flowering branch, one-half natural

§ 2. Poisonous Species. — Flowers polj^gamous, in loose and slender ax-
illary panicles. Fruit globular, glabrous, whitish or dun-colored ; stone
striate. Leaves unequally pinnate or trifoliate.

Rhus Toxicodendron Linne. — Poison Ivy, Poison Oak.

Description. — A low shrub or tall climber, according to the circum-
stances in which it is placed. Leaflets 3, rhombic-ovate, entire, or vari-
ously cut and lobed, smooth and shining above, downy beneath. Panicles
small, flowers minute, fruit about the size of small peas, greenish.

120 ANACARDIACEJi:.

This common and, by many people, much-dreaded plant occurs in two
rather distinct forms, which were formerly considered separate species,
but are now recognized as specifically identical, their differences being due
entirely to the circumstances of their gi'owth. A plant growing in an open
space with no convenient support near has the habit of a low shrub ; while
one rooted at the base of a tree or beside a rock puts forth innumerable
adventitious rootlets, and by means of these climbs upward vigorously,
never stopping, under favorable circumstances, until it has reached the
highest point attainable. Another curious feature in the growth of the
plant as a climber is that the increase in the thickness of the stem takes
place almost entirely upon the side next the support, whether this be a
rock, tree, or any other object, so that the pith is eccentric. As the root-
lets bring no nourishment to the stem, and as they are put forth in quantity
only when there is something near to fix themselves to, it appears probable,
as the author endeavored to show some years ago, that they are produced
by the mere stimulation of contact ; and also that the increased growth
on the side of the stem next the support is induced in the same manner.
The climbing plant was formerly denominated E. radicans, a name, of
course, now discarded.

Habitat. — Common everywhere from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and
westward.

Rhus venenata De CandoUe. — Poison Sumac, Poison Elder.

Description. — A vigorous shrub, 6 to 18 feet high, with smooth, pale
gray bark. Leaflets in 3 to 6 pairs, with an odd terminal one, obovate-
oblong, entire. Panicles larger than in the preceding species ; fruit also
larger, greenish-yellow or greenish-white.

Habitat. — Common in swamps and wet places from Canada to Florida
and westward.

Part Used. — The fresh leaves of Khus Toxicodendron — United States
Fhainiiacojjoeia. The leaves of B. venenata possess similar properties.

Constituents.— The^e species of rhus, together with E. diver siloba Tor-
rey and Gray of the Pacific Coast and li. pumila Michaux of the Southern
States, comprise the poisonous members of the genus indigenous to North
America. Their poisonous properties, though differing in degree, are es-
sentially identical in quality. B. pumila is said to be the most poisonous
of the group, while B. venenata occupies a second place, being itself con-
siderably more violent in action than B. toxicodendron or B. diver^siloba ;
the two last-named resembling each other very much both in habit of
gi'owth and in their effects. The poisonous constituent of these plants,
though considerably investigated, has not been as yet thorouglily charac-
terized. That it is volatile is well known, and that it is an acid principle
has also been demonstrated ; but beyond this nothing is definitely known.
Though volatile and capable of producing its peculiar effects upon verj'
susceptible individuals, even at some distance from tlie growing plants, it

RHUS — SUMAC. 121

may be preserved in proper solvents for a great length of time. The
author himself has experienced poisonous effects from a tincture of R.
venenata prepared thirty years before, which was appHed by way of experi-
ment. Peculiar as the principle is, it finds its parallel in the well-known
fact that only certain persons are susceptible to its influence. This sus-
ceptibility may exist in all the members of a family, or in one or two only,
the others enjoying complete immunity. And again, there are great differ-
ences in the degree of the susceptibility of different individuals. One may
be violently poisoned by the emanations from a growing plant, while an-
other may require actual contact to produce even slight manifestations.
The poisonous principle is present in all parts of these plants, but is most
concentrated in the milky juice. The other constituents are unimportant
and inert, being only the ordinary vegetable principles.

J reparations. — None are official. The fresh leaves of R. Toxicodendron
were admitted into the Pharmacopoeia with the idea that the prescriber
would order a tinctu¥e made from them according to the formula provided
for tinctures of fresh herbs. The other species are susceptible to similar
treatment. There can be no doubt that an alcoholic tincture kept tightly
corked is the best means for preserving the drug in activity.

Medical Pr'operties and Uses. — Here we are altogether in the dark.
Cases are reported of persons suffering from various cutaneous eruptions
having been permanently cured by accidental rhus-poisoning. Cases ai*e
now and then reported also of paralytics having been restored by strokes
of lightning, yet paralytics, as a rule, would prefer not to undergo such
heroic treatment. Granting that it may be possible to cure certain skin
diseases by this substitutive action, the first thing to decide in a given case
would be the susceptibility of the patient to the remedy, and the second,
how to limit its action within reasonable bounds. In endeavoring to settle
the first by experiment, gi-eat risk would be run of going beyond the sec-
ond altogether ; for as no man has yet discovered anything like an infallible
remedy for rhus-poisoning, though palliatives are numerous, no one is
likely to be able to prescribe limits for it when used as a remedy. Certain
it is that rhus will never be very popular as an external application with
patients who, like the writer, have experienced its poisonous effects. Re-
garding its use as an internal remedy, still less need be said. Nearly all
the testimony to its value when used in this manner comes from sources
discredited in scientific medicine. It is claimed, of course, that it exerts
specific effects in certain cases, even when administered in infinitesimal
doses ; but when we consider that personal susceptibility is the first requi-
site for any effect whatever, we may well doubt the specific effect of even
minute doses upon humanity, or disease, at large. Finally, admitting the
potency of rhus as a cause of disease, we have yet to learn its power and
mode of use as a remedy.

122 BHAMNACE^.

RHAMNACE/E.

Character of the Or^er.— Shrubs or small trees, with simple, alternate
leaves, often thorny branches, and small polygamous or dioecious flowers.
Calyx with 4 or 5 short deciduous teeth or sepals, valvate in the bud. Petals
4 or 5, very small, folded inward in the bud ; sometimes wanting. Stamens
as many as the sepals and alternating with them, inserted with the petals
on a disk which lines the tube of the calyx. Ovary 2- to 5-celled, each cell
1-ovuled ; style very short ; stigmas 2 to 5. Fruit a small berry or druj^e
enclosing 2 to 5 one-seeded nuts.

A widely distributed order of more than forty genera, about a dozen
of which are represented in North America — two, Rhamnus and Ceanothus,
comprising medicinal species.

RHAMNUS. —Buckthorn.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx 4- or 5-cleft, cup-shaped, lined with a
thin disk. Corolla : petals as many as the teeth of the calyx, small, short-
clawed, notched at the end, folded about the stamens ; sometimes wanting.
Ovary free, 2- to 4-celled. Drupe or berry containing 2 to 4 nutlets.

Shrubs or small trees. Leaves smooth, feather-veined. Flowers small,
greenish, in axiUary clusters. Fruit black.

Rhamnus cathartica Linne. — Common Buckthorn.

Description. — Calyx 4-cleft. Corolla : petals very narrow, not longer
than the teeth of the calyx. Fruit about the size of a pea.

A smooth shrub, 6 to 15 feet high, with spreading branches, the smaller
ones often ending in a stout thorn. Leaves 1^ to 2 inches long, two-thirds
as wide, ovate, acuminate, serrate, with a few prominent, obliquely diverg-
ing veins. Flowers dioecious, thickly clustered in the axils of the leaves,
appearing in May and June.

Habitat. — A native of Europe and Asia, but sparingly naturalized in the
Northern Atlantic States.

Rhamnus Purshiana De Candolle. — California Buckthorn, Sacred
Bark.

Description. — Calyx 5-cleft. Corolla : petals 5, two-lobed. Styles
rather short, united to the summit ; stigmas 3. Fruit turbinate, 3-seeded,
the size of a large pea.

A shrub or small tree, 10 to 20 feet high, with a trunk sometimes 8 or
9 inches in diameter. Leaves 3 to 5 inches long, 1^ to 2 inches in diam-
eter, sometimes shghtly cordate at the base, rarely acute or with a slight
acumination ; the lower surface strongly pubescent, the lateral veins prom-
inent. Flowers umbellate, in clusters of 10 to 20.

Habitat. — On the Pacific Coast from California northward.

CEANOTIIUS NEW JEKSEY TEA. 123

Parts Used. — Of Rhamnus cathartica, the fruit — not official ; of R.
Purshiana, the bark — not official.

Constituents. — The berries of common buckthorn are pulpy and contain
a deep green juice, having a faint unpleasant odor, a bitterish, acrid, nau-
seous taste, and possessing active purgative proj)erties. Various analyses
have demonstrated the presence of a peculiar principle termed rhamnoca-
thartin, to which the berries owe their activity. The bark of the plant is
also actively purgative.

An analysis of the bark of R. Purshiana made by Professor A. B. Prescott
yielded a bitter brown resin, a red resin, a light yellow resin, tannic, malic,
and oxalic acids, a neutral crystallizable substance, and a volatile oil, but
experiments have not been made to ascertain which of these possesses the
therapeutic properties of the bark.

Preparations. — A syrup of buckthorn made from the juice of the ber-
ries is official in Britain, France, and Germany. Of R. Purshiana there are
commercial fluid extracts and elixirs in profusion, but no official prepara-
tions.

Medical Properties and Uses. — All the species of rhamnus thus far sub-
jected to experiment possess purgative properties of greater or less activity.
In general their action is harsh and violent. Nausea and vomiting, as well
as severe griping pains, not unfrequently attend their purgative action.
For this reason B. cathartica and B. Frangula (Frangula bark) have never
found much favor in this country, and even in Europe they are commonly
administered with aromatics and correctives in order to diminish the -sdo-
lence of their action. Some years since B. Purshiana was introduced to
professional notice in this country under the absurd and fanciful title of
ca><cara sagrada, and most energetic efforts were made to gain for it an en-
tirely unmerited reputation as a remedy for constipation, etc. Even when
administered in pleasant-tasting elixirs — of, to the prescriber, unknown
composition — its action is not unfrequently attended with nausea and grii>
ing. There is little reason for considering it as essentially different from
or more valuable than frangula bark or common buckthorn, and hence its
popularity, being forced and fictitious, will be short-lived.

CEANOTHUS.— New Jersey Tea.

Ceanothus American us Linne. — New Jersey Tea, Bed Boot.

Description.— Calyx bell-shaped, 5-cleft, the lobes white, incurved ; the
lower part with a disk cohering with the ovary, the upper finally sep-
arating transversely. Corolla : petals 5, hooded, on slender claws longer
than the calyx, white. Stamens exserted ; anthers ovate, 2-celled. Ovary
3-celled ; styles 3, united to the middle, diverging above. Fruit bluntly
triangular, dr}^ coriaceous, separating into three carpels when mature.

A freely branching shrub, 2 to 4 feet high, the younger branches pubes-

124 CELASTRACE^.

cent Koot dark red. Leaves 2 to 3 inches long, ovate or oblong-ovate,
obtuse or slightly acuminate, 3-ribbed, serrate, pubescent beneath ; some-
times slightly cordate at the base. Flowers in axillary clusters, appearing
in July.

Habitat. — Common in dry woodlands from Canada to Florida and west-
ward.

Parts Used. — The leaves and root — not official.

Constituentit. — Botli the leaves and root are astringent and contain a
considerable percentage of tannin.

Preparations. — None are official. There are commercial fluid extracts
fairly representing the plant ; the decoction is most commonly used.

Medical Properties and Uses. — The leaves were used during the Eevolu-
tion and also to some extent during the late Civil War as a substitute for
tea, and both leaves and root have been employed internally and topically
as astringents.

CELASTRACE>E.

Character of the Order. — Shrubs or small trees, with alternate, rarely
opposite, simple leaves; Flowers in small axillary cymes, small, green,
white, or purple ; sepals and petals 4 or 5, imbricate in the bud ; stamens
4 or 5, alternate with the petals, inserted on a large disk which surrounds
and encloses the ovary. Fruit 2- to-5 celled, capsular or drupaceous ; seeds
arilled.

An order comprising thirty-five genera. Represented in North Amer-
ica by seven — two only, Celastrus and Euonymus, comprising medicinal
species.

CELASTRUS. —Staff Tree.

Celastrus scandens Linne. — Woody Bittersweet.

Description. — Calyx turbinate, 5-cleft. Corolla : petals 5, ovate or ob-
long, sessile. Stamens inserted into the margin of the fleshy disk. Ovary
surrounded by the disk, 3-celled ; styles 3, united. Fruit a globular cap-
sule, orange-colored, 3-celled, 3-valved, the valves at maturity opening and
folding backward, exposing the seeds enclosed in a fleshy, crimson aril.

A twining shrub, often climbing trees to the height of twenty or thirty
feet. Leaves ovate-oblong, finely serrate, pointed. Flowers polygamo-
dioecious, inconspicuous, appearing in June. Fruit very ornamental, and
often gathered for household decoration.

Habitat. — Borders of woods and streams and along old fences, from
Canada to Carolina and westward.

Part Used. — The bark — not official.

Constituents. — The bark has a sweetish, nauseous taste. Its chemical
constituents are unknown.

EUONYMUS — SPINDLE TREE. 125

Preparations. — None^ are official. Commonly used in decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Climbing bittersweet is said to be dia-
phoretic, diuretic, alterative, and somewhat narcotic, but its reputation is
chiefly in domestic practice, where the effects of large draughts of warm
water are often attributed to some really inert substance which has been
boiled with it. At any rate, if this plant really possesses valuable medic-
inal properties the fact is yet to be demonstrated.

Climbing or woody bittersweet should be carefully distinguished from
the solauaceous plant {Solanuni Dulcamara), also known as bittersweet, or
herbaceous bittersweet.

EUONYMUS.— Spindle Tree.

Euonymus atropurpureus Jacquin.— TFa;ioo, Burning Bush.

Description. — Calyx : sepals commonly 4, united at the base. Corolla :
petals as many as the sepals, roundish-obovate. Stamens as many as the
sepals, inserted in the broad, flat, fleshy disk ; filaments short. Ovary
half enclosed by the disk ; styles united. Fruit a 4-lobed, 4-celled cap-
sule, each cell 1 to 2-seeded, the seeds nearly enclosed in the bright-red,
succulent aril.

A shrub, 6 to 12 feet high, with somewhat quadrangular, straight
branches. Leaves petiolate, ovate-oblong, pointed, finely serrate. Flowers
dark purx^le, on peduncles 1 to 2 inches long, 5- to 7-flowered, appearing
in June. The fruit matures in October.

Habitat. — In shady woods from Canada to Florida and westward.

Dart Used. — The bark — United States Pharmacopceia.

Constituents. — To analysis euonymus has yielded, besides resins, starch,
glucose, etc., a peculiar bitter neutral principle tevmed euonymin, whose
therapeutic properties have not been investigated. The so-called euony-
min of the eclectic practitioners is an impure resinous body, prepared by
precipitating the alcoholic tincture b}' the addition of water.

Preparations. — Extractum euonymii — extract of euonymus. — United
States Pharmacopoeia. This is an efficient preparation. The bark imparts
its virtues to both alcohol and water, and may be employed in tincture or
decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Euonymus is a mild and somewhat un-
certain purgative, having probably some cholagogue action. Though
chiefly employed in empirical practice, it is well thought of by many regu-
lar practitioners There is little evidence, however, of its possessing prop-
erties of sufficient value to place it in rank with many other cathartics and:
purgatives of established reputation, and the efforts now being made to»
push it into popular favor are to be viewed as purely business enterprises^
having little reference to the actual value of the drug.

126

SAPINDACEiE.

SAPlNDACEiC.

Character of the Order. — Trees or shrubs, with alternate or opposite,
simple qr compound leaves. Flowers commonly irregular and unsymmet-
rical ; sepals 4 or 5 ; petals 4 or 5, sometimes wanting ; stamens 5 to 10,
perigynous or hypogynous, inserted upon a fleshy disk ; ovary 2- or 3-celled,
each cell 1- or 2-ovuled.

A large order, chiefly tropical. Kepresented in North America by about
a dozen genera only, one of which, ^sculus, comprises species of medicinal
importance.

^SCULUS.— Horse-Chestnut, Btjckeye.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx campanulate, 5-lobed. Corolla : petals
4 to 5, expanded, more or less unequal. Stamens 6 to 8, commonly 7 ;
filaments long and slender, often unequal. Ovary 3-celled, each cell

Fig. 118. — ^JEsculus Hippocastannm.

'2-ovuled ; style single. Fruit a large, smooth or prickly capsule. Trees
or shrubs, with opposite, digitate leaves. Flowers in a terminal thyrse or
dense panicle, often polygamous, most of them sterile.

^sculus Hippocastanum Linne. — Horse- Chestnut.

Description. — Calyx obtusely 5-toothed. Corolla : petals oblong, un-
guiculate, fringed and wavy, white with a small red or yellow spot above

^SCULUS — HOUSE-CHESTNUT, BUCKEYE. 127

the claw. Stamens shorter than the petals, clecHiied. Capsule roundish,
prickly, 3-valved, 1- to 3-celled, containing 1 to 3 large, oblong, chestnut-
brown seeds.

A medium-sized tree. Leaflets 7, obovate-lanceolate, acuminate, irreg-
ularly serrate. Flowers beautiful and showy, on jointed pedicels, appear-
ing in June.

Habitat. — Introduced from the East and commonly cultivated for orna-
ment ; scarcely naturalized.

^sculus glabra Willdenow. — Ohio Buckeye.

Description. — Corolla : petals 4, unequal, spreading, with claws as long
as the calyx, pale yellow. Stamens 7, curved, much longer than the petals.
Pruit nearly 1 inch in diameter, prickty.

A small, iU-scented tree. Leaflets 5, oval or oblong, acuminate, serrate.
Plowers small, in loose thyrsoid panicles, appearing in May and June.

Habitat. — River banks in Western Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, and
Kentucky.

^sculus Pavia Limie. — Red Buckeye.

Description. — Calyx tubular. Corolla : petals 4, very unequal, connivent,
red. Stamens 6 to 8, about as long as the petals. Fruit smooth.

A shrub or small tree. Leaflets 5 to 7, oblong-lanceolate, cuneate at
the base, slightly acuminate. Flowers large, in loose thyrsoid racemes,
appearing in April and May.

Habitat. — Mountains of Virginia to Georgia and westward. Most com-
monly a shrub, 3 to 10 feet high, but near the mountains a smaU tree.

Parts Used. — The bark and the seeds — not official.

Constituents. — The most important constituent thus far discovered in
any plant of this genus is a principle termed wsculin, which was obtained
from the bark of the horse-chestnut. The rind of the seeds also contains
some f^sculin. The seeds of all the species abound in starch, mixed, how-
ever, with a bitter and acrid substance, which can only be removed by long
washing. In the case of the red buckeye this has been shown to be a
glucoside, possessed of poisonous properties.

Preparations. — None are official. The virtues of the bark are impart-
ed to both alcohol and water. A commercial article erroneously termed
wsculin is prepared by precipitating the alcohoHc tincture with water. It
is said to be an efficient preparation.

Medical Properties and Uses, — Horse-chestnut bai'k is tonic and astrin-
gent, and formerly had some reputation in Europe as an antiperiodic. It
has been used successfully in some cases of intermittents which had pre-
viously resisted quinine, but in general it is far less efficacious than the
latter. It is probable that the bark of all species of the genus possesses
similar properties, differing only in degree. The poisonous glucoside
found in the seeds of the red buckeye is also likely to be present in those
of other species. It is of a narcotic chai'acter and said to be about one-

128

POLYGALACE^.

third of the strength of opium. In the Southern States the seeds of thi»
species, crushed to a pulp, are employed to stupefy fish and thus render
their capture easy, in the same manner as the seeds of Cocculus Indicus are
used for like pui-poses.

POLYGALACE^.

Character of the Order. — Plants with alternate or opposite, exstipulate
leaves. Flowers very irregular ; sepals usually 5 ; petals 3 ; stamens 4
to 8, monadelphous or diadelphous ; anthers 1-celled, opening by a pore
at the top ; ovary 2-celled, each cell 1-ovuled. Finiit 2-celled, 2-seeded.

An order of few genera but many species. Eepresented in North.
America by three genera, only one of which comprises medicinal species.

POLYG ALA. —Milkwort.

Character of the Oenus. — Calyx : sepals 5, persistent, unequal, the
three outer smaller, the two inner (lateral) larger and petaloid. Corolla r

petals 3, unequal, the middle (anteri-
or) one larger, and usually crested at
the apex ; all of them more or less
united. Stamens 8, rarely 6, their
filaments united below into a split
tube or into two equal sets, and more
or less cohering with the claws of the
petals also. Ovary 2-celled, each cell
1-ovuled ; style elongate, curved.
Fruit a small 2-seeded pod ; seeds
carunculate.

Small herbs, in temperate cli-
mates, with alternate or whorled
leaves. Many of the North Ameri-
can species are supposed to possess
medicinal virtues, but only one — JPoly-
gala Senega— huB an established repu-
tation. The genus as a whole prob-
ably deserves further investigation.

Poly gal a Senega Linne. — Sene-
ca Snakeroot, Senega, Seneha.

Description. — Calyx : the two in-
ner sepals, or wings, roundish-ovate,
white, slightly veined. Corolla small, closed, lateral petals obtuse, the ante-
rior, or keel, crested. Capsule obcordate, compressed, invested with the
persistent calyx.

A small herbaceous perennial. Hoot with a hard, knotty crown and
tortuous branches. Stems several, 6 to 12 inches high, smooth, simple.

Fig, 119.— Polygala Senega.

POLYG AL A MILKWORT. 129

occasionally tinged witli red. Leaves numerous, alternate, lanceolate or
oblong-lanceolate, 1 to 2 inches long, with rough margins. Flowers in
dense spikes, 1 to 1^ inch long, appearing in May and June.

Habitat. — In dry, rocky woods from Western New England to North
Carolina and westward ; most abundant in the South and West.

Polygala polygama Walter {P. rubella WAldewoYf). — Bitter Folygala.

Description. — Calyx : wings broadly obovate, spreading, longer than the
petals. Corolla : keel conspicuously crested. Capsule oblong, emarginate.

A small biennial. Stems numerous, mostly simple, leafy, 6 to 9 inches
high. Leaves alternate, oblanceolate or oblong, 1 inch long. Flowers in
terminal racemes, deej) rose-color or pui-plish. There are also produced
radical racemes of inconspicuous but fertile flowers, which are prostrate
upon the ground, or subterranean.

Habitat. — Dry, sandy soil from Canada to Florida and westward. Veiy
common.

Parts Used. — The root of P. Senega is official under the name of senega
- — United States Pharmacopoeia. Both the root and herb of P. jyolygama
(P. rubella) were formerly official, but have been discarded.

Constituents. — Senega has a peculiar odor, and a taste which is, at first,
sweetish but afterward pungent and acrid. Its most important constitu-
ent is a peculiar acrid principle termed senegin, or polygalic acid, which is
believed to be closely analogous to saponin, a principle existing in Sapon-
aria officinalis and Quillaia bark. From P. polygama (P. rubella) has been
obtained a crystalline compound termed polygalamarin^ which has a very
bitter taste, and foams considerably when agitated with water, in this re-
spect resembling saponin.

Preparations. — Of senega : Abstractum senegse — abstract of senega ; ex-
tractum senegse fluidum — fluid extract of senegji? ; syrupus senegae — syrup
of senega ; a constituent of syrupus scillae compositus — compound syrup of
squill — United States Pharmacopoeia. Of P. polygama there are no official
preparations. Both species yield their virtues to water and to diluted
alcohol.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Senega in small or medium doses is dia-
phoretic, diuretic, and expectorant ; in large doses, emetic and cathartic.
In practice it is chiefly used as a stimulating expectorant in the later
stages of bronchial and pulmonary affections after active inflammatory
symptoms have been subdued. Its emetic and purgative action has been
found useful in rheumatism and dropsy, but other agents are more eligible.
It has also some reputation as an emmenagogue.

Of P. polygama there is little to be said. It is believed to possess proi>
erties similar to those of P. amara of Europe, but as this plant is no
longer official there its properties cannot be considered of much value.
All species of the genus are more or less bitter, and probably possess, if
nothing else, mild tonic properties.
9

130

LEGDMINOSJS.

LEGUMINOS^.

Character of the Order. — Herbs, shrubs, or trees, with alternate, stipu-
late, generally compound leaves. Flowers papilionaceous, sometimes regu-
lai- ; calyx o-parted, the odd segment inferior ; petals 5, the odd one supe-
rior ; stamens 10, rarely 5 or indefinite, monadelphous or diadelphous,
sometimes distinct, commonly perigynous ; ovary simple, 1-celled, 1- to
many-o-sTiled. Fruit a 1- to many-seeded legume.

A very large order of plants, occun-ing in all parts of the globe, but most
abundantly in the tropics. It has been divided into three sub-orders,
namely, Papilionacece, Ccesalpiniece, and Jlimosece. To the first-named sub-
order belong neaiiy all important leguminous plants of temperate regions,
and, \Ndth the single exception of Cassia— .helonging to the sub-order
Ccesalpiniece — all North American species of medicinal importance.

PAPILIONACE^.

Character of the Sub-Order.— Flowers papilionaceous ; sepals 5, more or
less united, often unequally so; petals 5, irregular, imbricate, the upper
one larger than the others and usually enclosing them in the bud ; stamens-

10, rarely 5, inserted with the petals, mona-
delphous, diadelphous, or sometimes dis-
tinct ; when diadelphous, usually with nine
in one set and one in the other. Ovary nor-
mally 1-celled, sometimes becoming 2-celled,
or transversely many-celled by development
of partitions after flowering. Flowers per-
fect, solitary and axillary, or in spikes, ra-
cemes, or panicles.

MELILOTUS. — Melilot.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx 5-toothed,
Corolla : petals free from the stamen- tube,
deciduous, the keel blunt. Stamens dia-
delphous, the upper one free. Pods short,
straight, thick, 1- or few- seeded, indehiscent.
Annual or biennial herbs, with trifoliate
leaves, and flowers in spiked racemes.

Melilotus officinalis Willdenow.—
Yellow Melilot.

Description. — Flowers numerous, 2 to 3
lines long, bright yellow, in long axillary ra-
cemes. Pod oval, 2 Hnes long, obtuse or pointed.

An erect annual or biennial, 2 to 4 feet high, branched, glabrous. Leaves

Fio. 120.— MelilotiiB officinalis.

PSORALEA. 131

scattered, on long petioles ; leaflets of the lower leaves nearly orbicular, of
the upper narrow, often linear.

Habitat. — Cultivated and waste places. Introduced from Europe.

Melilotus alba Lambert. — White Melilot.

Description. — Very closely resembling the preceding, except that it has
white flowers and is a somewhat larger plant.

Habitat. — Cultivated and waste places. Introduced from Europe.

Part Used. — The herb — not official.

Constituents. — These plants in drying have a fragrant odor, due to the
presence of coiwiaHn — the important constituent of Tonka beans ; and they
are only interesting on this account.

Preparations. — There are none.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Yet to be determined. That coumarin
exerts a decided influence upon the heart is well known, and hence all
plants in which this principle is found are not without interest, especially
those which are or are likely to be used as adulterants of smoking tobacco.
There is good reason for believing that many of the ill effects of cigarette-
smoking, so common among our boys and young men, are due, not to the
tobacco, but to the presence of adulterants containing coumarin. (See also
Liatris odoratissima.)

PSORALEA.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx deeply 5 -cleft, the lower lobe longest.
Stamens diadelphous, or occasionally monadelphous. Pod about the length
of the calyx, indehiscent, 1-seeded, sometimes beaked.

Shrubs or herbaceous perennials, commonly dotted with prominent
glands or points. Leaves 3- to 5-foliate. Flowers in spikes or racemes,
white, blue, or purple.

Psoralea melilotoides Michaux.

Description. — Calyx : teeth triangular-ovate. Pod orbicular, trans-
versely wiinkled. Herbaceous, sparingly pubescent, glandular, 1 to 2
feet high. Leaves 3-foliate ; leaflets oblong-lanceolate, dotted, about 2
inches long. Spikes oblong, on peduncles three to four times as long as
the leaves ; flowers one-fourth inch long, usually in pairs on short pedicels,
appearing in May and June.

Habitat.— Dry soil, Ohio, Illinois, and westward.

Psoralea esculenta Pursh.

Description. — Calyx : teeth lanceolate, a little shorter than the corolla.
Pods beaked. Herbaceous, hairy, about 1 foot high. Root thick and fusi-
form, about the size of a walnut. Leaves 5-foliate, slightly dotted ; leaflets
lanceolate. Spikes dense, on long peduncles ; flowers pale blue, one-half
inch long, appearing in June or July.

Habitat. — High plains from Wisconsin westward.

Parts Used. — The leaves and root — not official.

132

LEGUMINOSiE.

Constituents. — Eesin and volatile oil.

PKejjarationt^. — None are official. Alcohol extracts the most important
constituents of the plants.

Medical Properties and Vi<es. — The above -described, as well as several
other indigenous species of the genus, have been used to a limited extent
as remedial agents, but not sufficiently to establish their character. All of
them have a pungent, bitter, and somewhat aromatic taste, and are doubt-
less entitled to a place among the feebler aromatic bitter tonics. The fusi-
form root of I*, escidenta is somewhat farinaceous, and was formerly eaten
by the Indians ; wlien roasted, Pursh says, they are similar to yams. The
early Canadian voyageurs gave the plant the name pomme de prairie or
pomme blanche.

ROBINIA.— Locust Tree.

Robinia Pseudacacia Linne. — Common Locust.

Description. — Calyx short, 5-toothed, slightly 2-lipped. Corolla :

standard large, rounded, re-
flexed ; wing and keel nearly
as long. Stamens diadelphous.
Pod about 3 inches long, flat,
5- to 6-seeded.

In its native habitat a large
tree, 70 to 80 feet high and 3
to 4 feet in diameter ; farther
north it seldom attains half
this size. Leaves unequally
pinnate ; leaflets 9 to 13, ses-
sile, oval, thin, smooth and
shining. Flowers numerous,
in loose pendulous racemes,
white, and very fragrant ; they
appear in June.

Habitat. — Southern Penn-
sylvania to Illinois and south-
ward. It is cultivated for
ornament and for its valu-
able timber in all parts of the
country, and is also largely grown in Europe.

Farts Used. — The leaves, flowers, bark, and root— not official.

Constituents. — The bark has yielded to analysis asparagin and a peculiar
glucoside termed robinin.

I^eparations. — The bark has been employed in decoction, the leaves in
powder, and the flowers in the form of a syrup.

Medical Properties and Uses. — These are altogether problematical. The

Fio. 121.— Robinia Pseudacacia.

BAPTISIA — FALSE INDIGO. lo3

bark is said to be tonic, emetic, and cathartic ; the leaves emetic ; and the
flowers mildly narcotic. Poisonous effects have been produced in children
from eating the root, the symptoms resembling those of belladonna. The
flowers, to the author's own knowledge, are often eaten with impunity.

TEPHROSIA.— Hoary Pea.

Tephrosia Virginiana Persoon. — Goafs Hue, Turkey Pea, Catgut.

Description. — Calyx about equally 5-cleft. Corolla : standard large,
rounded, reflexed ; keel petals broad. Stamens monadelphous or diadel-
phous. Pods about 2 inches long, flat, several-seeded. An herbaceous peren-
nial. Stems numerous, erect, simple, leafy at the top, silky pubescent.
Leaves unequally pinnate ; leaflets 17 to 29, linear-oblong, mucronate.
Flowers large and numerous, in dense oblong racemes, yellowish-white
marked with purple, appearing in June or July.

Habitat. — Dry, sandy soil, Canada to Florida and westward.

Part Used. — The root — not official.

Constituents. — Unknown.

Preparations. — Used only in decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — The root of this plant is said to have
been used by the Indians as a vermifuge before the settlement of the
country by the whites, and it is now used in some parts of the United
States for the same purpose. Its action is said to resemble that of spigelia
and to be quite as efficient.

BAPTISIA.— False Indigo.

Baptisia tinctoria Robert Brown. — Wild Indigo..

DescriiMon.—CdljiL 4- to 5-toothed. Corolla : standard not longer than
the wings, reflexed ; wings and keel petals straight. Stamens distinct.
Pods oval-globose, on a stalk longer than the calyx, several-seeded. An
herbaceous perennial. Stems snpooth and slender, freely branched, 2 to 3
feet high. Leaves palmately trifoliate ; leaflets rounded, obovate-wedge-
shaped, three-quarters of an inch long. Flowers yellow, in short terminal
racemes, appearing from June to August.

Habitat.— Dry, sandy soil, Canada to Florida and westward.

Part Used. — The root— not official.

Constituents. — The most recent analysis of this plant demonstrates the
presence of a peculiar alkaloid, as yet unnamed. The so-called baplisin of
the eclectics is an impure resinous substance obtained from the alcoholic
tincture by precipitation with water.

Preparations. — None are official. A tincture and a fluid extract occur
as commercial preparations, and are said to be efficient. The author has
employed a tincture made from the fresh bark of the root.

134 LECUMINOS^.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Early in this century Dr. Thacher highly
recommended an infusion or decoction of this plant as an antiseptic appli-
cation to ill-conditioned ulcers, and as a gargle in malignant and scarla-
tinal sore throat. Other physicians considered its internal use efficacious
in tj-phus (typhoid ?) and malignant scarlet fevers. In more recent times
it has gained a great reputation among homoeopathic and eclectic practition-
ers, especially in t;y^hoid fever. Some years ago the author experimented
^^dth it in this disease, with what he believed to be satisfactory results.
(See "Trans. Med. Soc. State of New York," 1880.) Further experiments
have not altogether justified the conclusions then arrived at ; still the drug
does in some instances appear to exert a favorable influence, and is worthy
of further investigation.

CASSIA.— Senna.

Cassia Marilandica Linne. — American Senna.

Description. — Calyx: sepals 5, scarcely united at the base, colored, de-
ciduous. Corolla : petals 5, nearly equal, spreading. Stamens 10, rarely 5,
distinct, the three upper commonly abortive ; anthers opening by two pores
at the top. Pod 2 to 4 inches long, linear, compressed, slightly curved,
at first hairy, ultimately nearly glabrous, many-celled with transverse par-
titions, many-seeded.

An herbaceous perennial. Stems erect, branching, 3 to 4 feet high.
Leaves alternate, equally pinnate ; leaflets in 6 to 9 pairs, ovate-oblong,
mucronate, 1 to 2 inches long, one-half inch wide. riow;ers bright orange-
yellow, in short axillary racemes, on the upper part of the stem ; they are
produced during July and August.

Habitat. — Common in alluvial soil from New England and New York
southward and westward.

I^art Used. — The leaflets — formerly official ; dropped from the last
edition of the United States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — A satisfactory analysis of this plant is yet to be made.
One analyst has found in it, in addition to tlie ordinary vegetable prin-
ciples, a complex substance resembling the so-called cathartin of imported
senna.

Preparations. — None are official. It yields its virtues to water, and i»
commonly administered in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — The action of American senna is similar to
that of the African drug, though it is much less efficient, a dose one-third
or one-half larger being required to produce the same effect. On this
account the imported article is generally prefei*red.

Other species of cassia, indigenous or introduced, are said to possess
medicinal activity, but are not sufficiently employed to require further
notice here.

PRUNUS — PLUM AND CHERRY. 135

ROSACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Herbs, shrubs, or trees, with alternate, stipulate
leaves and regular flowers. Sepals commonly 5, rarely less or more,
united at the base, often appearing double by a row of bractlets outside ;
petals as many as the sepals, rarely wanting, inserted with the stamens
upon the calyx ; stamens numerous, rarely few ; pistil 1 or many, distinct,
or in the pear tribe united and combined with the calyx-tube. Fruits ex-
ceedingly varied.

A very large and important order, represented in all parts of the globe.
Very many of the species produce valuable fruits, and but few are pos-
sessed of deleterious properties. Authorities differ widely as to the proper
limitations of the order. Torrey and Gray ("Flora of North America") in-
clude in it four sub-orders, namely : Chrysobalaneoe, AmygdalecE, RosacixHy
and Fomece. The first-named sub-order comprises no medicinal species.

AMYGDALE^.

Character of the Sub- Order. — Calyx entirely free from the (usually)
solitary ovary, deciduous. Style terminal or nearly so. Fruit a drupe
(stone-fruit), 1-seeded or rarely 2-seeded. Trees or shrubs, with simple
leaves, the bark exuding gum, and the bark, leaves, and kernels yielding
the peculiar flavor of prussic acid (Gray). This section comprises all
the plants of the order which possess noxious or poisonous properties,
and in all the poisonous principle is the same — prussic acid — not existing
as such in the leaves, bark, and kernels, but produced, as will be seen
later on, by infusion in water. It is represented in North America by the
genus

PRUNUS.— Plum and Cherry.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx 5-cleft, urn-shaped, bell-shaped, or
tubular-obconical, deciduous after flowering. Petals 5, distinct, spread-
ing, inserted with the stamens upon the calyx-tube. Stamens 15 to 20.
Ovary solitary, 2-ovuled. Fruit fleshy, with a bony stone. Commonly
small trees or shrubs, with edible fruit.

Prunus serotina Ehrhart (Ce^-asws serotina Loiseleur, Cerasus Virgin-
iana Michaux, Prunus Virginiana Miller).— PFi/c? Cherry, Wild Black Cherry.

Description. — Petals small, obovate, quickly deciduous. Fruit about the
size of a pea, nearly black when ripe, and of a slightly bitter taste.

In favorable locations a large forest tree. Leaves 5 to 6 inches long,
lanceolate-oblong, acuminate, serrate with short incurved teeth, some-
what coriaceous, dark shining green. Flowers in long terminal racemes,
appearing in June after the tree is in full leaf.

Habitat. — Canada to Florida and westward ; very common.

136

ROSACEiE.

Prunus Virginiana Linnc {Pi-unus Canadensis Marshall, Prunus
sei'otina Poir, Cerasus Virginiana Loiseleur, Cerasus serotina Hooker). —
Choke-Cherry.

Description. — Petals roundish. Fruit about the size of a pea, dark red
Tvhen fully ripe, and of an extremely astringent taste.

A shrub or small tree, with a grayish bark. Leaves thin and mem-
branous, 2 to 3 inches long, broadly oval, oblong or ovate, abruptly

pointed, very sharj)ly and often doubly
serrate. Flowers in loose, short ra-
cemes terminating the branches, aj)-
pearing in May after the leaves are
considerably developed.

Habitat. — From Canada to the Gulf
of Mexico and westward ; everywhere
common.

Fart used. — The bark of Prunus
serotina Ehrhart — official name, Pru-
nus Virginiana — wild cherry — United
States Pharmacopceia. The bark of the
other species is said to be fully as ef-
ficient. As will be seen by reference
to the synonomy of the two species,
there has been great confusion among
botanists in their nomenclature ;
hence the wild cherry of the Pharma-
copoeia bears as its official name the
proper, and at present generally ac-
cepted, title belonging to choke-
cherry.

Constituents. — Wild cherry bark
contains tannic and gallic acids, resin,
starch, and other common vegetable
principles, and by distillation yields
a peculiar volatile oil resembling the
volatile oil of bitter almonds, con-
taining hydrocyanic acid. The acid does not pre-exist in the bark, but
is formed by the action of a proteid upon amygdalin, an amorphous
or crystaUine principle present in all plants of this sub-order. Amyg-
dalin is not poisonous itself, nor is the proteid substance. Moreover,
the latter is coagulated by heat and thus rendered inert ; hence in
order to obtain hydrocyanic acid from wild cherry, the bark must first be
subjected to the action of cold water. A peculiar bitter principle is also
present in wild cherry to which certain of the medicinal properties of the
bark are due.

Fig. 122. — Prunns serotina Ehrhart (Ceraau
terotina)

SPIRyEA MEADOW-SWEET. 137

Preparatiom. — Extractum pruni virginiana) fluidum — fluid extract of
-wild cherjy ; iufusum pruni virginianse — infusion of wild cherry ; syrupus
pruni virginianse — syrup of wild cherry. — United States Fharmacopoeia.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Wild chen-y is tonic, astringent, and
sedative. Its tonic virtues doubtless reside in the bitter principle men-
tioned above, and its astringent properties are due to the tannic and gal-
lic acids which it contains, while its sedative influence depends entirely
upon the hydrocyanic acid generated by its infusion in water. It is em-
ployed chiefly in pulmonary consumption, and not unfrequently with veiy
beneficial effects. Under its use the apj^etite improves, and both the cough
and expectoration are diminished. As the percentage of hydrocyanic acid
present in the infusion is very small, the dose, to produce a decided seda-
tive effect, must necessarily be quite large, but as its bitterness is also of a
mild character, large doses are generally borne without inconvenience. It
is sometimes employed in conditions of simple debility and in convales-
cence, but here chiefly for its tonic effect. The infusion, made with cold
w^ater, is by far the best form of administration.

ROSACEA.

Character of the Sub- Order. — Calyx entirely free from the ovaries, though
sometimes enclosing them in its tube, commonly persistent. Stamens few
or many. Pistils few or many, distinct, rarely solitary.

This section, the largest of the order, comprises many of the small
fruits in common cultivation, as well as numerous plants cultivated for
ornament. Many plants of the sub-order possess astringent properties.

SPIR^ A. — Me ADOW-S WEET.

Spiraea tomentosa Linne. — Hardhack, Steeplehush.

Description. — Calyx 5-cleft, short, persistent. Corolla : petals 5, obo-
vate, imbricate in the bud. Stamens 10 to 50. Pistils 5, distinct. Pods
few-seeded.

A small shrub, 2 to 3 feet high, somewhat branched, brittle, clothed
with a woolly pubescence which easily rubs off. Jjeaves 1 to 2 inches long,
ovate, unequall}^ serrate, deep green above, thickly coated with a inisty pu-
bescence beneath. Flowers small, numerous, rose-colored, rai-ely white,
in a beautiful elongated panicle, appearing in July and August.

Habitat. — In low grounds and swampy places from Canada to Georgia
and westward.

Parts Used. — The leaves and bark of both the stem and the root— not
official.

Constituents. — Tannic and gallic acids.

Preparations. — None are official. A decoction is usually employed
Solid and fluid extracts occur as commercial articles.

138

ROSACEJE.

Medical l^operties and Uses. — Hardliack and other species of spiraea,
both indigenous and exotic, have been used considerably as astringents,
both internally and topically. Their action appears to differ in no way
from that of other simple vegetable astringents.

GILLENIA.— Indian Physic.

Gillenia trifoliata Moench. — Indian Physic.

Description. — Calyx tubular-campanulate, 5-toothed, the teeth some-
what reflexed. Corolla : petals 5, unequal, linear-lanceolate, the two upper

somewhat separated from the three
lower, inserted in the throat of the
calyx. Stamens 10 to 20, included.
Pods 5, included, 2- to 4-seeded.

An herbaceous perennial.
Stems several from one root, 1 to
2 feet high, erect, slender, flexuous,
smooth, commonly tinged with red,
and considerably branched. Leaves
alternate, trifoliate ; leaflets ovate,
lanceolate, acuminate, sharply ser-
rate. The upper leaf is often sin-
j?le. Flowers few, nodding, rose-
forming a loose

colored or white.

paniculate corymb, appearing in
July.

Habitat. — Canada and Western
New York to Georgia.

Part Used. — The root — not of-
ficial.

Constituents. — In addition to
the ordinary vegetable principles,
such as starch, gum, resin, tannin,
etc., gillenia possesses a peculiar
bitter principle, termed giUenin, to
which its therapeutic properties are due. Gillenin has been obtained in
the form of a whitish powder, soluble in water, alcoliol, ether, and dilute
acids. It has a very bitter taste and is an active emetic.

Preparations. — None are official. The root is commonly administered
in powder. A fluid extract occurs as a commercial article.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Gillenia was formerly used, especially in
domestic practice, as an emetic. It is said to act Hke ipecacuanha, though
less efficiently. In very small doses it is said to exert a tonic influence
upon the stomach simikir to that of ii^ecacuanha when used in like manner.

Fig. 123.— Gillenia trifoliata.

AGRIMONIA AGEIMOT^Y.

139

Oillenia stipulacecE Nuttall, a species closely resembling the preceding,
and growing in similar situations, is possessed of identical properties.
Both species were formerly official, but have been dropped from the Phar-
macopoeia, since they are, at best, but poor substitutes for ipecacuanha.

AGRIMONIA. —Agrimony.

Agrimonia Eupatoria Linne. — Agrimony.

Description. — Calyx turbinate, contracted at the throat, 5-cleft, armed
with hooked bristles. Corolla : petals 5, twice as long as the calyx, yellow.

Fio. 124. — Agrimonia Eupatoria.
Flower enlarged.

Pig. 126.— Agrimonia Eupatoria,

Fig. 12.5.— Agrimonia Eupatoria.
Flowers natural size.

Stamens 12 to 15, inserted with the petals in the throat of the calyx. Ova-
ries 2 ; styles terminal. Fruit 2-achenia inclosed in the persistent, indu-
rated calyx.

An herbaceous perennial, 2 to 4 feet high. Leaves inteiTuptedly pin-
nate : leaflets 5 to 7, with minute ones intermixed, oblong-obovate, coarsely

140 ROSACEA.

toothed. Flowers in slender, spiked racemes, appecoring from July to
September.

Habitat. — Borders of woods from Canada to Florida and westward.
Common in Europe also.

Part Used. — The whole plant — not official.

Constituents. — The only constituent thus far discovered in agrimony of
therapeutic importance is tannin, which exists in the proportion of less
than five per cent.

rreparations. — None are official— a decoction or infusion is efficient.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Agrimonia has been used considerably
in domestic practice in cases requiring simple vegetable astringents.

GEUM.— AvENS.

Geum rivale Linne. — Water Avens.

Description. — Calyx deeply 5-cleft, the segments erect or spreading,
purplish. Corolla : petals 5, broadly obovate, emarginate, abruptly nar-
rowed into a claw about as long as the calyx, light purj)lish-orange. Sta-
mens numerous. Achenia numerous, gathered in a head upon a dry, coni-
cal receptacle ; styles articulated and bent in the middle, the upper part
plumose, the lower glabrous.

An herbaceous perennial. Stems nearly simple, 1 to 3 feet high, re-
trorsely pubescent. Radical leaves lyrate and interruptedly pinnate ; those
of the stem trifoliate or trilobed. Flowers few, large, nodding, appearing
in May and June.

Habitat. — Bogs and wet meadows from Pennsylvania northward and
westward. Common in Europe also.

Parts Used. — The rhizome and rootlets — not official.

Constituents — This plant has not been analyzed, but it is believed to
possess constituents similar to those of Geum urbanum, a closely allied
European plant, which contains volatile oil, tannin, and a bitter iDrinciple.

Preparations. — None are official. Boiling water extracts its virtues.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Water avens is tonic and astringent. It
has been used chiefly in relaxation of the mucous membranes.

POTENTILLA. —Cinque-Foil.

Potentilla Canadensis Linne. — Common Cinque-Foil, Five-Finger.

Description. — Calyx flat, deeply 5-cleft, with 5 bractlets alternating
with the segments, thus appearing 10-cleft. Corolla : petals 5, longer than
the calyx, broadly obovate or obcordate, yellow. Stamens numerous.
Achenia numerous, gathered in a head on a dry receptacle.

A small annual or biennial, with decumbent, prostrate, or creeping stems,
producing runners in summer. Leaves 5-foliate ; leaflets obovate-wedge-

RUBUS BRAMBLE. 141.

shaped, cut-toothed at the apex. Flowers solitary on long axillary pedun-
cles, appearing throughout the summer.

Habitat. — In dry soil from Canada to Georgia and westward; every-
where common.

Part Used. — The whole plant — not official.

Constit uents. — Unknown.

Preparations. — None are official or commercial. Usually administered
in decoction or infusion.

3Iedical Properties and Uses. — Cinque-foil and several other species of
the genus possess mild astringent properties, and have been used, chiefly
in domestic practice, in diarrhoea, dysentery, leucorrhoea, etc.

RUBUS. —Bramble.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx 5-parted, without bractlets. Petals 5,
deciduous. Stamens numerous, inserted into the border of the disk.
Achenia numerous, pulpy and drupaceous, aggregated upon a conical or
cylindrical spongy or succulent receptacle, persistent or deciduous.

Perennial shrubby or suffruticose plants, with erect or procumbent,
mostly prickly and biennial stems. Leaves pinnately or pedately com-
pound, or simple.

Rubus viliosus Aiton. — Common High Blackberry.

Description. — Calyx : teeth linear-acuminate. Corolla : petals obovate-
oblong, spreading, much longer than the calyx, white. Fruit, composed
of aggregated drupes, not separating from the succulent, elongated recep-
tacle, one-half to 1 inch long, one-fourth to one-half inch in diameter, black,
sweet, and juicy.

A shrubby perennial. Stems numerous, 1 to 6 feet high, upright or
reclining, furrowed, armed with strong recurved prickles. Leaves 3-foliate
or pedately 5-foliate ; leaflets ovate or oblong-ovate, mostly acuminate,
doubly or unequally serrate, the terminal one somewhat cordate, petio-
late. Flowers racemose, numerous, appearing in May and June ; the
finiit ripens in August and September.

Habitat. —Common everywhere along the borders of woods, old fences,
and in clearings. The bushes vary greatly in size and general appearance,
according to the circumstances of their growth. The fruit also is variable
in respect of size, succulence, and flavor.

Rubus Canadensis Linnc.— Zo?y; Blackberry, Running Blackbei^ryy.
Dewberry.

Description. — Calyx : teeth mucronate. Corolla : petals twice the
length of the calyx, white. Fruit similar to the preceding but shorter and
thicker, the individual drupes being much less numerous but larger.

A low, trailing shrubby plant. Stems at first ascending but ultimately
trailing, and rooting when long in contact with the eai'th, less prickly

142 ROSACEA.

thaD the preceding. Leaves 3-foliate, or pedately 5- to 7-foliate ; leaflets
oval or ovate-lanceolate, mostly acuminate, thin, nearly smooth, sharply
cut-sen-ate. Flowers racemose, appearing in May ; the fniit ripens in July
and August.

Habitat. — Rocky hills, and old, neglected fields. Widely distributed,
but much less common than the prec4ding.

Rubus trivialis Michaux. — Low-Bush Blackberry.

Description. — Calyx : teeth reflexed. Corolla : petals broadly obovate,
more than twice the length of the calyx, white. Fruit large.

Stem shrubby, procumbent, armed with bristles and prickles. Leaves
3-foliate or pedately 5-foliate, evergreen, coriaceous, nearly glabrous ; leaf-
lets ovate-oblong or lanceolate, sharply serrate. Peduncles 1- to 3-flow-
ered ; flowers large, appearing in March ; the fruit ripens in May.

Habitat. — In sandy soil from Virginia to Florida and westward.

Rubus strigOSUS Michaux. — Red Raspberry.

Description. — Calyx spreading. Corolla : petals erect, about as long as
the cal}^, white. Fruit an aggregation of drupes, which falls from the
spongy, conical receptacle at maturity ; light red, sweet and juicy.

Stems biennial, upright, armed with stiff bristles. Leaves 3- to 5-foliate ;
leaflets oblong-ovate, acuminate, cut-serrate, whitish-downy underneath.
Peduncles axillary and terminal ; the flowers appear from June forward,
and the fruit ripens throughout the summer.

Habitat. — Common everywhere along the borders of woods and in old
fields.

Rubus occidentalis Linne. — Black Raspberry^ Thimbleberry.

Description. — Calyx : teeth reflexed. Corolla : petals shorter than the .
sepals, white. Fruit similar to the preceding, but composed of smaller
drupes, pui*ple-black, sweet and juicy.

Stems biennial, recurved, armed with hooked prickles. Leaves 3-foli-
ate, rarely 5-foliate ; leaflets ovate, acuminate, doubly serrate, whitish-
downy underneath. Flowers in axillary and terminal clusters, aiDpearing
in May ; the fruit ripens in June and July.

Habitat. — Common along old fences and in clearings from Canada to
Georgia and westward.

Parts Used. — The bark of the root of R. villosus, R. Canadensis, and R.
trivialis — official name : Rubus — United States Pharmacopoeia. The fruit of
R. strifjosus and R. occidentalis is permitted by the Pharmacopoeia to be used
instead of that of the official species, R. Idoeus Linne.

Constituents. — Blackberry root contains tannin as its chief and most
important constituent.

Raspberries and blackberries are among the most important of indigen-
ous small fruits. Though possessed of no strictly medicinal virtues, the
former are used in the preparation of a syrup which is employed as a pleas-
ant vehicle.

HYDRANGEA. 143

Preparations. — Of blackberry root : Extractum rubi fluiclum — fluid ex-
tract of rubus ; syrupus rubi— syrup of rubus. Of Rubus Idaeus (or R.
atrigosus or R. occidentaliH) : Syrupus nibi idaei — syrup of raspberry. —
United States Pharmacopoeia.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Blackberry is used as a mild astringent
•chiefly in the diarrhoeas of infants and young children. It is generally
well borne by the stomach, and though less efficient than many other
drugs which are used for the same purposes, may often be employed with
excellent results.

Raspberries, in the form of the official syrup, are used only as a vehicle.

SAXIFRAGACEiC.

A large order of herbs, shrubs, or trees, whose limits are not alto-
gether settled. As the medicinal species of the order indigenous to
North America are few in number and belong to different, well-charac-
terized sub-orders, it is more convenient to study them under the latter
than to attempt, from the few species examined, to characterize the entire
order.

HYDRANGEiE.

Character of the Sab-Order. — Shrubs or trees, with opposite, simple,
€xstipulate leaves. Flowers in cymes, the central ones complete, the
outer ones with large petals, and often barren. Calyx more or less adher-
ent to the ovary, 4- to G-tobthed. Petals 4 to 6, deciduous. Stamens
S to 12, in two rows, or numerous, attached to the calyx. Ovary of 2 to 5
carpels united ; styles 2 to 5. Fruit a many-seeded capsule, crowned with
the persistent styles.

HYDRANGEA.

Hydrangea arborescens Linne. — Wild Hydrangea.

Description. — Calyx-tube hemispherical, 8- to 10-ribbed, coherent with
the ovary, the limb 4- to 5-toothed. Petals ovate, valvate in the bud.
Stamens 8 to 10, filiform. Capsule 2-celled, many-seeded, crowned with
the persistent styles.

A shrub, 4 to 8 feet high. Leaves 3 to 6 inches long, ovate, rarely cord-
ate, acuminate, serrate, green both sides. Cymes flat ; the marginal flow-
ers usually sterile and radiant, consisting of a flat, dilated, and colored
calyx ; sometimes all fertile.

Habitat. — Rocky banks from New Jersey to the mountains of Georgia
and westward to Illinois.

Part Used. — The root — not official.

Constituents. — Analysis has not as yet yielded any results which throw
light upon the asserted therajjeutic j)roperties of this plant.

144 HAMAMELACE^.

Preparations. — None are official. A fluid extract occurs as a commer-
cial article.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Hydrangea is said to exert a specific ac-
tion upon the bladder in calculous affections in their earlier stages, effect-
ing the removal of the deposits and moderating the pain incident to their
passage — all of which may be true, but further evidence is desirable.

SAXIFRAGES.

Character of the Sub-Order. — Herbs, with alternate, or rarely opposite,
exstipulate leaves. Calyx 4- to 5-toothed. Petals imbricated, or rarely
convoluted in the bud, deciduous or withering-persistent. Stamens as
many or twice as many as the lobes of the calyx. Ovary more or less ad-
herent to the calyx-tube. Fruit dry, capsular, or follicular.

HEUCHER A. —Alum-Root.

Heuchera Americana Linne.—^/wm-i^oo/.

Description. — Calyx bell-shaped, the tube adherent at the base to the
ovary, 5-cleft. Corolla : petals 5, spatulate, as long as the lobes of the
calyx, purplish or white. Stamens 5. Styles 2, slender. Pod 1-celled,
with 2 parietal placentae, many-seeded, 2-beaked, opening between the
beaks. '

An herbaceous perennial. Leaves nearly all radical, roundish-cordate,
somewhat 7- to 9-lobed ; the lobes short and rounded, dentate-crenate, with
short and broad mucronate teeth. Scapes 2 to 3 feet high, glandular, and
more or less hirsute with short hairs, rarely with one or two small leaves.
Panicle loose, many-flowered, the flowers appearing in May and June.

Habitat. — In woods and rocky places from Connecticut to Wisconsin
and southward.

Part Used. — The root — not official.

Constituents. — Alum-root contains from eighteen to twenty per cent, of
tannin.

Preparations. — None are official. — It is generally employed in decoc-
tion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Alum-root, though formerly official, is
seldom employed except as a domestic remedy. It is chiefly used, in
decoction, as a topical astringent in sore throat, leucorrhoea, menorrhagia,
etc. Other species of heuchera possess similar properties.

HAMAMELACE^.

Character of the Order. — Shrubs or trees, with alternate simple leaves
and deciduous stipules. Flowers in heads or spikes, often polygamous or
monoecious. Calyx adherent to the base of the ovary. Petals narrow.

HAMAMELIS WITCH-HAZEL.

145

yalvate or involute in the bud, inserted upon the calyx ; sometimes want-
ing. Stamens twice as many as the petals, the alternate ones sterile ; some-
times numerous. Ovary 2-celled, each cell l-o\Tded. Fruit a 2-celled, 2-
beaked, woody pod, each cell containing a single bony seed.

The fertile flowers of Liquidambar consist of numerous coherent 2-
celled, many-ovuled ovaries.

HAMAMELIS. — Witch-Hazel.

Hamamelis Virginica Linne. — Witch-Hazel.

Description. — Calyx 4-parted, with 2 or 3 bractlets at the base. Co-
rolla : petals 4, long and narrow, strap-shaped, spirally involute in the
bud, and considerably contorted when expanded, yellow. Stamens 8, the

Fig. 127.— Hamamelis Virginica.

four alternate ones imperfect and scale-like. Ovary of 2 pistils united at
the base ; styles short. Pod opening loculicidally from the top, the outer
coat separating from the inner, which encloses the single lai'ge, bony seed
in each cell, but soon bursts elastically into two pieces.

A large shrub, 8 to 12 feet high, with flexuous branches. Leaves al-
ternate, on short petioles, obovate or oval, repandly sinuate-crenate, un-
equal or obliquely sub-cordate at the base, scabrous mth minute elevated
spots beneath. The flowers are in axillary clusters, appearing from Sep-
tember until late in the fall, the fruit maturing the next year.

Habitat.— h\ moist woods from Canada to Florida and westward ; very

common.

10

146 HAMAMELACE.E.

Parts Used. — The leaves, and the bark of the young branches. The
United States Phaimacopoeia directs that the leaves collected in autumn
alone be used. In the opinion of the author this is a mistake, for from
personal experience he believes the bark of the young branches to be more
efficient

Constituents. Chemical analysis has as yet thrown little light upon the
therapeutic activity of witch-hazel. The only constituent thus far discovered
of known efficacy is tannin, which was found in the bark in the proportion
of 8.10 per cent.

Preparations. — Extractum hamamelidis fluidum — fluid extract of hama-
melis. — United States Pharmacojxjeia. A so-called extract of witch-hazel,,
said to be prepared by distillation, is largely used as a popular remedy. A.
saturated tincture of the bark has yielded the author more satisfactory re-
sults than any other preparation he has employed.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Hamamelis until recently has been little
employed except by homoeopathic practitioners and by the laity. That it
possesses therapeutic activity will be doubted by few who have employed
it carefully and intelligently ; and that its activity is greater than can be
reasonably attributed to the percentage of tannin it contains will be con~
ceded by most unprejudiced observers. As stated by Dr. Piffard : " The
sphere of action of hamamelis is mainly confined to the vascular system and
to the venous rather than the arterial ; in fact, its influence on the former
is as decided as that of aconite on the latter. There is no evidence, how-
ever, to show that it in any way influences vessels of the viscera, but, so
far as yet known, limits its effects to vessels distributed to the skin and
mucous membranes. It covers a portion onty of the ground occupied by
ergot in this respect, but within its own proper field it does not yield ta
this latter in efficacy." '

It is employed internally in hemorrhage from the lungs, bowels, uterus,
etc., and topically in hemorrhoids and varicose veins, bruises, sprains, etc.

LIQUID AMBAR.— Sweet Gum Tree.

Liquidambar Styraciflua Linne. — Sweet Gum Tree.

Description. — Flowers usually monoecious ; sterile without cvlys. or co-
rolla, arranged in a conical cluster, stamens numerous ; fertile, also naked,
consisting of numerous 2-celled ovaries collected in a globular head. Fruit
a spherical, woody head, made up of the cohering ovaries, each of whose
cells opens at maturity between its two beaks. Ovules in each cell nu~
merous, but only one or two of them perfecting.

A large, beautiful tree ; stem straight, freely branched above, with a
gray, corrugated bark, that of the young branches, especially in young

' Materia Medica and Tlierapeutics, p. 212. By Charles D. F. Phillips, edited by
H. G. Piffard. New York, 1879.

LIQUID AMBAR — SWEET GUM TREE.

147

trees, with elevated corky ridges. Leaves rounded in general outline,
deeply 5- to 7-lobed, smooth and shining, glandular-serrate, the lobes
pointed. They become deep crimson in autumn, and thus give the tree a

Fig. 128. — Liquidambar Styraciflna.

strikingly beautiful appearance. The flowers are produced in April, the
fruit maturing in autumn and persisting upon the tree until late in the
season.

When wounded the bark exudes a sweetish, resinous gum resembhng
storax, and possessing similar properties. Storax itself is produced by an
exotic species of the same genus, Liquidambar orientalis Miller.

Habitat. — In moist woods from Connecticut to lUinois and southward.

J^art Used. — The gum — not official.

Constituents. — Sweet gum, as it exudes, is a
thick liquid of a syrup}' consistence, but hardens
upon exposure and finally becomes solid. It has
a pleasant balsamic odor and a sweetish, bal-
samic taste, followed by a sensation of pungency.
It contains cinnamic acid, styracin, and an aro-
matic oily hydro-carbon having the properties of
styrol. These are the essential constituents of
storax also.

Preparations. — None are official. A syrup of
sweet gum, prepared according to the official
formula for syrup of tolu, is said to be an eligi-
ble preparation.

Medical Properties and Lses.— Like storax, sweet gum is used chiefly in
catarrhal affections, especially those of the respiratory and urinary mucous

Fio. 129.— Liquidambar Styraciflua
(Fruit).

148 ONAGRACE^.

membranes, as clironic bronchitis, cystitis, pyelitis, gonorrhoea, and gleet.
Externally, in the form of an ointment, it has been employed successfully
in scabies, bm*ns, frost-bites, and indolent ulcers.

ONAGRACE>C.

Character of the Order. — Herbs, with simple leaves and commonly 4-
merous flowers. Calyx tubular, cohering with the 2- to 4-celled ovary, the
limb usually 4-cleft, its lobes valvate in the bud. Petals convolute in
the bud, occasionally wanting. Stamens as many, or twice as many, as
the lobes of the calyx, and inserted upon the cal}^-tube. Style single.
Fruit succulent or capsular.

An order represented in North America by fifteen genera and one hun-
dred and forty-five species, mostly unimportant plants.

EPILOBIUM.— Willow Herb.

Epilobium angustifollum Linne. — Great Willoio Herb.

Description. — Calyx-tube not prolonged beyond the ovary, the limb 4-
cleft, deciduous. Corolla : petals 4, obovate, unguiculate, pink-purple.
Stamens 8. Capsule linear, 4-sided, 4-celled, 4-valved, many-seeded, the
seeds with a tuft of long hairs at the end.

An herbaceous perennial. Stem erect, 4 to 7 feet high, simple, mostly
glabrous. Leaves sessile, lanceolate, nearly entire, or with slightly undu-
late margins. Flowers large and showy, in a long spicate raceme, appear-
ing from July till September.

Habitat. — From the mountains of North Carolina northward and west-
ward. Very common from Pennsylvania and New York northward.

Parts Used. — The leaves and root — not official.

Constitueiits.—JJnknown.

Preimrations. — There are none. The plant is said to yield its virtues
to water or alcohol.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Willow herb is said to be " tonic, astrin-
gent, demulcent, and emolli-ent. An infusion of the leaves will be found
beneficial in chronic diarrhoea, dysentery, leucorrhoea, menorrhagia, and
uterine hemorrhage, and forms an excellent local aj^plication for ophthal-
mia, ulcerations of the mouth and throat, and leucorrhoea. The leaves in
poultice are a valuable remedy for foul and indolent ulcers " (King). If
the plant be really so valuable as the above statement would indicate, it is
rather remarkable that its virtues are not better known and appreciated.

Several other indigenous species of epilobium have been used medic-
inally, but without acquiring any reputation.

CENOTHERA EVENING PRIMROSE. 149

CENOTHERA.— Evening Primrose.

(Enothera biennis lAnne.— Evening Primrose.

Descnption. — Calyx-tube prolonged beyond the ovary, deciduous, the
limb 4-clef t, the lobes reflexed. Corolla : petals 4, obcordate, light yellow.
Stamens 8. Capsules oblong, 4-valved, many-seeded.

An annual or biennial herb. Stem erect, commonly haiiy, 1 to 5
feet high. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, acute, obscurely toothed. Flowers in
a terminal spike ; they expand late in the afternoon or in the evening and
wither next day. The plant occurs in numerous vai'ieties, differing in re-
spect to size of flowers, etc.

Habitat. — In fields, waste places, along fences and roadsides ; common
everywhere.

Parts Used. — The bark, leaves, and the young branches— not official.

Constituents. — Unknow^u.

Preparations. — A decoction has been recommended.

3Iedical Pr'operties and Uses. — Dr. Griffith recommends the decoction
as a local application "in infantile eruptions," of what character, however,
he does not state. Its virtues, if it have any, are yet to be ascertained.

UMBELLIFER/E.

Character of the Order. — Herbs, with alternate, mostly compound leaves,
and flowers in umbels. Calyx wholly adherent to the ovary ; limb obso-
lete or minutely 5-toothed. Petals 5, small, imbricate in the bud, or val-
vate, with the point inflexed, inserted, together with the 5 stamens, upon
the disk which crowns the ovary. Ovary 2-celled, each cell 1-ovuled ;
styles 2. Fruit composed of 2 seed-like carpels, which during develop-
ment are closely adherent to each other, but at maturity separate and are
usually suspended from the summit of a prolongation of the axis. Each
carpel, commonly though erroneously denominated a seed, is marked lon-
gitudinally by 5 primary and 5 alternate secondary ridges, between which
are minute tubes, called vittce, containing essential oil. Seed proper sus-
pended from the summit of the cell, with a minute embryo in har;! albu-
men. Stems usually hollow. Leaves with dilated or clasping petioles.
Umbels generally compound, the secondary ones being termed umbellets.

A very large and well-characterized order, comprising many species
of medicinal or economic importance. Many of them possess agreeable
aromatic properties ; many others, on the other hand, are actively poison-
ous. In general the poisonous members of the order grow in wet places,
so that an umbellate plant found in such a situation should be viewed
with suspicion until its character has been ascertained. The flowers of nil
plants of the order bear a close similarity to each other, and are therefore

150 UMBELLIFER^.

of little use in determining the genera, which must be studied by the
fruits, leaves, etc.

The order is represented in North America by forty-five genera com-
prising one hundred and sixty-eight species, few of which are of medicinal
importance.

S ANICUL A. — Sanicle.

Sanicula Marilandica Liune. — Sanicle, Black Snakeroot.

Description. — Calyx-teeth persistent. Petals obovate, erect, connivent,
with a long inflexed point, greenish or yellowish. Styles elongated and
conspicuous, recurved. Fruit globular, the carpels not separating at ma-
turity, without ribs, thickly set with hooked j)nckles, and having each 5
oil-tubes.

A perennial herb, 2 to 3 feet high. Leaves digitately 5- to 7-parted, the
segments incisely and mucrouately serrate, the radical ones long-petioled.
Umbels irregular or compound, the flowers capitate in the umbellets, most
of them perfect but with many staminate ones intermingled, the latter on
slender pedicels. Fruits several in each umbellet.

Habitat. — "Woods and copses, Canada to CaroHna and westward ; every-
where common.

Part Used. — The root — not official.

Constituents. — Unknown.

Freparations. — It is administered in powder or decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Perhaps it would be well to state that
the medical properties of sanicle, if it have any, are, like its constituents,
unknown, though various and contradictory properties have been ascribed
to it ; as, for instance, that it is nervine, anodyne, and astringent, and that
it has been used with advantage in intermittent fever, sore throat, cynanche
trachealis, erysipelas, some skin diseases, chorea, gonorrhoea, dysentery^
passive hemorrhages, and leucorrhoea. Until further evidence be adduced
in its favor, one may reasonably remain skeptical regarding its virtues.

ERYNGIUM. — Eryngo.

Eryngium yuccaefolium Michaux. — Rattlesnake's Master, Button

Snakeroot.

Description. — Calyx-teeth persistent. Petals connivent, oblong-obovate,
emarginate, with a very long inflexed point. Styles filiform. Carpels
semi-terete without ribs or oil-tubes.

A perennial herb, 1 to 6 feet high. Leaves broadly linear, with
straight, simple parallel veins, remotely ciliate with soft spines. Flowers
sessile, in dense globose or cjiindrical heads, appearing in July or August.

Habitat. — Dry or damp pine barrens or jDrairies from New Jersey to
Wisconsin and southward.

DAUCUS — CARROT.

151

Part Used. — The root — not official.

Constituents. — Unknown.

Preparations. — Administered in decoction.

3fedical Properties and Uses. — Button snakeroot is one of the numerous
plants reputed to cure the bite of the rattlesnake. It is diaphoretic, di-
uretic, expectorant, and in large doses emetic.

Other indigenous species of this genus probably possess similar prop-
erties.

D AUCUS. — Caruot.

Daucus Carota Linne. — Carrot.

Description. — Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla, petals obovate, emarginate
with an inflexed point, the exterior ones larger than the others, deeply 2-

cleft.

Fig. 130 —Daucus Carota.

Fruit ovate or oblong ; the carpels with 5 primary slender bristly

ribs, of which three are on the back and two on the flattened surface, and
4 secondary ribs, each with a single row of bristles, and underneath it an
oil-tube.

1 52 UMBELLTFER JS.

A biennial herb, -with a fusiform root. Leaves 2- to 3-pinnate, or pin-
nately divided. Umbels concave, with an involucre of several trifid or
pinnatifid leaflets. Flowers white or cream- colored, the central one of
each umbellet abortive and dai'k purple ; the}' are joroduced throughout
the summer.

Habitat. — A native of the Eastern continent but naturalized throughout
the United States, and in many places has become a very troublesome
weed. The cultivated varieties produce large fleshy roots of great eco-
nomic value.

Part Used. — The fruit — not official.

Constituents. — Carrot fruit contains a small percentage of aromatic vol-
atile oil, to which it owes its medicinal activity.

Preparations. — It is commonly administered in powder.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Carrot fruit is stimulant, diuretic, and
somewhat aromatic. Like many other remedies of similar properties, it
has been used to stimulate menstruation and for the relief of strangury.
The root of the cultivated plant boiled and reduced to a pulp forms an ad-
mirable poultice.

HERACLEUM.— Cow-Parsnip.

Heracleum lanatum Michaux. — Mastenmrt, Cow-Parsnip.

Description. — Calyx-teeth minute or obsolete. Corolla : petals obcor-
date with an inflexed point, those of the outer flowers often larger and
radiant, appearing deeply 2-cleft. Fruit compressed on the back, with a
broad flat margin ; ribs, 3 dorsal and equi-distant, 2 lateral near the di-
lated margin ; oil-tubes shorter than the fruit, 1 in each interval and usu-
ally 2 in the commissure.

A large perennial herb. Stem 4 to 8 feet high. Leaves large, ternately
divided, the segments 4 to 10 inches in diameter, -unequally lobed, the
lobes acuminate, nearly glabrous above, pubescent beneath. Umbels
widely spreading, 6 to 10 inches or more in diameter ; involucre of 6 to 10
oblong-lanceolate, caducous leaflets. Flowers white, appearing in June.

Habitat. — In rich wet ground from Labrador to Pennsylvania and west-
ward.

Part Used. — The root — not official.

Constituents. — Unknown.

Preparations. — Used in infusion.

3Iedical Proi^erties and Uses. — When fresh, the leaves or root placed in
contact with the skin cause irritation and inflammation. The root is said
to be stimulant, antispasmodic, and carminative. Though recommended in
epilepsy and a variety of other nervous disorders, little is known of its effi-
csicj. That it is active, even poisonous, seems well established, but its
therapeutic uses are yet to be ascertained.

CICUTA — WATEU-IIEMLOCK. 153

ARCHANGELICA.

Archangelica atropurpurea Hoffman. — Great Angelica.

Description. — Calj^x- teeth short. Corolla : petals elliptical, entire, with
an inflexed point. Fruit somewhat dorsally compressed, smooth ; carpels
with 3 rather thick carinated dorsal ribs, and with lateral ribs dilated into
marginal wings ; seed becoming loose in the pericarp, and having numer-
ous oil-tubes which adhere to its surface.

A large perennial herb. Stem 4 to G feet high, smooth, stiiate-sulcate,
dark purple. Leaves usually -svith large inflated petioles, 3-parted, the
divisions bipinnately divided ; segments of the secondary divisions 5 to
7, sharply cut-serrate, acute. Umbels somewhat globose after flowering,
6 to 8 inches in diameter ; flowers greenish-white, appearing in May and
June.

Habitat. — Low river banks, Pennsylvania to Wisconsin and northward.

l^art Used. — The root — not official.

Constituents. — Unknown, but probably similar to those of European an-
gelica, namely, a volatile oil, a somewhat acrid resin termed angelicin, and
common vegetable principles.

Preparations. — None are official. The drug is administered in powder
or infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Angelica is aromatic, stimulant, diapho-
retic, and in large doses emetic. It has been employed with benefit in
chronic bronchitis, chronic rheumatism and gout, intermittent fever, etc.
Like many other remedies of similar proj^erties, it is used in domestic
practice to promote the menstrual discharge.

CICUTA.— Water-Hemlock.

Cicuta maculata Linne. — America?! Water-Hemlock, Spotted Cow-
bane, Musquash Boot.

Description. — Calyx-teeth minute. Corolla : petals obovate with in-
flexed points, white. Fruit, sub-globose, laterally contracted ; caq^els with
5 flattish, strong ribs, the intervals each with an oil-tube.

A stout perennial herb, with tuberous roots. Stem 4 to 8 feet high,
finely striate with green and purple, and sometimes spotted. Leaves
thrice pinnately or ternately compound, the lower ones on long i)etioles ;
leaflets lanceolate or oblong, serrate, acuminate, with veins appealing to ter-
minate in the notches ; close observation, however, shows that they are con-
tinued along one side to the points of the teeth. Umbels without an invo-
lucre or with one of 1 or 2 leaflets. The flowers are produced in July and
August.

Habitat. — In swamps and wet places ; common everywhere.

154

UMBELLIFER^.

Water-hemlock, though an energetic poison, is not used medicinally.
It is introduced here merely that it ma}' be distinguished from Conium
maculatum, described below, for the two are not infrequently confounded
by the superficial observer.

CONIUM. — Poison Hemlock.

Conium mac u latum Linne. — Poison Hemlock.

Description. — Calyx-teeth obsolete. Corolla : petals obcordate, with a
short inflexed point, white. Fruit ovate, laterally compressed ; carpels
with 5 prominent, wavy ribs, the intervals without oil-tubes ; seed grooved
on its face.

A biennial herb, with a fusiform root. Stem 2 to 5 feet high, round,
branched, glabrous, often spotted with purple. Leaves decompound ;

ultimate segments ovate or lan-
ceolate, deeply cut. Umbels ter-
minal, not large for the size of
the plant ; involucre and involu-
cels 3- to 5-leaved, the latter uni-
lateral. The flowers appear in
July.

Habitat. — Conium is indige-
nous to EurojDe and Asia, but has
become naturalized here and is
common in waste places in the
Noi-thern and Middle States.

Part Used. — The fruit, gath-
ered while yet green — United
States Pharmac&pceia. The juice
of the fresh plant — Succus conii —
was formerly official, but has
been dropped because of its un-
reliability. The leaves are also
efficient, though no longer of-
ficial.

Constituents. — The most im-
'portant constituent of conium is
the alkaloid conia. This is a vo-
latile, colorless, inflammable, oily
liquid, specific gravity 0.88, having a strong alkaline reaction and a dis-
agreeable, tobacco-like odor, resembling that of the fresh plant. The
therapeutic virtues of conium reside in conia, its other constituents being,
unimportant.

Preparations. — Abstractum conii — abstract of conium ; extractum conii

Fig. 131.— Conium maculatvim.

ARALIA. 155

alcoliolicum — alcoholic extract of conium ; extractum conii fluidum — fluid
extract of conium ; tinctura conii — tincture of conium. — United States
J^Jiar macopada.

Medical Properties and Uses. — The literature of few drugs is more un-
satisfactory than that of conium, chiefly because inefficient or wholly inert
preparations have been so largely employed. The active principle is not
only volatile, but also subject to chemical decomposition ; hence the leaves
and fruit rapidly deteriorate when carelessly preserved, and hence, also,
preparations are not infrequently either spoiled during the process of
manufacture or ruined by want of care in keeping. From these causes
have resulted many of the conflicting statements regarding the therapeutic
activity of the drug. Those observers who, reasoning fi'om the physiolog-
ical action of conium, have deduced the indications for its use as a remedy,
mainly agree in recommending it in cases of undue muscular excitement,
as in acute mania and chorea, where it is desirable to lessen the wear of
the system, and in diseases of a spasmodic character, as asthma, whooping-
cough, laryngismus stridulus, and tetanus. This deduction is exceedingly
plausible, since conium exerts its most decided effects upon the motor
nerves, and probably has no direct action upon the sensory filaments. But
those observers Avho have rested their opinions upon clinical experience
rather than theoretical deductions, assert quite as positively that conium
exerts an alterant and deobstruent influence upon a variety of glandular
enlargements and tumors, and that it is capable of relieving the pains
of cancer and those of other painful affections. With greater care in the
selection of efficient preparations, these differences of opinion will probably
grow rapidly less, and soon the true place of the drug will be found.

' ARALIACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Herbs, shrubs, or trees, having the general
characteristics of the Umbelliferse, but differing in respect to the fi*uit,
which always consists of more than two carpels and is in the form of a
drupe. The order is represented in North America by two genera, name-
ly, Aralia and Fatsia, the former comprising medicinal species.

ARALIA.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx-tube adherent to the ovary, the limb
5-toothed, or entire and almost obsolete. Corolla : petals 5, inserted on
the margin of the epigynous disk. Stamens 5, alternating with the petals,
epigynous. Styles 2- to 5, mostly distinct, or, in the sterile flowers, short
mid united. Ovary 2- to 5-celled, ■with a single pendulous ovule in each
cell. Fruit a drupe, with as many seeds as there are cells in the ovary.

Herbs, shrubs, or trees, with compound or decompound leaves. Flow-
ers more or less polygamous, white or greenish, in umbels.

156 AKALIACEJE.

The genus comprises two sub-genera, Aralia proper and Ginseng
{Panax Linne).

Aralia. — Flowers monceciously polygamous or perfect. Styles and
cells of the ovary 5. Fruit black or dark purple.

Aralia spinosa Linne. — Angelica Tree, Hercules Club.

Descnption. — A shinib or low tree. Stem and petioles prickly. Leaves
bipinnately compound ; leaflets ovate, serrate, acuminate, glabrous above,
glaucous beneath. Umbels in a very large, much-branched panicle.
Flowers white, appearing in July and August.

Habitat. — In damp woods on river-banks from Pennsylvania to Florida
and westward.

Aralia racemosa Linne. — Spikenard.

Descinption. — An herbaceous perennial. Stem 3 to 5 feet high, divari-
cately branched. Leaves ternately or quinately decompound ; leaflets cor-
date-ovate, doubly serrate, acuminate, slightly pubescent. Umbels small
and numerous, in large doubly compound racemose panicles. Flowers
small, greenish-white, appearing in July. The roots are large and fleshy,
and have, as well as the whole plant, an aromatic but not altogether
agreeable odor.

Habitat. — In rich woods from Canada to Georgia and westward.

Aralia nudicaulis Linne. — Wild Sarsaparilla.

Description. — An herbaceous perennial. Root or rhizome long, pros-
trate, creeping just beneath the surface of the ground. Stem very short,
bearing a single long-stalked leaf and a shorter scape. Petiole 3-cleft,
each division pinnately 5-foliate ; leaflets oblong-ovate, or oval, serrate,
acuminate. Scape with 2 to 7 umbels of greenish- white flowers. Fruit
pui*plish-black. The flowers appear in May and June.

Habitat. — In rich moist woods from Canada to the mountains of the
Southern States.

Ginsenrj [Panax Linne). — Flowers dioeciously polygamous. Styles and
cells of the ovary 2 or 3. Fruit red or reddish.

Aralia quinquefolia Decaisne and Planchon — {Panax quinquefolium
Linne). — Ginseng.

DescHption. — An herbaceous perennial. Boot large and spindle-shaped.
Stem 1 foot high, bearing at its summit a whorl of three palmately 3- to 7-
foliate leaves and a single umbel ; leaflets obovate-oblong, acuminate.
Peduncle naked, slender, about as long as the petioles ; flowers yellowish-
green, appearing in July.

Habitat. — In rich upland woods from Canada to the mountains of the
Southern States.

Parts Used. — Of A spinosa, the bark ; of A. racemosa, A. nudicaulis, and
A. quinquefolia tlie root. None of the plants are official.

Constituents. — In the bark of A. spinosa have been found two acrid res-
ins, a volatile oil, and what is thought to be an uncrystallizable alkaloid.

ARALIA.

157

besides common vegetable principles. The constituents of the other spe-
cies are unknown.

Preparations. — Whatever virtues any of these plants possess are yielded
to boiling water. Fluid extracts of two or three of them occur as commer-
cial articles.

Medical Properties and Uses. — All these plants possess, to a greater or
less extent, aromatic and stimulant properties, and probably no others,
though many diverse virtues have been attributed to them. A. spinosa
is apparently the most active. A. nudicaulis, as its common name {wild
sarsaparilla) indicates, was formerly supposed to partake of the virtues of

Fig. 132 — Aralia quinquefolia.

true sarsaparilla, but as the latter plant is at present little esteemed, the
reputed virtues of the former are not worthy of much attention. A. quin-
quefolia (ginseng) is at present only esteemed by the Chinese, who consider
it a panacea.

As remarked above, all these plants are aromatic and stimulant.
Given in warm infusion they are capable of inducing diaphoresis, and in
this manner acting beneficially in certain cases, as chronic rheumatism and.
various cutaneous eruptions. Doubtless the manner in which the dinig is
administered has quite as much to do with the eifect produced as any
medicinal property of the drug itself. Hence the alterative properties
formerly attributed to these plants have little foundation in fact.

158 . CORN ACE JE.

CORNACE^.

diameter of the Order. — Shrubs or trees, with opposite or alternate,
simple leaves. Calyx-tube adherent to the ovary, its limb 4-toothed. Petals
4, valvate in the bud. Stamens 4, inserted with the petals on the margin
of an epig3'nous disk. Style single ; ovary 1-celled, each cell with a single
suspended ovule. Fruit a 1- to 2-seeded drupe.

A small order, represented in North America by three genera, namely,
Cornus, Garrj^a, and Nyssa, the first-named alone comprising medicinal
species.

CORNUS.— Cornel— Dogwood.

Character of the Genus. — Parts of the flower as in the character of the
order. Fruit a small drupe, with a 2-celled, 2-seeded stone. Leaves op-
l^osite except in a single species. Flowers small, in open naked cymes,
or in close heads surrounded by a corolla-like involucre.

Cornus florida Linne. — Flowering Dogwood.

Description. — Flowers small, greenish-yellow, in a close head or
cluster, which is surrounded by a showy 4-leaved involucre. Drupes
bright re^.

A tree, 10 to 30 feet high. Leaves opposite, ovate, pointed, acute at
the base. Leaves of the involucre 1 to 1^ inch long, white or pinkish, ob-
cordate, or with a callous notch at the apex. The flowers appear in May
and June, before the leaves are fully developed, and with their showy in-
volucres render the tree a very striking object.

Habitat. — In woods and low grounds from Canada to Florida and west-
ward ; everywhere common.

Cornus circlnata UHew—Eound-leaved Dogwood.

Description. — Flowers white, in open, spreading cymes, without an in-
volucre. Drupes light blue.

A shrub, 6 to 10 feet high. Leaves opposite, broadly oval or orbicular,
abruptly acuminate, 4 to 5 inches long, 2 to 5 inches broad, tomentose
beneath. The cymes are rather small, but numerous ; the flowers appear
in June, after the leaves are pretty well developed.

Habitat. — Shady banks of streams from Canada to the mountains of
Virginia and westward.

Cornus sericea Linne. — Swamp Dogwood, Silky Gomel.

Description. — Flowers white, in open, spreading cymes, without an in-
volucre. Drupes light blue.

A shrub, 6 to 10 feet high, the bark greenish-purple or brownish-
purple. Leaves ovate or elliptical, conspicuously pointed, the lower surface,
as well as the petioles and smaller branches, silky-pubescent. Cymes close ;
the flowers appear in May and June.

PLATE V.

I.. .Jol\i^son, Del.

CORNUS FLORIDA.

M aBfCKl

Plate v.— Cornus florida.

Fig. 1. — Flowering branch, natural size.
Fig. 2.— Single flower, enlarged.

COKNUS COENEL — DOGWOOD. 161

Habitat — In wet places, Canada to Georgia and westward.

Part Used. — The bark of the root of Cornus florida — United States
Pharmacopoeia. The bark of all the species is employed, though that of
the root is said to be most efficient.

Constituents. — The bark of the official species has a bitter, astringent,
and slightly aromatic taste. Besides the ordinary vegetable principles, it
contains a peculiar bitter principle, termed cornin, or comic acid, to which
its medicinal virtues are probably, in a great measure, due. Its astringency
is due to a small percentage of gallic and tannic acids. The other species
of cornus are beheved to contain similar principles.

J^eparations. — Extractum cornus fluidum — fluid extract of cornus. —
United States Pharmacopoeia. The decoction is also said to be an efficient
preparation, though Professor Maisch observed that the bitter principle,
when in aqueous solution, is altered and destroyed by exposure to air
and heat. The bark is also administered in powder. A commercial ar-
ticle occurs, erroneously termed cornin, which is prepared by evaporating
an aqueous extract or by precipitating an alcoholic tincture with water ;
it is said to be much less efficient than the official fluid extract.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Dogwood is tonic, astringent, and slightly
aromatic. It is believed to be the best indigenous substitute for cinchona
bark, and in early days was used with considerable success in the treat-
ment of miasmatic fevers. As a mild tonic in convalescence, in simple loss
of appetite, and in debility of the digestive organs, it is also said to act
favorably.

Division IL — Monopetalous Exogenous Plants.

Plants with both calyx and corolla, the latter composed of petals more
or less united, and hence termed monopetalous.

CAPRIFOLIACE^.

Character of the Order. — Shrubs or small trees — rarely herbs — with op-
posite, simple or compound leaves. Calyx-tube adherent to the oysltj, its
limbs 4- to 5-cleft or lobed. Corolla tubular, urn-shaped or wheel-shaped,
equally or unequally 4- to 5-lobed. Stamens as many as the lobes of the
corolla — sometimes one less — inserted upon its tube. Ovary 2- to 5-celled ;
style filiform, somewhat capitate, sometimes absent, when the 2 to 5 stig-
mas are sessile. Fi-uit a berr}^ drupe, or pod, 1- to many- seeded.

An order represented in North America by seven genera, four of which
comprise medicinal species.

162 0 APRIFOLIACE^.

DIER VILLA. —Bush-Honeysuckle.

Diervilla trifida Moenchausen. — Bush- Honeysuckle.

Description. — Calyx-tube attenuated at the summit, its limb 5-parted,
the lobes linear or awl-shaped, persistent. Corolla funnel-formed, the Hmb
5-cleft, regular, or shghtly 2-lipped, greenish-yellow, about three-fourths
of an inch long. Stamens 5. Ovary 2-celled ; stigma peltate-capitate. Pod
OYoid-oblong, pointed, 2-celled, 2-valved, septicidal, many-seeded.

An upright shrub, 2 to 4 feet high. Leaves 2 to 4 inches long, oblong-
ovate, acuminate, serrate, on short petioles. Peduncles axillary or ter-
minal, 1- to 3- flowered. The flowers appear from June to August.

EaUtat. — Kocky woods from Canada to the mountains of North Caro-
lina.

Parts Used. — The root, leaves, and twigs — not official.

Constituents. — Unknown.

Preparations. — It is commonly employed in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Said to be diuretic, astringent, and altera-
tive, and to have been used successfully in nephritic and calculous affec-
tions, in gonorrhoea, and inflammation of the bladder with gravelly deposit.
If it were not also said to be curative in syphilis, one might possibly have
some faith in its medicinal virtue. As, however, the latter statement is just
as authoritative as the former, the whole subject is left in doubt.

TRIOSTEUM. — Fe VERWORT.

Triosteum perfoliatum Linne. — Feverwort, Horse- Gentian, Wild
Ipecac.

Description. — Calyx-tube ovoid, its limb 5-parted, the segments linear-
lanceolate, leaf-like, persistent. Corolla tubular, somewhat gibbous at the
base, almost equally 5-lobed, about as long as the calyx, brownish-purple.
Stamens 5. Ovary commonly 3-celled, with a single suspended ovule in
each cell ; style slender. Fruit a rather dry drupe, 3-angled, 3-seeded.

An herbaceous perennial, with a thick, fleshy root. Stem 2 to 4 feet
high, stout, simple, softly hairy. Leaves opposite, cuneate at the base, 4
to 7 inches long, 2 to 4 inches wide, oval or ovate, acuminate, abruptly
narrowed below, hairy above, velvety-pubescent beneath. Flowers axillary,
sessile or nearly so, sohtary or clustered, appearing in June.

Habitat.— hi rich woodlands from Canada to the mountains of North
Carolina and westward.

Part Used. — The root — not official.

Constit uents. — Unknown.

Preparations.— Tvio^ieum yields its virtues to water and alcohol, and
may be administered in infusion or tincture.

VIBURNUM ARROW- WOOD. 163

Medical Properties and Uses. — The root has a disagreeable odor and a
bitter, nauseous taste. It is cathartic and in large doses emetic ; rarely-
used.

SAMBUCUS. —Elder.

SambiiCUS Canadensis Linne. — Common Elder.

Description. — Calyx minutely 5-toothed, the teeth at length obsolete.
Corolla urn-shaped, the lobes obtuse, widely spreading. Stamens 5.
Stigmas 3. Fruit a juicy, berry-like drupe, containing 3 small seed-like
nutlets.

A shrubby plant, with numerous stems, 5 to 10 feet high, with a com-
paratively large pith. Leaves unequally pinnate ; leaflets 7 to 11, oblong
or oval, acuminate, serrate. Flowers numerous, white, in compound
cymes, appearing in June. Fruit small, dark purple or black, edible,
though having a taste which is, to most people, rather disagreeable.

Habitat. — In thickets and along neglected fences from Canada to Flor-
ida and westward ; everywhere common.

Part Used. — The flowers — United States Pharmacopoeia. The berries,
the inner bark of the stem, and the bark of the root are also employed, but
are not official.

Constituents. — Of the flowers : they have a peculiar, sweetish odor and
a bitterish taste. Upon distillation with water they yield a pecuHar vola-
tile oil of a butyraceous consistence. Of the berries : saccharine matter
and maHc acid. Of the bark : an acid identical with valerianic acid, be-
sides common vegetable principles.

Preparations. — None are official. An aromatic water, prepared by dis-
tillation from the flowers of a European species, is official with the British.
The inspissated juice of the berries has been employed medicinally, and a
wine made by fermenting the fresh juice is considerably used in some
parts of the country. The bark is commonly employed in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Elder-flowers are said to be slightly sudor-
ific ; in the form of the distilled water, their only use is as a fragrant vehi-
cle. The berries are sometimes used in preparing cooling drinks ; they
appear to have no special medicinal activity. The bark and root are
actively cathartic and were formerly used as hydragogues.

VIBURNUM. —Arrow-wood.

Character of the Genus — Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla rotate, deeply 5-
lobed. Stamens 5. Ovary 1- to 3-celled ; one of the cells containing an
ovule, the others abortive ; stigmas 3. Fruit a 1-celled, 1-seeded drupe,
with a thin pulp and a crustaceous, somewhat flattened stone.

Shrubs or small trees, with simple, undivided, or lobed leaves. Flowers
white, in flat, terminal, compound cymes ; the marginal flowers sometimes
sterile or radiant.

164 CAPRIFOLIACEiE.

Viburnum prunifolium Linno. —Black Haw.

Description. — Flowers all alike, fertile. Fruit oblong-ovoid, compressed,
bluish-black, glaucous, sweet

A shrub or small tree, 8 to 20 feet high. Leaves roun|^ish-oval, ovate
or obovate, obtuse or abruptly pointed, finely and sharply; serrate, bright
green, glabrous. Cymes numerous, sessile, appearing ip May.

Habitat— la dry woo(is*aud^iBiickets from Gbnnecticut to Illinois and
southward. , ; . i^. ,„; ;r c . :

Viburnum Opulus limn4— (Tran6e?'y^^i*W Cranbernj, Cramp-

Bark. ^

Description. — Marginal flowers of the cymes without stamens or pistils,
but with corollas much larger than those of the fertile flowers. Fruit
nearly spherical, half an inch long, bright red, of a pleasant acid taste, re-
sembling that of cranberries, for which it is sometimes substituted.

A shrub, 3 to 10 feet high, with spreading branches. Leaves 3-lobed,
3-ribbed, the lobes acuminate, tootlied. Cymes 3 to 4 inches in diameter.
The flowers, appear in May and June. A cultivated variety 'of this species,
the common" garden snow-ball bush, has all its flowers sterile.

Habitat. — In swamps and along streams from Pennsylvania, nprthward ;
less common than the preceding. ^ ^ ^ ' .

Part Used. — The bark of V^ prunifolium — United Sta^s FMrmacopceia.
The biark of V. O'pUlus has also been employed, and is said to act like that
of the onicial species, . , .v» * "^

Constituents. — Analysis of V. prunifolium has shown the presence of a
brown resinous body of a yew bitter ^aste, a greenish-yellow resin, or neutral
principle, also bitter, termed .viburnin, valerianic acid, tannin, and other
unimportant vegetable 'constituents, y. Opulus probably possesses similar
constituents. ->^J,,r-*• .^^-^

Preparations. — E:stri^ctum viburhi fluidum— fluid extract of viburnum. —
United States Pharmacdpoeia- '"^Wr^^^^Q commercial fluid extracts of V.

Opulus. ^V^j.;^*^^ '• •^'■■. ■ •>

Medical Properties and Uses. — Both these species of viburnum are said
to be antispasmodic, nervine, astringent, and tonic, and to act specifically
upon the uterus. V. prunifolium is especially praised as a uterine sedative,
and is considered by many very efiicient in threatened abortion and in
dysmenorrhoea. The author has experimented with it to a considerable
extent, but with very unsatisfactory results. He has employed it in many
cases of threatened abortion, enjoining at the same time absolute rest in
the recumbent position, but never with any good effect which could be
fairly attributed to the drug. He has never been able to discover that it
restrains hemorrhage or abates any of the ordinary symptoms of threat-
ened abortion. He has observed, however, that to many patients it is in-
tensely disagreeable, not unfrequently exciting nausea and vomiting, and
thus directly contributing to bring about the result which it was intended

PLATE Vi.

.{oUnson. Del.

VIBURNUM PRUNIFOLIUM.

Plate VI.— Viburnum prunifolium.

Fig. 1. — Flowering branch.

Fig. 2. — Calyx and pistil

Fig. 3 — Corolla and stamens— all natural size.

GALIUM BEDSTRAW CLEAVERS. 167

to avert. "With its use in dysmenorrhoea he has had less experience, but,
so far as it goes, tending only to confirm him in the opinion that viburnum,
as a uterine sedative, has been much overrated.

RUBIACE^.

Character of the Orc^er.— Shrubs or herbs, with opposite leaves con-
nected by stipules, or with leaves in whorls without apparent stipules.
Calyx adherent to the ovary. Corolla 3- to 5-lobed, inserted, together with
the same number of stamens, upon the calyx-tube. Ovary 2- to 4-celled.
Fruit various.

A large order, comprising many important plants, among them the
coffee and cinchona trees, but represented in North America by only a few
comparatively unimportant genera.

GALIUM. — Bedstraw. — Cleavers.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx-teeth obsolete. Corolla commonly 4-
parted, rarely 3-parted, wheel-shaped, valvate in the bud. Stamens as many
as the lobes of the corolla. Styles 2. Fruit globular, dry or fleshy, sepa-
rating at maturity into two indehiscent, seed-like carpels, each containing
a single seed.

Slender herbs, with square stems, whorled leaves, and small axillary
or terminal cymose flowers. The roots frequently contain red coloring
matter.

Galium Aparine Linne. — Cleavers, Goose-Grass.

Description. — Flowers axillary, on 1- to 2-flowered peduncles, white.
Fruit large, bristly with hooked prickles.

An annual herb, with a weak, reclining stem, bristly with recurved
prickles. Leaves in whorls of about 8, lanceolate, tapering at the base,
short-pointed, rough on the margins and mid-rib. It flowers from May or
June forward.

Habitat. — Common in shady thickets and margins of woods. The
plant is indigenous to Europe, but whether introduced or indigenous here
is not known.

Galium triflorum Michaux. — Sweet-scented Bedstraio.

Description. — Flowers axillary, on 3-flowered peduncles, greenish.
Fruit hispid with hooked bristles.

An herbaceous perennial. Stem reclining or procumbent, bristly or
hispid backward upon the angles. Leaves in whorls of 6, elliptical-
lanceolate, bristle-pointed, 1-veined, the margins commonly roughened.
It flowers in June and July.

Habitat. — Moist and rich woodlands throughout the United States and
Canada.

168 RUBIACE^.

Part Used.— The herb — not official. The roots of several species of
galium were used by the aborigines as dye-stuffs.

Constituents. — These and several other species of galium contain either
gaWannic or cu^ei'tannic acid, together with other organic acids, a bitter
principle, and common vegetable principles. G. triflorum contains also cou-
maiin, to which its fragrant odor is due.

Preparations. — There are commercial fluid extracts of some of the
species, but when used at all the plants are commonly administered in
decoction or in the form of the recently expressed juice.

Medical I^^operties and Uses. — Galium Aparine is diuretic and refrig-
erant. It has been used in many diseases of the urinary organs, in scaly
affections of the skin, and in cancer, with asserted benefit. G. triflorum
acts in a similai* manner, but as it contains coumarin, it might also be ex-
pected to exert some influence upon the nervous system.

CEPHALANTHUS. —Button-Bush.

Cephaianthus occidentalis Linne. — Button-Bush.

Description. — Calyx-tube inversely pyramidal, the limb 4-toothed.
Corolla tubular, slender, its limb 4-cleft, the lobes erect, imbricate in the
bud. Stamens 4, style filiform, exserted ; stigma capitate. Fruit dry,
inversely p;vTamidal, 2- to 4-celled, separating from the base to the summit
into 2 to 4 closed, 1-seeded portions.

A shrub, 3 to 10 feet high. Leaves opposite or temate, oval or lanceo-
late, pointed, 3 to 5 inches long. Flowers densely aggregated in close glo-
bose heads, axillary or terminal, appearing in July and August.

Habitat. — Margins of swamps and in wet places, Canada and the
United States.

Fart Used. — The bark — not official.

Constituents. — Cephaianthus contains tannin, an uncrystallizable bitter
principle, a principle analogous to saponin, two resins, and common veg-
etable principles.

Preparations.— The virtues of the bark are yielded to water and alcohol,
and hence it may be administered in infusion or tincture.

Medical Properties and Uses.— Like nearly all vegetable substances pos-
sessing bitterness, this has been employed with asserted success in inter-
mittent and remittent fevers. It has not, however, attained an established
reputation, and its medicinal virtues are altogether problematical.

MITCHELL A. — Partridge-Berk Y.

Mite he I la re pens Linne. — Partridge-Berry, Squaw-Berry.

Description. — Flowers in pairs with ovaries united. Calyx 4-toothed.
Corolla funnel-formed, with a slender tube, its limb 4-lobed, the lobes
spreading, densely bearded inside with white hairs. . Stamens 4, inserted

MITCHELL A PARTRIDGE-BERRY, 169

in the throat of the corolla. Style filiform ; stigmas 4. Fruit baccate,
bright red, composed of the united ovaries of both flowers, each of which
contains 4 small horny, 1-seeded nutlets. It is edible but insipid.

A small creeping, evergreen herb. Stems slender, t to 12 inches long,
branching and rooting at the joints and becoming matted upon the sur-
face of the ground. Leaves one-half inch long, opposite, roundish, dark
green and shining, generally marked with a central longitudinal hne of a
lighter color, of a coriaceous texture. Flowers of two kinds, one with
stamens exserted and style included, the other with style exserted and
stamens included ; these different kinds of flowers occur in different plants.
The flowers are white, about one-half inch long, and though generally with
their parts in fours, not unfrequently have them in fives, or even in sixes ;
they are produced in June. The whole plant turns black in drying.

Habitat. — In moist woods, about the roots of trees, often forming a
vivid green matting, variegated in autumn by the bright red berries, the
latter often persisting till spring. Everywhere common.

Fart Used. — The herb — not official.

Goiistit uents. — Unknown.

Preparations. — It is administered in infusion or decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — The medical properties of this plant are
altogether problematical. It is said to be astringent, diuretic, and partu-
rient. Squaws are said to use a decoction of it for some weeks previous
to their parturition, in order to render their delivery safe and easy ; white
women sometimes use slippery elm for the same purpose, and probably
with about the same amount of benefit.

COMPOSIT>E.

Character of the Order. — Flowers, relatively small, collected in a dense
head upon a common receptacle and surrounded by an involucre of bracts,
the whole resembling a single flower, and termed by the older botanists
compound. The separate flowers : calyx-tube coherent with the ovary, its
limb, termed |;appw.s-, composed of bristles, plumose hairs, scales, or even
minute leaflets, though sometimes absent entirely or reduced to a mere
margin. Corolla usually composed of 5 united petals, either ligulate or
tubular. Stamens 5, rarely fewer, their anthers linear and united into a
tube, sometimes with an appendage at the top or at the base. Ovary 1-
celled, 1-ovuled ; style in tlie fertile flowers 2-cleft, the lobes often fur-
nished with hairs for collecting pollen, tlie stigmatic surfaces in the form of
elevated lines along the inner margins. Fruit an achenium crowned with
the pappus.

A very large order of herbs, rarely shrubs or trees, comprising about
one-tenth of the flowering plants of the world. The flowers occur in manj'
different forms. When all of them are perfect the head is said to be

170 COMPOSITE.

homogamous ; when the marginal ones are pistillate or neuter and the
others ai-e perfect or staminate, the head is termed heterogamous. The
flowers with a strap-shaped {ligulate) corolla are termed rays, or ray-fow-
ei's ; and when these are present the head is termed r^adiate. A head
composed entirely of tubular flowers is termed discoid , and tubular
flowers occupying the centre of a radiate flower make what is called the
disk. In some cases the staminate and pistillate flowers are upon different
individuals — then the plant is dioecious. The receptacle is paleaceous or
chaffy when covered with membranaceous scales, and naked when destitute
of them.

To indicate, even in the most general way, the medicinal character of
such an immense order of plants is well-nigh impossible. It will suffice to
say that very many of them possess tonic properties, few are aromatic,
most are disagreeable, and none are poisonous.

LIATRIS. — Button Snakeroot.

Character of the Genus. — Heads few- or many-flowered ; flowers all
tubular, perfect. Scales of the involucre few or many, imbricate, ap-
pressed. Keceptacle naked. Corolla 5-lobed, the lobes usually elongated.
Branches of the style much exserted, roundish or somewhat flattened, ob-
tuse. Achenia round, slender, tapering to the base, 10-ribbed. Pappus
of 10 to 40 plumose or barbellate bristles.

Perennial herbs, with simple stems and tuberous roots. Leaves alter-
nate, usually lanceolate or hnear, entire, with a rigid margin, often resin-
ous-dotted. Heads in an elongated spike or raceme, sometimes panicu-
late, rarely cymose ; flowers showy, rose-purple, rarely pale or white.

Liatris spicata Willdenow. — Button Snakeroot^ Devil's Bit, Colic Boot.

Descnption. — Heads 8- to 12-flowered, one-fourth to one-half inch long,
sessile, in an elongated spike ; involucre cylindrical-campanulate, obtuse
at the base, the numerous scales appressed, obtuse, pimctate, and with
narrow, scarious, purplish margins, the inner ones oblong, the outer ovate
or oval. Pappus densely barbellate ; achenia haiiy.

Stem erect, 3 to 5 feet high, smooth, leafy, proceeding from a roundish
corm or tuber. Leaves veiy numerous, hairy on the veins beneath, punc-
tate, those of the stem linear, diminishing in length from below upward,
the radical ones also linear, but very long.

Habitat. — In moist ground from Southern New York to Wisconsin and
southward.

Liatris odoratissima AVilldenow. — Vanilla Plant, Deers Tongue.

Description. — Heads small, 4- to 10-flowered, in a panicle or corymb ;
scales of the involucre few, slightly imbricated, spatulate-oblong. Corolla-
lobes shori, ovate. Pappus minutely barbellate, not plumose.

Stem simple or branched above, 2 to 4 feet high, from a short rhizome,
not tuberous. Leaves thick, somewhat glaucous, the radical ones obovate-

LIATRIS. BUTTON SNAKEROOT. I7l

spatulate, tapering at the base, often slightly and obtusely toothed, the
upper ones oblong, clasping. The flowers are bright purple and appear in
September and October.

Habitat. — In pine barrens from Virginia southward.

These two species are described, since they represent the marked char,
acteristics of the genus. Several other species are or have been employed
medicinally, but they do not differ materially in effect from L. spicata.

Parts Used. — Of L. spicata, the root — not official ; of L. odoratissima,
the leaves — not official.

Constituents. — The rhizomes contain volatile oil and resin. The leaves
of L. odoratissima contain coumarin.

Preparations. — Fluid extracts and tinctures of L. spicata occur as com-
mercial articles, while L. odoratissima is employed in substance only.

Medical Properties and Uses. — L. spicata is one of the numerous
*' snakeroots " or remedies for snake-bites. It probably possesses no anti-
dotal properties whatever, and the beneficial effects attributed to it are
doubtless due to the diaphoresis induced by the administration of large
quantities of hot decoction. As the drug possesses stimulating properties
a diaphoretic effect is readily induced in this manner, but there is every
reason to doubt its efficacy in cases of venomous snake-bites.

L. odoratissima deserves much more attention from the fact that it is
largely used as an adulterant of smoking tobacco, than from any demon-
strated medicinal virtues. There is abundant evidence to show that the
leaves of this plant enter largely into the manufacture of many grades of
smoking tobacco, especially those employed in our domestic cigarettes.
And the author is convinced, from personal experience and observation,
that the deleterious effects produced by smoking tobacco thus adulterated
are much greater than those produced by the consumption of pure tobacco
in even great excess. The inhalation of a few whiffs of the smoke from
a cigarette made of this adulterated material, provided the inhalations are
made in quick succession, produces a train of cerebral sensations of an
intoxicating character as much different from any effect of tobacco alone
as could be imagined ; and prolonged use of such cigarettes invariably
produces great derangement of the digestive organs, very little resembling
the dyspepsia induced by excessive use of tobacco, together with cardiac
symptoms often of a distressing character. And again, the habit of smok-
ing coumarin in this form appears to become more inveterate, more ex-
acting, than that of the use of tobacco alone, so that the unhappy victim —
for such he should be called — is never comfortable except when indulging.
Hence it happens that cigarette-smoking in this country, in its effects
upon adolescents especially, is assuming the proportions of a great na-
tional evil, and is producing far more deleterious effects than in other
countries where it is practised to a greater extent but with different ma-
terial.

172 COMPOSITE.

EU P ATORIUM. — Thoroughwobt.

Character of the Genus. — Heads few- or many- flowered ; flowers all tu-
bular, perfect. Involucre cylindrical or campanulate, the scales imbri-
cated in two or more series, or sometimes nearly equal in a single series.
Receptacle flat or slightly convex, naked. Corolla 5-toothed. Anthers
included. Branches of the style mostly exserted. Achenia 5-angied.
Pappus a single series of capillary bristles, scabous or minutely serrulate.

Perennial herbs, with opposite, rarely alternate or whorled leaves.
Heads generally corymbose ; flowers purple, blue, or white. Leaves and
flowers often resinous-dotted.

Eupatorium perfoliatum Linne. — Thoroughwort, Boneset.

Description. — Heads 10- to 15-flowered, white, in a large compound
corymb. Scales of the involucre 12 to 15, very pubescent, glandular, im-
bricated ; the inner ones linear-lanceolate, with scarious tips. Achenia
glabrous or minutely glandular.

Stem stout, 2 to 4 feet high, very pubescent or hirsute, corymbosely
branched above. Leaves lanceolate, opposite, united at the base about the
stem so as to appear perfoliate, tapering to a slender point, obtusely ser-
rate, veiny, wrinkled, the lower surface tomentose-pubescent and resinous-
dotted. It flowers late in summer.

Habitat. — In low grounds. United States and Canada ; everywhere
common.

Eupatorium purpureum Linne. — Joe-Pye Weed, Trumpet-Weedy
Gravel-Root.

Description. — Heads cylindrical, 5- to 15-flowered, purple, in a dense
compound corymb. Scales of the involucre numerous, purplish, obtuse,
slightly striate, closely imbricated in several series, the outer short.
Achenia glabrous and more or less glandular.

Stem stout, 3 to 7 or more feet high, simple, pubescent or glabrous.
Leaves 3 to 6 in a whorl, oblong-ovate or lanceolate, pointed, veiny,
scabrous or glabrous above, somewhat pubescent beneath, serrate, resin-
ous-dotted. It flowers from July forward.

Habitat. — In low grounds. United States and Canada ; everywhere
common.

These two species fairly represent the medicinal activity of the genus ;
many other species possess similar properties.

Parts Used. — Of E. perfoHatum, the leaves — United States Fharmaco-
poeia ; of E. purpureum, the root — not ofiicial.

Constituents. — The official species contains a large percentage of a pecu-
liar bitter extractrv^e, to which its therapeutic effects are attributed, but
whose chemical character is as yet undetermined. The constituents of E.
purpureum have not been ascertained.

TUSSILAGO — COLTSFOOT.

178

Preparations. — Of E. perfoliatum : Extractum eupatorii fluidum— fluid
extract of eupatorium— 67uYe^ States Pharmacopoeia. The infusion and
decoction are efficient preparations, and are most commonly employed.
Of E. purpureum there are commercial fluid extracts, but, as with the other
species, it is most commonly administered in decoction or infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Of domestic remedies few are better
known or more largely used than boneset. It is tonic, diaphoretic, emetic,
and cathartic, the different effects depending largely upon the size of the
dose and mode of administra-
tion. The infusion, taken cold
in moderate doses, is tonic, and
is employed in debility of the
digestive organs and in conva-
lescence. Taken warm in large
doses, the infusion or decoction
produces copious diaphoresis,
and is employed in the acute
stages of catarrhal affections and
in fevers, especially those of an
intermittent or remittent type.
In still larger doses the warm
infusion or decoction produces
emesis or catharsis ; these effects
are, however, seldom sought.

E. purpureum, or gravel-root,
is said to be diuretic and to have
been employed in urinary affec-
tions, but it has not attained an
established reputation and is
seldom used.

Fio. 133.— Tussilago Farfara.

TUSSILAGO. —Coltsfoot.

Tussilago Farfara Linne.
— Coltsfoot.

Description, — Heads radiate, many flowered ; ray-flowers numerous,
narrowly ligulate, pistillate, fertile, in many rows, bright yellow ; tubular
disk-flowers few, staminate. Scales of the involucre oblong, obtuse, nearly
in a single row. Eeceptacle flat, naked. Style abortive in the disk-flow-
3rs, 2-cleft in the ray-flowers, the branches nearly round. Achenia of the
ray-flowers cylindrical-oblong, smooth ; in the disk, abortive. Pappus;
capillary, copious in the ray-flowers, in a single series in the disk.

A perennial herb, with a rather thick rhizome. Stems simiDle, often
growing in tufts, erect, about 6 inches high, woolly and scaly, 1-flowered.
Leaves all radical, appearing after the flowers, cordate, angulai'-toothed,

1 74 COMPOSITE.

petioled, 3 to 5 inches in diameter when fully grown, smoothish above,
whitish and tomentose beneath. Heads of flowers solitai-y, about three-
quarters of an inch in diameter, appearing in March and April.

Habitat.— In wet places and along brooks, New England, New York,
and Pennsylvania. Introduced from Europe.

Part Used. — The entire plant, but chiefly the leaves — not official.

Constituents.— Bitter and mucilaginous principles.

Preparations. — It is commonly employed in decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Coltsfoot is demulcent and slightly tonic.
It has been employed chiefly in chronic pulmonary diseases.

ERIGERON. — Fleabane.

Character of the Order. — Heads radiate, many-flowered, mostly hemi-
spherical ; ray-flowers very numerous, usually in more than one series, pis-
tillate ; disk-flowers tubular, perfect, the outer ones sometimes filiform and
truncate, pistillate. Scales of the involucre narrow, nearly equal, slightly
imbricated, in a single or double series. Keceptacle flat, naked. Achenia
flattened, usually pubescent, and with 2 lateral nerves. Pappus a single
series of capillary bristles, often with smaller ones intermingled, or with
an outer series of minute bristles or chaffy scales.

Herbs, with entire, toothed or lobed leaves. Heads solitary, corymbose
or paniculate. Disk-flowers yellow ; rays white, blue, or purple.

Erigeron Phlladelphicum Linne {K purpureum Alton). — Philadel-
phia Fleabane, Common Fleabane.

JJescription. — Heads rather small, corymbose ; rays very numerous and
very narrow, pale reddish-purple or flesh-color, more than twice the length
of the involucre. Achenia minutely hairy ; pappus simple.

Stem hair}^ slender, 1 to 3 feet high. Leaves numerous, thin, the
lower spatulate, crenate-dentate, the upper oblong, clasping, and mostly
cordate at the base, entire or slightly serrate. It blooms in summer. A
quite variable species.

Habitat. — Woodlands and fields ; common everywhere.

Erigeron annuum Persoon {E. heterojjhyllwn Muhlenberg, E. stri-
gosum Bigelow). — Daisy Fleabane, Sweet Scabious.

Description. — Heads corymbose ; rays very numerous, nearly or quite
in a single row, narrow, white or tinged with purple, not twice the length
•of the involucre. Pappus double, the outer a series of chaffy scales, the
inner of scanty capillaiy bristles which are deciduous, or sometimes want-
ing in the rays.

An annual or biennial herb. Stem stout, 3 to 5 feet high, corymbosely
branched above, hairy. Leaves coarsely and sharply serrate, the lower
ovate, obtuse, tapering into a margined petiole, the upper ovate-lanceolate,
acute and entire at both ends. It blooms in summer.

Habitat. — Fields and waste places ; everywhere common.

SOLID AGO — GOLDEN-ROD. 175

Erigeron Canadense Linne'. — Canada Fleabane, fforse-Weed, Butter-
Weed.

Description. — Heads very numerous, small, cylindrical, panicled ; rays
numerous, inconspicuous, shorter than the involucre. Pappus simple.

Stem erect, 3 to 5 feet high, panicled above, hispid or sometimes nearh
glabrous. Leaves lanceolate-linear, mostly entire, hispidly ciliate ; radical
leaves cut-lobed. It blooms from July till late in the autumn.

Habitat. — A common and unsightly weed, widely diffused over the
world.

These three species fairly represent the whole gejius, though several
others have been employed medicinally.

Parts Used. — The leaves and tops — not official, though they were for-
merly.

Constituents. — All these species of erigeron when distilled with water
yield volatile oil, E. Canadense producing a greater proportion than the
others, and an article of slightly different character. Among their other
constituents are tannic and gallic acids and bitter extractive.

Preparations. — Among the commercial preparations are solid and fluid
extracts. The plants are most commonly administered in decoction or in-
fusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — There is probably little difference in the
kind of effect produced by the different species of erigeron, but it is gen-
erally admitted that E. Canadense is most active. This is considered diu-
retic, tonic, and astringent. It has been used beneficially in diseases of the
urinary organs and in dropsies. The oil is said to be useful in uterine,
pulmonary, and other internal hemorrhages.

SOLID AGO. —Golden-Rod.

Solidago odora Aiton. — Siveet-scented Golden- Rod.

Description. — Heads few-flowered, radiate ; rays 3 or 4, rather large,
oblong, obtuse, pistillate ; disk-flowers tubular, perfect. Scales of the in-
volucre oblong, acute, destitute of foliaceous tips, the outer ones shorter
and imbricating the others. Receptacle small, not chaffy. Achenia many-
ribbed, somewhat terete. Pappus simple, of numerous scabrous capillary
iDristles.

Stem slender, 2 to 3 feet high, smooth or slightly pubescent below,
pubescent above. Leaves linear-lanceolate, entire, reticulate-veiny, but
only the mid-vein distinct, rough on the margin, otherwise smooth and
shining, pellucid-dotted. Heads in racemose, one-sided panicles, appear-
ing in September.

Habitat. — In the margins of thickets and in old fields, in sandy soil,
from Maine and Vermont to Kentucky and southward.

Parts Used. — The leaves and tops — not official.

176 COMPOSITES.

Coufitituenla. — A fragrant volatile oil.

Preparations. — Infusion, decoction, and volatile oil.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Golden-rod is gently stimulant, diapho-
retic, and cai-minative. The decoction and warm infusion are used in do-
mestic practice to produce diaphoresis, to relieve colic, and to promote
menstruation. The oil is used for similar purposes.

Other species of solidago have been employed medicinally, but none of
them are as agreeable as this.

GRINDELIA.

Character of the Genus. — Heads many-flowered ; rays pistillate, in a
single series ; disk-flowers tubular, perfect. Involucre hemispherical or
sub-globose, the numerous scales imbricated in several series. Keceptacle
flat, minutely pitted. CoroUa of the ray elongated ; of the disk, tubular-
infundibuliforai, 5-toothed. Achenia obovate or oval, somewhat angled,
glabrous. Pappus of 2 to 8 rigid bristles or awns, which are early de-
ciduous.

Perennial or biennial herbs (rarely suffiruticose), with branching stems.
Leaves entu*e or serrate, somewhat pellucid- or reticulate-punctate ; the
radical ones usually spatulate, cauline, sessile or partly clasping. Heads
solitary at the summit of the branches ; flowers yellow. The heads, in-
cluding the involucres, are commonly thickly coated with a glutinous or
resinous varnish.

Grindelia robustaNuttall.

Description. — Heads large, many-flowered. Involucre leafy at the base,
the scales produced into recurved-squarrose, subulate-linear appendages ;
pappus of 2 to 5 bristles.

Stem stout, 1^ foot high, branching. Leaves oblong, obtuse, coarsely
serrate, cordate-clasping, IJ to 2 inches long. The entire plant glabrous.
A variable species.

Habitat. — Common along the Pacific coast.

Grindelia squarrosa Dunal.

Description. — Heads smaller than the preceding; the involucre about
one-half inch in diameter. Scales with recurved-squarrose or mostly cir-
cinate, subulate tips ; pappus of 2 to 4 bristles.

Stem rather slender, 10 to 20 inches high, corymbosely branched.
Leaves oblong-lanceolate, or spatulate, finely serrate, the upper entire,
somewhat clasping.

Habitat. — Common on the dry' plains west of the Kocky Mountains.

Several other species of grindelia resemble those above described in
general appearance and probably in constituents also.

Parts Used.—Uhe leaves and flowering tops of G. robusta — official
title, GvmdiQMa,— United States Pharmacopoeia. G. squarrosa is believed to

INULA ELECAMPANE.

177

be nearly if not quite as efficacious as the official species, and the two are
often found mixed in commerce.

Constituents. — As remarked above, the flower-heads of plants of this
genus are commonly coated with a glutinous or resinous varnish. Tlie
same substance is more or less diffused in the stems and leaves, and con-
tains the active principles, namely, a peculiar volatile oil of a terebinthi-
nate odor, resin, and a crystalline body having an alkaline reaction.

Preparations. — Extractum grindeUse fluidum — fluid extract of grindelia.
— United States Pharmacopoeia.

Medical Properties and Uses. — The therai^eutic effects of grindelia ap-
pear, in many respects, to bear a striking resemblance to those of turpen-
tine. In moderate doses it stimulates the mucous membranes, and has
been found very beneficial in chronic catarrhal affections, especially those
of the respiratory tract and urinary organs. Very large doses have occa-
sioned renal irritation. It also acts to some extent as an antispasmodic,
and has proved efficacious in spasmodic asthma and in whooping-cough,
especially when comphcated with bronchitis.

Externally the fluid extract of G. squarrosa has been recommended as
a cure for rhus-poisoning, but the author, from personal experiment, has
become convinced that it acts here merely as a protective coating to the
skin by virtue of its resin, and that it possesses no directly curative prop-
erty. The fluid extract of the official species is quite as efficacious, as is
also any other resinous var-
nish which has no acrid prop-
erties. Such applications are,
however, unpleasant to the
patient, since they discolor
the skin and limit the motion
of the parts affected.

INULA. —Elecampane.

Inula Helenium Linne.

— Elecamjjane.

Descriptio n. — Heads
large, many-flowered, radi-
ate ; rays numerous, in a sin-
gle series, pistillate, some-
times sterile ; disk- flowers
tubular, perfect. Scales of
the involucre imbricate in
several series, the outer broadly ovate, f oliaceous ; the inner obovate-spatu-
late, obtuse. Keceptacle flat, or somewhat convex, naked. Achenia 4-
sided, glabrous. Pappus simple, of capillary, slightly scabrous bristles.

Fig. 134.— Inula Helenium.

1 78 COMPOSITES.

A stout perennial, 3 to 5 feet high. Leaves large, velvety-tomentose
beneath, denticulate, the radical ones ovate, tapering to a petiole, the cau-
line ones partly clasping. Heads solitary at the summit of corymbose pe-
duncles, yellow, appeai'ing late in summer.

Habitat . — A native of the Eastern Continent, but naturalized here,
growing along roadsides and in waste places.

Part Used. — The root— United States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents.— A Httle volatile oil, an acrid resin, a bitter principle,
waxy matter, and inulin, the last-named being a substance somewhat re-
sembling starch.

Preparations. — It is generally administered in decoction, though there
are commercial extracts, etc.

Medical Proj^erties and Uses. — Elecampane was formerly considered
diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, and emmenagogue, but at present it is
little esteemed except among the laity. It is probably stimulant and tonic,
and given in hot decoction capable of producing some of the effects attrib-
uted to it.

AMBROSIA. —Rag- Weed.

Character of the Genus. — Sterile and fertile flowers in different heads
upon the same plant, the former in spikes or racemes and the latter in the
axils of the leaves or at the base of the sterile racemes or spikes. Sterile
heads of 5 to 20, funnel-form, staminate flowers ; involucre flattish or top-
shaped, of 7 to 12 scales united into a cup. Fertile flowers : involucre
globose-ovoid, oblong or turbinate, closed, pointed, usually armed with 4
to 8 tubercles or horns in a single series, 1-flowered. Achenia ovoid ; pax3-
pus absent.

Herbs, or rarely shrubby plants, with opposite or alternate, lobed or
dissected leaves, and inconspicuous greenish or yellowish flowers.

Ambrosia trifi da Linne. — Gi^eat Bag- Weed.

Description. — Sterile heads in single or panicled racemes or spikes, the
involucre regular, 3-ribbed. Fruit with a conical-pointed apex, 6-ribbed,
the ribs terminating in cristate tubercles.

Stem stout and hairy, 4 to 12 feet high. Leaves rough and hairy,
deeply 3-lobed, the lobes oval-lanceolate, serrate, acuijainate. An annual,
blooming in August or September.

Habitat. — In low rich grounds and along streams from Canada to Geor-
gia and westward.

Ambrosia artemisiaefolia Linne.— i^a^z-TFee^, Hog-Weed.

Description.—Sierile heads like the preceding, but with the involucre
not ribbed. Fertile flowers solitary or clustered toward the base of the sterile
spikes or racemes, or in the axils of the upper leaves. Fruit globose or
obovoid, nearly glabrous, pointed, armed with 6 short acute spines or
teeth.

HELIANTHUS SUNFLOWER. 179

An annual branching herb, 1 to 3 feet high, hairy or roughish-pubes-
cent. Leaves bipinnatifid, the uppermost simply pinnatifid, smoothish or
glabrous above, paler or whitish beneath.

Habitat. — In waste places everywhere ; a most pestiferous weed.

Parts Used. — The leaves and tops — not official.

Constituents. — Both species have a disagreeable odor and an aromatic
bitter taste. The leaves of A. trifida are readily eaten by some of the do-
mestic animals, but the other species appears to be too disagreeable. Their
constituents have not been ascertained.

Preparations, — They are commonly used in decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — These plants are said to be stimulant,
tonic, and astringent. A decoction has been used, chiefly in domestic prac-
tice, as a topical astringent in chronic catarrhal affections.

Of late years A. artemisioefolia has attracted considerable attention on
account of its real or assumed agency in the production of hay-fever. The
plant produces pollen in great abundance, which is extremely imtating to
the air-passages of many people, and is capable of exciting asthmatic at-
tacks in susceptible persons. Now as the weed is so very abundant, and
its time of flowering coincident with the greatest development of hay-fever,
the relation of cause and effect has been asserted by many writers. That
it may be so in a certain proportion of cases is quite j)robable, but that its
influence in this direction has been overrated is still more probable. The
pollen of all plants is irritating to the air-passages of sensitive people, but
probably little more so than any other dust of an organic character ; and
the proportion which rag-weed pollen in the air of any specified locality
bears to that of all other plants combined must be very small indeed.
Much less still must its proportion be to other pollen and organic dust
in the air of cities, where this affection has become endemic — and fashion-
able.

HELIANTHUS. —Sunflower.

Helianthus annuiis Linne. — Common Sunflower.

Description. — Heads large, many-flowered, radiate ; the rays numerous,
neutral, yellow ; the disk-flowers brownish, perfect. Scales of the invo-
lucre with foHaceous tips, imbricated in 3 or more series. Receptacle
broad and flat, with persistent chaff which embraces the 4-angled, flattened
achenia. Pappus very deciduous, of 2 chaffy scales on the principal
angles of the achenium, often with two or more smaller intermediate ones.

A tall rough annual herb, in common cultivation. Leaves alternate,
triple-ribbed, ovate, or the lower cordate.

Habitat. — The sunflower is a native of tropical America, but has long
been cultivated here and is sparingly naturahzed in waste places.

Many of the indigenous species of helianthus are but little less strik-
ing than this in appearance, and possess similar properties.

XSO COMPOSITiE.

Part Used. — Tlie seed— not official.

Constituents. — A large percentage of bland fixed oil.

Preparations. — The oil.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Sunflower seeds are said to be diuretic
and expectorant, but there is little reason for believing them actively
medicinal.

HELENIUM. — Sneeze- Weed.

Helen! um autumnale Linne. — Sneeze-Weed.

Descnption. — Heads many-flowered, radiate ; the rays several, in a
single series, 3- to 5-cleft at the summit, fertile, yellow, reflexed soon
after expansion. Involucre small, reflexed, the scales linear or awl-shaped,
in 2 series. Keceptacle convex, globose, or oblong, naked. Achenia top-
shaped, ribbed. Pappus of 5 to 8 membranous, 1-nerved scales.

An erect, nearly smooth perennial herb. Stem 1 to 3 feet high, angled,
branching. Leaves lanceolate, toothed, decurrent on the stems and
branches. Heads corymbed, showy, appearing in September.

Habitat. — In moist places along streams ; common everywhere.

Parts Used. — The leaves and flowers — not official.

Constituents. — Unknown.

Preparations. — Used in powder or decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — The common name of the plant indicates
the popular estimation of it. The powdered flowers pariicularly have been
used as an errhine, and a decoction is said to be tonic and diaphoretic.

MARUTA.— May-Weed.

Maruta Cotula De Candolle. — May-Weed, Wild Chamomile.

Description. — Heads many-flowered, radiate ; rays neutral, white, soon
reflexed ; disk-flowers tubular, perfect. Involucre hemispherical, the
scales imbricated, shorter than the disk, with whitish margins. Recepta-
cle conical, chaffy throughout, or only at the summit. Achenia obovoid,
ribbed, glabrous. Pappus none.

An annual, one-half to one foot or more in height. Leaves tripin-
nately divided, the ultimate segments very narrowly linear. Heads solitary,
terminating the branches. It flowers from midsummer till late in autumn.

Habitat. — Common everywhere in waste places.

Part Used. — The herb — formerly official ; it was dropped from the
Pharmacopoeia in 1880.

Constituents. — Volatile oil, tannic, valerianic, and oxalic acids, bitter ex-
tractive, etc.

Preparations. — Commonly employed in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — May-weed has a very disagreeable odor,
and, when fresh, a bitter, acrid taste. Therapeutically it acts like chamo-
mile but is much less agreeable. It is seldom used except by the laity.

ACHILLEA YARROW.

181

ANTHEMIS.— Chamomile.

Anthemis nobilis Linne. — Chamomile.

Description. — Heads and flowers as in maruta, except that the rays are
pistillate. Achenia terete, striate, or smooth. Pappus none, or a minute
crown.

A perennial, somewhat downy herb. Leaves 1- to 2-pinnately divided,
the ultimate segments as in maruta but fewer and more compact.

Habitat. — Chamomile, a native of Europe, has been long cultivated in
gardens here, and has become naturalized to a very limited extent in New
Jersey and Delaware.

Part Used. — The flowers — official name, Anthemis — United States Phar-
macopoeia.

Constituents. — Volatile oil, a bitter principle, and common vegetable
constituents.

PrejMrations. — None are official. It is most common^ employed in
infusion or decoction. The volatile oil and
an extract are official in Britain.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Chamomile
is a mild stimulant and tonic, and one par-
ticularly suited to debility of the digestive
organs. The warm infusion is frequently
used as a diaphoretic, and, in large doses,
as an emetic. Fomentations of chamomile
are employed as a soothing application in
.sprains, bruises, colic, abscesses, and local
pains generally.

ACHILLEA.— Yarrow.

Achillea Millefolium Linne. — Yar-
row, Milfoil.

Description. — Heads many-flowered, ra-
diate ; the rays 4 or 5, fertile, white, rarely
rose-colored. Involucre oblong, the scales
imbricated. Keceptacle chaffy, flattish.
Achenia oblong, flattened, margined. Pap-
pus none.

A perennial herb, 1 to 3 feet high.
Leaves oblong or linear in outline, bipin-
nately parted, the ultimate divisions 3- to 5-cleft, crowded. Heads in a
compound, flat-topped corymb, appearing throughout the summer.

Habitat. — Fields and waste places ; everywhere common.

Part Used. — The herb — not official.

Fig. 135.— Achillea Millefolium.

182

COMPOSITE.

ConstUuents.—A volatile oil, a bitter principle termed achillein, and
common vegetable constituents.

Preparationa.—lninsion, expresssd juice, and volatile oil
Medical Properties and Uses.— Yarrow is said to be stimulant, tonic, and
astiingent, and to exert a special influence upon the pelvic organs. It
has been employed in digestive disorders, in menstrual irregularities, in
hemorrhages due to relaxed conditions of mucous membranes, in catarrhal
affections, etc.

TANACETUM. —Tansy.

Tanacetum vulgare Linne. — Tansy.

De.^cription.— Reads many-flowered, nearly discoid, all fertile ; the mar-
ginal flowers in a single series, 3- to 4-toothed. Scales of the involucre
imbricated, dry. Keceptacle convex, naked. Achenia angled or ribbed

with a large epigynous disk.
Pappus minute or none.

An herbaceous perennial, 2
to 3 feet high. Leaves nearly
glabrous, bipinnately parted,
the segments cut - toothed.
Heads yellow, in a dense cor-
ymb, appearing in summer.

Habitat. — Indigenous to
Europe, but freely naturalized
about dwellings and in waste
places.

I^arts Used. — The leaves
and tops — United States Phar-
macopoeia.

Constituents. — A volatile oil,
a bitter principle termed tan-
acetin, and common vegetable
constituents.

Preparations. — The infusion

Fig. 136.— Tanacetum Vulgare. and Volatile oil.

Medical Properties. — Tansy has a peculiar strong fragrant' odor and a
warm, bitter, somewhat acrid and aromatic taste. It is commonly employed
in domestic practice to stimulate menstruation. The oil appears to be
largely used as an abortifacient, and there are upon record numerous cases
in which it has been used for this purpose with fatal effect. The bruised
leaves are often applied locally for the relief of colic pains, bruises, sprains,
etc. A spirituous infusion is sometimes employed in domestic j)ractice in
intermittent fever.

GNAPIIALIUM — CUD-AVEED, 183

ARTEMISIA. —Wormwood.

Character of the Genus. — Heads many-flowered, discoid ; flowers all
tubular, the marginal ones pistillate, though sometimes all are perfect.
Scales of the involucre imbricated, with slightly scarious margins. Ke-
ceptacle small, naked. Achenia obovate, rounded or narrow at the top ;
pappus none.

Herbs or shrubs, with small heads in panicled spikes or racemes ; flow-
ers yellow or purplish.

A genus comprising, in North America, a large number of species, few
of which, however, have been employed medicinally. All of them possess,
to a greater or less extent, bitter and aromatic properties. The species,
described below, though not indigenous, well represents the medicinal
virtues of the genus.

Artemisia Absinthium Linne. — Wormivood.

Desci^iption. — Marginal flowers i^istillate; the others perfect. Heads
numerous, densely clustered, hemispherical, nodding, yellow. Stem some-
what shrubby, 2 to 4 feet high, branching, silky-hoary. Leaves 2- to 3-
pinnately parted, the lobes lanceolate, obtuse.

Habitat. — Indigenous to the Eastern Continent, but long cultivated and
sparingly naturalized here.

Parts Used. — The leaves and tops — United States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — Volatile oil, a bitter principle termed absinthin, and com-
mon vegetable constituents such as tannin, starch, gum, etc.

Preparations. — Wormwood enters into the official Vinum Aromaticumy
but there are no official preparations of the plant itself. It is generally
employed in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Wormwood is stimulant and tonic. It
has been emj^loyed chiefly in debility of the digestive organs, as atonic and
flatulent dyspepsia. The volatile oil of wormwood in large doses produces
great cerebral disturbance with epileptiform convulsions, and may even
cause death. It is seldom or never employed medicinally, but enters into
the composition of a French Hqueur called absinthe.

Externally fomentations of wormwood are often used in bruises,
sprains, etc.

GNAPHALIUM. —Cud-Weed.

Gnaphalium polycephalum Michaux. — Common Everlasting.

Description. — Heads many-flowered, all tubular ; the outer pistillate,
very slender, generally in several series ; the central perfect. Scales' of the
involucre ovate and oblong, rather obtuse, whitish. Receptacle flat, naked.
Achenia terete. PajDpus a single series of rough, capillary bristles.

An erect, woolly herb, 1 to 2 feet high. Leaves lanceolate, tapering at

184 COMPOSITE.

the base, with undulate margins, nearly glabrous above, woolly tomentose
beneath. Heads clustered at the summit of the paniculate-corymbose
branches, ovate-conical before expansion, then obovate ; corolla whitish or
yellowish. It flowers in August and September, the mature heads remain-
ing a long time on the stem. The whole plant is fragrant.

Habitat. — In woods and old fields ; everywhere common.

Parts Used. — The flowers and tops — not official.

Constituents.— A bitter principle and a little volatile oil.

Preparations. — Used in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Said to be tonic. Used in catarrhal af-
fections.

Several other indigenous and exotic species possess similar properties.

ERECHTHITES. —Fire- Weed.

Erechthites hieracifolia 'R^fme^que.— Fire-Weed.

Description. — Heads many-flowered ; flowers all tubular and fertile, the
outer pistillate, slender, the inner perfect. Scales of the cylindrical invo-
lucre in a single series, linear, acute, with a few bracteoles at the base.
Receptacle naked. Achenia oblong, striate, tapering to the apex. Pappus
copious, of fine capillary bristles.

An erect, coarse, and often hairy annual, 1 to 5 feet high. Leaves alter-
nate, lanceolate-oblong, acute, unequally and sharply cut-toothed, sessile ;
the upper often auricled at the base. Heads corymbose ; flowers whitish,
appearing from July to September.

Habitat. — Common in recent clearings, often covering ground which
has been burned over almost to the exclusion of other plants.

Part Used. — The flowering tops — not official.

Constituents. — Fire-weed has a peculiar aromatic and somewhat dis-
agreeable odor, and a pungent, bitterish taste. It yields a volatile oil of
similar odor and taste, upon which its medicinal virtues are believed to
depend.

Preparations. — Volatile oil and infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Fire-weed is said to be tonic, astringent,
and alterative, and to exert a special influence upon the mucous surfaces.
It has been highly praised as a remedy for dysentery.

SENECIO. —Groundsel

Senecio aureus Linne. — Golden Ragwoi% Squaw-Weed.

Description. — Heads many-flowered, radiate ; rays 8 to 12, pistillate,
golden yellow ; disk-flowers perfect. Scales of the involucre in a single
series, with a few bracteoles at the base. Receptacle flat, naked. Achenia
glabrous. Pappus of nimierous soft and slender capillary bristles.

LAPPA — BURDOCK.

185

A perennial herb, 1 to 2^ feet high. Kadical leaves orbicular or round-
ish-ovate, mostly cordate, crenate-serrate, petiolate ; the lower cauline
lyrate, the upper lanceolate, cut-pinnatifid, sessile or partly clasping.
Heads in an umbel-Hke corymb, appearing in May and June. A very va-
riable species.

Habitat. — In swamps, marshes, and wet places ; common everywhere.

Part Used. — The entire plant — not official.

Constit uents. — Unknown.

Preparationa. — Commonly employed in decoction. There are commer-
cial fluid extracts and a so-called senecin.

Medical Properties and Uses. —Said to be diaphoretic, diuretic, tonic, and
emmenagogue. Considerably used and praised — by eclectics.

Several other species of senecio are said to possess similar properties.

LAPPA. —Burdock.

Lap pa off! c i n al i s AUioni. — Burdock.

Description. — Heads many-flowered; the flowers aU tubular, perfect,
the corolla regularly 5-cleft, 10-
nerved. Involucre globular, the
imbricated scales coriaceous and
appressed at the base, subulate
and spreading above, tipped
with a hooked appendage. Ee-
ceptacle flat, fleshy, and some-
what bristly. Achenia oblong,
compressed, glabrous, wrinkled
transversely. Papjous of numer-
ous short rough bristles, not
united at the base, deciduous.

A coarse, ill-scented, bien-
nial herb, 1 to 4 feet high.
Lower leaves very large, cor-
date, slightly undulate on the
margins, more or less tomen-
tose beneath, smoother above ;
the upper ovate. Heads rela-
tively small, solitary or some-
what corymbose ; flowers pur-
ple, varying to white, appear-
ing from July to autumn.

Habitat. — Introduced from Europe
where.

Parts Used. — The root — United States Pharmacopoeia. The seeds are
also employed, but are not official.

Fig. 137. — Lappa officinalis.

common in waste places every-

186

COMPOSITiE.

Comtituents. — Inulin, a bitter principle, and common vegetable con-
stituents.

Prqyarations. — Commonly employed in decoction.

Medical J^^opeiiies and Uses. — Burdock, though chiefly used by the
laity, is highly esteemed by some of the profession as a diuretic and altera-
tive. It is, perhaps, more frequently used in rheumatism than in any
other disease, but is also recommended in chronic cutaneous diseases, ca-
tarrhal affections, syphilis, and scrofula. In the form of an ointment or
liniment it is used as an application to burns, ulcers, etc.

CICHORIUM.— Chicory.

Cichorium Intybus Linne. — Chicory, Succory.

Description. — Heads several-flowered ; the flowers all ligulate, perfect.
Involucre double, the inner of 8 to 10 scales, the outer of 5, half as long,

spreading. Achenia oblong, smooth
or slightly ribbed. Papj^us of numer-
ous short chaffy scales forming a
crown.

A branching perennial herb, 2
to 3 feet high, with a large deep root.
Leaves alternate, oblong or lanceolate,
partly clasping, the lower lyrately run-
cinate ; those of the rigid flowering
branches minute. Heads sessile, 2
or 3 together, axillary and terminal.
Flowers bright blue or purple, appear-
ing from July to October.

Habitat. — Indigenous to the East-
ern Continent, but naturalized here,
growing along roadsides and in waste
places.

Part Used. — The root— not official.
Constituents. — Inulin, a bitter prin-
ciple, and ordinary vegetable constit-
uents.

Preparatioris. — Commonly used in
infusion.
Medical Properties and Uses. — Chicory is said to increase the appetite
and aid digestion. Though formerly used medicinally, it is of importancj
now merely as an adulterant of coffee. For this purpose the root is roasted
and ground in the same manner as coffee, with which it is afterward mixed
in large proportion. When thus treated chicory in infusion has a bitter-
ness, possibly somewhat resembHng that of coffee, but it is whoUy desti-

Fio. 138.— Cichorium Intybus.

NAB ALUS KATTLESNAKE-ROOT. 187

tute of the aromatic flavor of the latter ; and, moreover, infusion of chicory
does not produce the agreeable stimulation of coffee, and altogether serves
as a very poor substitute for it.

HIERACIUM. —Hawk-Weed.

Hieracium venosum Linne. — Rattlesnake- Weed.

Description. — Heads small, about 20-flowered ; the flowers all ligulate,
perfect. Involucre cylindrical, the inner scales in a single series, the outer
few and short. Achenia linear. Pappus a single series of tawny, fragile,
and rough caj^illary bristles.

A perennial herb. Stem or scape 1 to 2 feet high, naked or with a
single leaf, smooth and slender, forking above into a diffuse corymb.
Radical leaves obovate or spatulate-oblong, entire or obscurely denticu-
late, slightly petioled, smooth and j)ale, often purplish and glaucous be-
neath, with purplish veins, the margins and often the under side of the
mid-vein hair3\ Flowers yellow, appearing from May to July.

Habitat. — In dry soil, especially in pine regions ; common.

Part Used. — The entire plant — not official.

Constituents. — Unknown.

Preparations. — Infusion and expressed juice.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Said to be tonic, astringent, and ex-
pectorant, and to be an antidote to the bites of poisonous serpents. Little
of a positive character is known of it.

NAB ALUS. —Rattlesnake -Root.

Nabalus albus Hooker. — White Lettuce, Rattlesnake-Root.

Description. — Heads G- to 12-flowered ; the flowers all ligulate and
perfect. Involucre of about 8 scales, purplish. Achenia short, linear-
oblong, striate. Pappus copious, of cinnamon-colored, rough capillary
bristles.

A perennial herb. Stem smooth and glaucous, 2 to 4 feet high, corym-
bose-panicled at the summit. Leaves angulate or triangular-halberd-form,
sinuate-toothed, or 3- to 5-cleft ; the uppermost oblong and undivided.
Flowers pendulous, greenish- white or purplish, appeai'ing in autumn. The
whole plant abounds in a milky juice.

Habitat. — Open grounds and borders of woods ; common in the North-
ern States and Canada.

Part Used. — The entire plant — not official.

Constituents. — Unknown.

Preparations. — Infusion and expressed juice.

Medical Properties and Uses. — The entire plant has a bitter taste, which
is most intense in the root. On this account it has been employed as a
tonic in domestic practice. The fresh juice is considered vulnerary and has
been applied to wounds, especially to snake bites.

188

LOBELIACEJE.

TARAXACUM. —Dandelion.

Taraxacum Dens-leonis Desfontaines. — Dandelion,
Uescinption.—Ue&ds mauy-flowered ; flowers all ligulate, perfect. In-
volucre double ; the outer of small short scales, reflexed ; the inner of
longer erect scales. Receptacle naked. Achenia terete, oblong, ribbed,

the apex prolonged into a slen-
der beak. Pappus copious, of
long, white, capillary bristles.

A biennial or perennial
herb, with a long, deep root.
Leaves all radical, oblong or
lanceolate, nearly entire, or
sinuate-toothed or runcinate.
Scapes slender, hollow, bearing
a single head of yellow flow-
ers. It blooms throughout the
spring and summer.

Habitat. — Common every-
where.

lai't Used. — The root —
United States l^harmacopoeia.

Constituents. — A bitter prin-
ciple termed tar'axacin, inulin,
resin, saccharine matter, and
common vegetable constitu-
ents.

Preijarations. — Extractum
taraxaci — extract of taraxa-
cum ; extractum taraxaci flu-
idum — fluid extract of taraxacum. — United States I^harmacopwia. The ex-
pressed juice and decoction are also employed.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Taraxacum is slightly tonic, diuretic, and
aperient. It is supposed to act especially upon the liver, and is used chiefly
in dyspepsia associated with torpor of this organ.

Fig. 139.~Taraxacnm Dens-leonis.

LOBELIACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Herbs, with milky juice, and alternate, exstip-
ulate leaves. Calyx adherent to the ovary, commonly 5 lobed. Corolla
irregularly 5-lobed, often deeply cleft. Stamens 5, free from the corolla,
and united into a tube, commonly by their filaments, but always by their
anthers. Style 1 ; stigma often fiinged. Fruit capsular, 1- or more-celled,
opening at the top ; seeds numerous.

LOBELIA.

181>

An order comprising many plants possessed of acrid and narcotic prop-
erties. Represented in North America by the genus

LOBELIA.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx 5-cleft, with a short, variously shaped
tube. Corolla-tube slit along the upper side ; the limb divided into 2
lips, the ui^per with 2 erect lobes, the lower spreading, 3-cleft. Two of
the anthers bearded at the top. Pod 2-celled, many-seeded. Annual or
perennial herbs. Flowers axillary or in bracted racemes.

Lobelia inflata Linn6. — Indian Tobacco.

Description. — Calyx without auricles at the sinuses. Corolla small, pale
blue. Pod inflated.

An annual or biennial herb. Stem angled or striate, paniculately
branched, 9 to 18 inches high, pubes-
cent. Leaves ovate or oblong, the
upper ones diminishing into leaf -like
bracts. Flowers small, in racemose
spikes, appearing from midsummer
to autumn.

Habitat. — Common along road-
sides and in old fields, generally in
dry soil.

Lobelia syphilitica Linne. —
Great Lobelia.

Description. — Calyx hairy, half
the length of the corolla, the sinuses
auriculate, its tube hemispherical.
Corolla much larger than in the pre-
ceding species, blue, varying to white.

A perennial herb. Stem simple,
I to 3 feet high, somewhat hairy,
leafy to the top. Leaves thin, acute
at both ends, irregularly serrate.
Flowers crowded in a dense spike or
raceme, appearing late in summer.

Habitat. — In moist places ; common.

Lobelia cardinalis Linne. — Cardinal Flower.

Description. — Flowers similar in form to the preceding but of an in-
tense scarlet color.

A perennial herb. Stem smooth or slightly pubescent, simple, 2 to
4 feet high. Leaves lanceolate, denticulate. Flowers showy, in an elon-
gated, somewhat one-sided raceme, appearing late in summer.

Habitat. — In swampy places ; common.

Fig. 140.— Lobelia syphilitica.

190 ERICACEAE.

Of the three species described above, the first-named is the only one
which is medicinally important. The others, though strikingly beautiful,
L. cardinahs especially so, are of little interest.

Parts Used. — The leaves and tops of L. inflata — United States .Pharma-
copoeia,

Constituents. — Lobelia has an acrid and irritating taste, somev^^hat re-
sembling that of tobacco, and a slightly irritating odor when bruised or
powdered. It contains an odorous volatile principle, a peculiar alkaloid,
termed lobeline, lohelic add, and common vegetable principles.

Pi^eparations. — Acetum lobehse — vinegar of lobelia; extractum lobelia3
fluidum — fluid extract of lobelia ; tinctura lobelise — tincture of lobelia.
— United States Pharmacopoeia.

Medical Properties and Uses.— In full doses lobelia produces severe nau-
sea, obstinate vomiting, and great prostration. In overdoses the pros-
tration becomes extreme, there is failure of voluntary motion, followed by
stupor, coma, and not unfrequently convulsions and death. Though for-
merly much used for emetic effect by empirics, dangerous effects were so
often produced that it is now seldom employed in this manner. It is
chiefly employed in spasmodic affections of the air-passages, as spasmodic
laryngitis and spasmodic asthma. In the latter disease it often produces
the happiest effects.

ERICACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Shrubs, rarely herbs, with opposite, alternate
or whorled, commonly evergreen leaves. Flowers regular or nearly so ;
calyx 4- to 5-lobed, free or adherent to the ovary ; corolla 4- to 5-lobed,
rarely with distinct petals ; stamens as many or twice as many as the lobes
of the corolla, free from but inserted with it ; anthers 2-celled, commonly
appendaged or opening by terminal chinks or pores ; style 1 ; ovary 3- to
10-celled. Fruit various.

A large order, comprising many plants of medicinal and economic im-
portance. Of the medicinal species, some possess valuable diuretic jn-op-
erties, others are more or less poisonous, and their therapeutic applications
are not yet definitely known, so that, in the present state of science, it is
not possible to formulate, in general terms, the medicinal properties of the
order as a whole.

As represented in North America, the order comprises four weU-marked
sub-orders, namely :

VaCCINIE^— ErICINE^— PyROLE^— MONOTROPE^,

the second and third alone comprising medicinal species.

ARCTOSTAPHYLOS BEARBERRY.

191

Sub-order ERiciNEiE.

Character of the Sub-Order. — Calyx free from the ovary. Corolla mono-
petalous or sometimes polypetalous, liypogynous. Slmibs or small trees.

ARCTOSTAPHYLOS. — Bearberry.

Arctostaphylps Uva-ursi Sprengel. — Uva-ursi, Bearberry.

Description. — Catyx 5-parted, persistent, the lobes roundish. Corolla
ovate, urn-shaped, rose-color, pellucid at the base, hairy inside, with 5
short, acute, recurved teeth.
Stamens 10, included ; anthers
large, with 2 pores at the sum-
mit, laterally 2-awned, the
awns reflexed. Ovary sur-
rounded with 3 fleshy scales.
J'ruit drupaceous, depressed-
f^iobose, the size of a large pea,
red, with a mealy insipid pulp,
*jid containing 5 seed-Hke
auts.

A small trailing shrub.
Hoot thick, woody, creeping.
Stems numerous, trailing and
spreading, the sterile branches
often 2 to 3 feet long. Leaves
evergreen, scattered, cuneate-
obovate, three-fourths of an
inch long, variable in breadth,
entire, coriaceous, shining.
T'lowers drooping in small
terminal racemes, appearing
in April and May.

Habitat. — Dry sandy soils, rocks and bare hills, from New Jersey to
AVisconsin and northward. Found also in Northern Europe and Asia.

Parts Used. — The leaves— official name, Uva-ursi — United States Phar-
macoposia.

Constituents. — Three crystalline principles, i\{m\e\y, arbutin, ericolin, and
iirsone, have been found in uva-ursi and in other ericaceous plants. In
addition to these principles there occur gallic and tannic acids and other
common vegetable constituents.

Preparations. — Extractum uvse-ursi fluidum — fluid extract of uva-ursi.
— United States Pharmacopoeia. In many cases the drug is best adminis
tered in infusion.

Fia. 141. — Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi.

192 ERICACE^.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Uva-ursi is astringent and tonic, and is
generally credited with a specific action upon the m-inary tract. In a con-
dition of health it produces no diuretic effect, though it is said to do so in
certain cases of disease. During its administration the urine acquires a
dai'k color and a peculiar odor. It is chiefly used in chronic urinary dis-
eases, as pyehtis and cystitis, calculous affections, gleet, and incontinence
of urine. It has also been used advantageously in leucorrhcea, diarrhoea,,
chronic bronchitis, and in passive hemoi-rhages.

EPIG^A. — Trailing Arbutus.

Epigaea re pens Linn^. — Trailing Arbutus j Ground Laurel, May-
Flower.

Description. — Calyx deeply 5-parted, colored, with three bracts at the
base ; the lobes ovate, acute, smooth. Corolla tubular, salver-form, rose-
color or nearly white, the limb 5-parted, somewhat spreading ; the lobes
ovate, obtuse, very hairy inside toward the base. Stamens 10, shorter
than the corolla ; filaments hairy at the base ; anthers linear, opening longi-
tudinally. Style straight ; stigma obtusely 5-lobed. Capsule dejDressed-
globular, obtusely 5-angled, 5-celled, many-seeded, covered with the per-
sistent calyx.

A prostrate or trailing shrubby perennial. Stem woody, spreading on
the ground, and often rooting at the joints, clothed, as are the petioles also,
with stiff brownish hairs. Leaves evergreen, coriaceous, 1 to 2 inches long,
cordate-ovate, entire, obtuse or with a short mucronate point, sprinkled or
fringed with hairs. Flowers in short dense axillary and terminal fascicu-
late racemes, conspicuously bracteate, very fragrant and ornamental, ap-
pearing in April and May.

Habitat. — In dry sandy woods, and on hill-sides, especially in pine re-
gions.

Fart Used. — The leaves — not official.

Constituents. — Similar to, if not identical with those of uva-ursi, which
see.

Preparations. — Decoction and infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — This plant has been used as a substitute
for uva-ursi, and, it is claimed, with satisfactory results.

G AULTHERI A. — A romatic Wintergreen.

Gaultheriaprocumbens Linne.— Wintergreen, Partridge-Berry, Tea-
Ferry, Checkerberry.

Description.— C&lyx 5-lobed, becoming fleshy and baccate, and then cov-
eiing the capsule. Corolla cyhndrical-ovoid, white, 5-toothed. Stamens
10, shorter than the corolla ; anthers 2-lobed, opening longitudinally, 2-

ANDROMEDA. 193

awned at the summit. Style filiform ; stigma undivided, obtuse. Cap-
sule depressed-globular, 5-celled, many-seeded, completely enclosed in a
large red, beny-like calyx.

A small, creeping, shrubby, or almost herbaceous perennial. Stem
creeping extensively just beneath the surface of the ground, and sending
up erect branches 3 to 5 inches high. Leaves alternate, evergreen,
coriaceous, 1 inch long, obovate, cuneate at the base, remotely and seta-
ceously denticulate, 3 to 6 placed near the summit of each branch. Flowers
axillary, on pedicels nearly half an inch long, with 2 bracteoles near the
flower, mostly solitary, nodding, appearing in summer. Fruit edible, but
rather dry.

Habitat. — In woods, and rather dry sandy swamps ; common.

Part Used.— The leaves — Uynted States Pharmacopceia.

Constituents. — Theii' most important constituent is a highly aromatic
volatile oil ; they also contain tannin, and the crystalline principle found
in uva-ursi, which see.

Pi'eparations. — Oleum gaultherise — oil of gaultheria {oil of wintergreen).
Spiritus gaultherise — spirit of gaultheria (essence of ivintergreen). — United
States Pharmacopoeia.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Until recently, wintergreen was used
only as an aromatic stimulant, or as a flavoring agent. Since the introduc-
tion of salicylic acid as a remedy for rheumatism, however, the oil of win-
tergreen, which contains a large percentage of this acid, has been used
medicinally in the same disease. In some cases the results have been grat-
ifying, but, in general, the acid itself, or some of its salts, are much more
efticient. From a somewhat limited experience, the author finds that fre-
quent doses of the oil often become insupportable, owing to its high flavor,
and hence he has found it difiicult to persist in the use of the remedy long
•enough to secure iDermanent curative effects.

ANDROMEDA.

Andromeda Mariana Linne. — Stagger-Bush.

Description. — Calyx deeply 5-parted, the segments acute. Corolla
ovoid-cylindrical, about one-half inch long, white, or pale-rose color, 5-
cleft. Stamens 10 ; filaments linear, lanceolate, doubly recurved, hairy ;
anthers oblong, awnless, the cells opening by a large oblique terminal ori-
fice. Style shorter than the corolla, tapering ; stigma obscurely lobed.
Capsule conical, somewhat contracted at the base, 5-celled, 5-angled,
many-seeded ; the sutures very prominent, at length separating from the
valves.

A shrub 2 to 3 feet high, with a few erect branches ; bark gray, sprin-
kled with black dots. Leaves 2 to 3 inches long, oval or oblong, often

obtuse at the apex, acute at the base, entire, coriaceous, sprinkled with
13

194 ERICACE^.

black dots underneath, deciduous. Flowers large and showy, nodding,
from axillaiy scaly buds, often forming elongated racemes ; the fascicles
4- to 10-flowered ; they appear in June and July.

Habitat. — In low sandy soil, from Khode Island southward, along the
coast.

This, and some other indigenous species of andromeda, are said to be
poisonous to lambs and calves, producing symptoms termed staggers. The
plants are interesting from this fact, and from their being apparently anal-
ogous to Kalmia, which see.

OXYDENDRON.— Sorrel Tree.

Oxydendron arboreum De Candolle (Andromeda arhorea Linne). —
Sorrel Tree, Sour Wood.

Description. — Calyx without bractlets, very deeply 5-cleft, the segments
valvate in the bud. Corolla ovate, 5-toothed puberulent. Stamens 10 ; an-
thers linear, awnless ; the cells tapering upward, and opening by a long
chink. Capsule oblong-pyramidal, 5-celled, 5-valved, many-seeded.

A tree 15 to 50 feet high. Leaves alternate, oblong-lanceolate, acumi-
nate, serrulate, at first downy, then smooth, on slender petioles, deciduous.
Flowers in long one-sided racemes, clustered iu an open panicle, terminat-
ing the branches of the season ; they appear in June and Jul3\

Habitat. — In rich woods from Pennsylvania to Georgia and westward.
Though commonly a small tree, Michaux states that in the fertile valleys at
the foot of the lofty mountains of North Carolina he measured specimens
which were 50 feet high and 12 or 15 inches in diameter.

Fart Used. — The leaves — not official.

Constituents. — Unkno wn.

Preparations. — Infusion and decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — The leaves of this tree have a pleasant
acidulous taste, and are said to be tonic, refrigerant, and diuretic. They
are used in domestic practice, in the form of infusion or decoction, as a
refrigerant drink in fevers.

KALMIA. — American Laurel.

Kalmia latlfolia Linne. — Calico-Bush, Mountain Laurel, Spoon-Wood.

DescHption. — Calyx small, 5-parted, persistent, with oval, acute seg-
ments. Corolla- tube short, cylindrical, the limb spreading, and terminating*
in an erect, 5-parted margin. Stamens 10 ; anthers lodged in depressions
in the corolla in such a manner that as the flower expands the filaments
are bent strongly outward ; when the flower is fully expanded the anthers
are released, and the filaments recoil elastieally, tlirowing the anthers over
upon the stigma. Pod globose, 5-valved, 5-celled, many-seeded.

KALMIA AMERICAN LAUKEL. 195

An evergreen shrub, 4 to 20 feet high. Leaves mostly alternate, cori-
aceous, bright green both sides, ovate-lanceolate or elliptical, tapering to
each end, petioled. Flowers very showy, in terminal, many-flowered, um-
bel-Hke corymbs, vailing from deep rose-color to nearly white ; they ap-
pear in May and June.

Habitat. — Canada to Florida and westward ; in the Northern States a
low shrub, farther south it is larger, and often forms very dense thickets.

Part Uaed. — The leaves — not official.

Constituents. — Analysis, as yet, has thrown little light upon the sup-
posed properties of this plant. Besides the ordinary principle of plants,
there have been found in it an acrid principle, and arbutin, the latter one
of the constituents of uva-ursi, and other ericaceous plants.

Preparations. — Kalmia imparts its virtues to boiling water and alcohol;
it may be administered in decoction or tincture.

Medical Properties and Uses. — The leaves of the plant as also those
of Kalmia angustifolia {Sheep-Laurel, Lamb-kill) are said to be poisonous
to sheep and calves ; and cases are reported of men being poisoned by
eating the flesh of partridges which had fed upon the buds and beriies.
On the other hand, Wilson, the ornithologist, ate freely of the flesh of such
birds without any ill effect whatever ; and deer feed upon the leaves in
winter, not only without ill effect upon themselves, but also without ren-
dering their flesh unwholesome to man. And yet the common opinion is
that the leaves are very poisonous. The writer himself was cautioned b}^
an old Massachusetts farmer against meddling with K. angustifolia because
of its poisonous nature ; disregarding the advice, he ate several leaves in
the presence of the farmer, without, however, convincing the latter, not-
withstanding no ill effects were experienced. That persons have been poi-
soned seriously by eating the flesh of partridges in winter cannot be de-
nied ; that these birds may have fed upon kalmia buds and berries is also
probable, but that their flesh is thus rendered poisonous does not seem as
yet fully established. Some experimenters have reported effects produced
in their own persons by strong decoctions of the leaves, similar to those of
partridge poisoning ; others quite as worthy of credence have failed to
observe any sensible effect from them. Taking these contradictory state-
ments in connection with the negative results of the chemical analyses thus
far made, one may reasonably conclude either that the poisonous character
of these plants has been greatly exaggerated, or that the energy of the
poison, whatever it may be, is greatly influenced by the personal idiosyn-
crasy of the individual experimented with.

Regarding the therapeutic application of kalmia, there exists the same
confusion. It is said to be " antisyphilitic, sedative to the heart, and some-
what astringent." How truly antisyphihtic it is may be conjectured from
the following case reported by King : " Some time since I treated a case
of syphilis of five weeks' standing, which had not received any kind of

196 ERICACE^.

treatment during that period. The patient, at the time I first saw him,
had several chancres, the surface of the body and head was covered with
small red pimples, elevated above a jaundiced skin, and he was in a ver}^
debihtated condition. I administered a saturated tincture of the leaves of
kalmia, and touched the chancres w^ith a tincture of muriate of iron, and
effected a cure in four weeks, removing the jaundice at the same time."

The bruised leaves, and a decoction have been used topically in some
skin diseases with asserted benefit.

It would seem from the foregoing that there is much uncertainty in what
has been written of kalmia, from the time of Kalm to the present day, and
that the plant requires further investigation.

LEDUM. -Labrador Tea.

Ledum latifolium Aiton. — Labrador Tea.

Description. — Calyx 5-toothed, very small. Corolla : petals 5, obovate,
spreading, distinct. Stamens 5, occasionally 6 or 7 ; anthers opening by
terminal jiores. Pod oblong, 5-celled, many-seeded, splitting from below
upward.

A shrub 2 to 5 feet high. Leaves alternate, elliptical or oblong, entire,
the margins revolute, rusty-woolly beneath, coriaceous, persistent. Flowers
white, small, in terminal umbel like clusters, from large scaly buds, ap-
pearing in June.

Habitat. — In cold bogs and mountain woods from Pennsylvania to Wis-
consin and northward.

Ledum palustre Linne. — Marsh Tea.

Description. — Like the preceding, but with uniformly 10 stamens, oval
pods, and linear leaves.

Habitat. — In swamps and wet places in British North 'America, and also
in northern Europe and Asia.

Parts Used. — The leaves of both species— not official.

Constituents. — The leaves of marsh tea have a balsamic odor, and an
aromatic, camphoraceous, bitter taste ; they contain a peculiar tannin,
termed leditannic acid, and a pungent aromatic volatile oil, besides com-
mon constituents of plants. The constituents of Labrador tea are sup-
posed to be similar.

Preparations. — Commonly used in decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Marsh tea is said to be acro-narcotic,
producing, in large doses, headache, restlessness, dilatation of the pupil,
and a sort of intoxication, accompanied with increased secretion of urine,
saHva, and perspiration. Its sphere of therapeutic application is not
definitely settled, though it has been used in spasmodic croup, whooping-
cough, gout, rheumatism, and various skin diseases. A strong decoction
is used externally to destroy cutaneous parasites in domestic animals, and
the fresh leaves are placed in woollen cloths to protect them against moths.

CIIIMAPIIILA PIPSISSEWA. 197

Labrador tea appears to be less active than the other species, but
otherwise not different from it. It is said to have been used during the
Revolution as a substitute for tea.

CHIMAPHILA. — PiPSissE WA.

Chimaphila umbellata Nuttall. — Prince's Pine, Pipsissewa.

Description. — Calyx 5- parted, free from the ovary, persistent. Corolla :
petals 5, concave, orbicular, widely-spreading, distinct. Stamens 10 ; fil-
aments enlarged and hairy in the middle ; anthers more or less 2-homed
at the base, which, by inversion, becomes the apparent apex. Styles very
short, inversely conical, nearly immersed in the depressed summit of the
globular ovary ; stigma disk-shaped, the border 5-crenate. Pod depressed-
globular, 5-celled, 5-valved, splitting from the apex downward.

A low, nearly herbaceous, evergreen plant, with long running under-
ground stems, and short, ascending, leafy branches, 4 to 10 inches high.
Leaves evergreen, thick and shining, cuneate-lanceolate, acute at the base,
sharply serrate, whorled or scattered. Flowers white or purpHsh, fra-
grant, corymbed or umbelled on a terminal peduncle, appearing in June.

Habitat. — In dry woods ; common.

Chimaphila maculata Pursh. — Spotted Wintergreen.

Description. — Readily distinguished from the jpreceding by its leaves
alone, which are ovate-lanceolate, obtuse at the base, remotely toothed, and
have the upper surface variegated with white.

Habitat. — Dry woods ; less common than the preceding.
Part Used. — The leaves of C. umbellata — United /States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — Chemical analysis, as yet, has thrown little light upon
the therapeutic activity of chimaphila. Besides the common constituents
of plants there have been found in it a peculiar crystalline substance,
termed chimaphilin, which, however, does not appear to be the active prin-
ciple ; the latter has not been isolated.

Preparations. — Extractum chimaphilte fluidum — fluid extract of chi-
maphila.— United States Pharmacopoeia. A decoction is also efficient and
sometimes preferable.

3Iedical Properties and Uses. — Chimaphila, in its action, closely resem-
bles uva-ursi, and is used for like purposes. Its tonic properties are said
to render it especially useful in scrofulous affections. Like uva ursi it is
beneficial in chronic affections of the urinary organs. C. maculata is said
to resemble it both in constituents and in therapeutic activity.

AQUIFOLIACEiC.

Character of the Order. — Shrubs or trees with simple, mostly alternate
leaves, and 4- to 8-merous flowers. Stamens as many as the lobes of the
corolla, altei-nate with them, and inserted upon their base. Ovary free,

1 9 S AQUIFOLI ACE^.

fomiing, in fruit, a 4- to 8-seeded drupe ; stigmas 4 to 8, or united into
one, neai'ly sessile.

A small and comparatively unimportant order. In general, plants of
this order ai-e possessed of emetic properties.

ILEX.— Holly.

Character of the Oenus. — Calyx 4- to 6- toothed. Corolla : petals 4 to 6,
separate or united at the base. Stamens 4 to 6, alternate with the petals.
Ovary 4- to G-celled ; stigmas sessile. Fruit a berry-like drupe with 4 to 6
seed-Hke nutlets. Shrubs or trees with simple, mostly alternate leaves.
Flowers more or less dioeciously polygamous.

Ilex opaca Aiton. — American Holly.

Description. — Parts of flower commonly in fours. Fruit red, its nutlets
ribbed and veiny.

A tree 20 to 40 feet high. Leaves evergreen, oval, flat, the wavy
margins with scattered spiny teeth. Flowers in loose clusters along the
base of the yoimg branches, and in the axils, appearing in June.

Habitat. — In woodlands and open places from Maine to Florida and
westward ; more common and of large size southward.

Ilex Cassine Walter. — Cassena, Yaupon.

Description. — Flowers and fruit like the preceding. A shrub 8 to 12
feet high, slender, the short spreading branches often spine- like. Leaves,
evergreen, -J to 1 inch long, oval or oblong, obtuse, crenate. Flower-
clusters very numerous, sessile or nearly so, appearing in April.

Habitat. — In light sandy soil along the coast from North Carolina to
Florida.

Ilex Dahoon Walter. — Dahoon Holly.

Description. — Flowers and fruit as in the preceding. A shrub or small
tree. Leaves evergreen, 2 to 3 inches long, varying from obovate to ob-
long-linear, acute or obtuse, mucronate, entire, or sharply serrate above the
middle, on short petioles ; their under surface, as well as the younger
branches and flower-clusters, pubescent. Sterile peduncles many flowered,
the fertile ones shorter, mostly 1-flowered ; the flowers appear in April
and May.

Variety Myrtifolia {Ilex myrtifolia Walter) has small leaves, i to 1
inch long, linear-oblong, entire, or on young branches, sharply 2- to 4-
toothed toward the apex.

^a6iYa/.— Margins of swamps. North CaroHna to Florida and westward.

Parts Used. — The leaves and fruit — not official.

Constituents. — The leaves of European holly {Ilex Aquifolium Linn6>
have been more carefully examined than those of any North American
species. They contain a bitter principle, ilicin, a yellow coloring sub-
stance called ilexanthin, and a peculiar acid, ilicic acid. Some of the
American species contain caffeina.

DIOSPYKOS PERSIMMON. 199

Preparations. — Administered in powder or infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Holly has been much more used iu
Europe than in this country. Its bitterness led to its use in intermittent
fever, but careful observation has proved it worthless in this disease. In
large doses the leaves produce nausea and vomiting, while the beriies, ad-
ministered in Hke manner, cause both vomiting and purging. Possessing
such irritating properties, they may, of course, be used in such manner as
to cause diaphoresis, and hence probably their asserted efficacy in rheu-
matism. I. opaca is said to be somewhat demulcent, and has been used in
pulmonary affections to allay cough and promote expectoration. I. cassine
is said to be used considerably in the South as a substitute for tea ; as it
contains caffeina, its use in this manner is much more rational than that of
several other plants which have nothing in their composition analogous to
the constituents of tea.

EBENACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Trees or shrubs with alternate entire leaves,
and dioecious or polygamous, regular flowers. Calyx persistent, foliaceous.
Corolla monopetalous, hypogynous. Stamens at least twice or thrice as
many as the lobes of the corolla, and inserted on its tube or base. Ovarj'
several-celled, with one or two ovules in each cell. Fruit a beny, matur-
ing in one or more bony-coated seeds.

A small order, comprising 15 genera and 180 species, chiefly tropical.
Represented in North America by the genus

DIOSPYROS. —Persimmon.

Diospyras Virginiana Linne. — Persimmon^ Date Plum.

Description. — Calyx 4-lobed, increasing in size with the development of
the fruit. Corolla 4-lobed, between bell-shaped and urn-shaped, greenish-
yellow, thickish, glabrous. Stamens 16, in pairs, pubescent ; the sterile
ones of the fertile flowers 8. Ovary 8-celled ; styles 4, 2-lobed at the
apex. Fruit plum-like, 1 inch in diameter, 4- to 8-seeded. Yellow when
ripe.

A tree 20 to 70 feet high. Leaves 2 to 5 inches long, ovate or oblong,
more or less pubescent when young, at length nearly or quite smooth.
Fertile flowers commonly solitary in the axils ; sterile ones in threes.
Fruit exceedingly astringent while green, but when ripe, after frost, very
sweet and luscious.

Habitat. — In woods and old fields from Ehode Island to Iowa, and
southward. East of the Alleghanies it is most common along the coast.

Part Used. — The unripe fruit. It was formerly official, but was dropped
from the Pharmacopoeia in 1880. The bark is also employed.

Constituents. — Tannic and malic acids, sugar and pectin.

200 PLUMBAGINACE^.

Preparations. — Infusion and vinous tincture.

Medical Properties and Uses.— The unripe fruit and inner bark are as-
tringent and bitter. Tannin appears to be their only constituent of thera-
peutic importance. Like other drugs containing tannin, persimmon has
been employed in chronic and subacute catarrhal affections, and in hem-
orrhages, but many other articles are much more eligible and efficacious.

PLUMBAGINACEiC.

Character of the Order. — Herbs, rarely woody, with leaves alternate or
clustered at the root. Flowers regular, 5-merous. Calyx tubular, plaited,
persistent. Petals united at the base, or distinct. Stamens opposite the
petals or lobes of the corolla. Ovaiy l-ceUed, free from the calyx, 1-
ovuled.

An order inhabiting the sea-shore or salt marshes, mostly in temperate
regions. Represented in North America by three genera, only one of
which comprises medicinal species.

STATICE. — Marsh-Rosemary.

Statice LimoniumLinne. — Marsh-Rosemary, Sea Lavender.

Description. — Calyx funnel-form, dry, membranaceous, persistent. Co-
rolla : petals 5, distinct, or united below, with long claws. Stamens 5,
united to the bases of the petals. Styles 5, rarely 3, distinct. Fruit mem-
branaceous, in dehiscent.

A perennial herb, with a thick, reddish, woody root. Leaves all radi-
cal, thickish, oblong, spatulate, or obovate-lanceolate, tapering into a
rather long petiole. Scapes 1 to 2 feet high, loosely paniculate, the flow-
ers in one-sided spikes on the branches, 2- to 3-bracted, appearing late in
summer.

Habitat. — In salt marshes along the coast, and, in various forms,
throughout the world. Our plant is va7\ Caroliniana Gray, while the form
found on the Pacific coast is var. Calif omica Gray.

Part Used. — The root — not official.

Constituents. — Marsh-rosemary contains, as its most important constitu-
ent, about twelve per cent, of tannin.

Preparations. — Decpction and infusion.

Medical Projjerties and Uses. — Containing, as it does, a large percent-
age of tannin, this plant is powerfully astringent. In the early part of
tliis century it was largely used for the same purposes as are catechu and
kino now. At present its decoction is chiefly used as a domestic remedy,
often as a gargle in sore throat, and as an astringent to bleeding and ulcer-
ated surfaces.

CATALPA. 201

BIGNONIACE/E.

.Character of the Order. — Trees, climbing or twining shrubs, rarely
herbs, with opposite, rarely alternate, simple or compound leaves and
showy, often trumpet-shaped flowers. Calyx 2-lipped, 5-cleft or entire.
Corolla usually irregular, 4- to 5-lobed, deciduous. Stamens 5, unequal,
one or two of them often abortive, inserted upon the corolla. Ovary free ;
style long ; stigma 2-lipped.» Fruit a 2-valved, often pod-like capsule, di-
vided by an expansion of the placentae. Seeds generally numerous and
winged.

An order of chiefly tropical plants, comprising few medicinal species,
and these possessed of no very striking properties.

BIGNONIA.

Bignonia capreolata Linne. — Bignonia.

Description. — Calyx somewhat bell-shaped, the margin wavy or slightly
5-toothed. Corolla irregular, bell-shaped, 5-lobed, and rather 2-lipped,
orange color, two inches long. Stamens unequal, 2 long, 2 short, and 1
rudimentary and sterile. Pod 2-celled, flattened parallel with the valves
and partitions. Seeds in two rows, and provided with a membranous
wing.

A shrubby climber, often ascending tall trees. Wood so arranged in
the stem as, in transverse section, to show a cross. Leaves of 2 oblong
or ovate leaflets and a branching tendril, often "with a pair of accessory
leaves in the axils, resembling stipules. Mowers clustered, the peduncles
1-flowered, appearing in April.

Habitat. — In rich soil from Virginia to Southern Illinois and south-
ward.

Part Used. — The root — not official.

Constituents. — Unknown.

Preparations. — Used in decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. —Bignonia is said to have been used as a
substitute for sarsaparilla. If it have active medicinal properties, they
are yet to be ascertained.

CATALPA.

Catalpa bignonioides AValter.— CaMpa, Indian Bean.

Description. — Calyx 2-lipped, corolla bell-shaj^ed, inflated, the border
spreading, 4- to 5-lobed, iiTegular, somewhat 2 lipped, white, tinged with
violet, and dotted with purple and yellow on the throat. Fertile stamens,
2 or 4 ; sterile and rudimentary, 1 or 3. Pod one foot long, slender,
nearly cylindrical, 2-celled.

202 OROBAXCHACEiE.

A tree twenty to fifty feet high. Leaves mostly opposite, large, cor-
date, pointed, pubescent, at least beneath, long-petioled. Flowers in large,
showy, terminal panicles, appearing in summer.

Habitat, — Native of the Southern States, but common in cultivation in
New England and New York.

Parts Used. — The bark and seeds— not official.

Constituents. — In the bark have been found tannin, an amorphous
bitter principle, a bitter, nauseous crystaUine body, besides common vege-
table constituents.

Preparations. — A decoction.

Medical I^operties and Uses. — Kegarding the medicinal properties of
catalpa, there is little to be said, for little of a definite character is known.
It is said to be emetic and vermifuge, and to have been used in bronchitis
and asthma with beneficial effect. Porcher states that the honey col-
lected from the flowers is somewhat poisonous.

OROBANCHACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Low, fleshy herbs, parasitic upon the roots of
other plants, destitute of green foliage, bearing scales instead of leaves.
Calyx 4- to 5-toothed or parted. Corolla monopetalous, tubular, 5-lobed,
more or less 2-lipped, withering-persistent. Stamens 4, inserted in pairs
upon the tube of the corolla. Ovary free ; style long, curved at the apex ;
stigma large. Pod 1-celled, 2-valved. Seeds numerous.

A small order of unimportant plants. In general they possess bitter
and astringent properties.

EPIPHEGUS.— Beech-Drops.

Epiphegus Virglniana Barton. — Beech-Drops, Cancer-Boot.

Description. — Calyx 5-toothed. Corolla of the upper flowers long,
tubular, curved, 4-toothed, whitish and purple ; of the lower flowers,
short, seldom expanding, but being forced from its base by the growth of
the pod. Pod 2-valved at the apex, but with 2 partial partitions in each
valve.

A slender much-branched herb, 6 to 12 inches high, purj^lish or yel-
lowish-brown, with small scattered scales. Flowers racemose or spiked,
the upper sterile, the lower fertile, appearing late in summer.

Habitat. — Parasitic upon the roots of beech-trees ; very common.

Part Used.— The entire plant— not official.

Constituents. — Unknown.

Preparations. — Administered in decoction or powder.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Beech-drops has a disagreeable bitter
and astringent taste, which is much more pronounced in the recent than
in the dried specimen. It has been employed both topically and internally

APHYLLON — NAKED BROOM-RAPE. 203

as an astringent. Doubtless its effect when applied to ill-conditioned ulcers
led to the absui'd notion that it is curative of cancer.

CONOPHOLIS. —Cancer-Root.

Conopholis Americana Wallroth — Squaw-Root, Cancer-Root.

Desci^iption. — Calyx irregularly 4- to 5-toothed. Corolla tubular at the
base, 2-lipped, the upper lip 2-lobed, the lower 3-parted, spreading. Pod
2-valved, with 2 placentae on each valve.

Stem 4 to 7 inches high, thick, simple, covered with ovate-lanceolate,
acute scales, regularly imbricated like the scales of a pine cone : the upper
scales forming bracts to the flowers. Flowers in a thick scaly spike, ap-
pearing in May and June. The entire plant is chestnut-colored or yellow-
ish.

Habitat. — In oak woods.

Parts Used. — The entire plant — not official.

Constit uents. — Unknown.

Preparations. — Used in decoction or powder.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Like those of Beech-Drops, which see.

APHYLLON.— Naked Broom-Rapb.

Aphyllon unlflorum Torrey and Gray. — Naked Broom-Rape.

Description. — Calyx 5-cleft, regnlai*. Corolla with a long cuiwed tube,
the border 2-lipped, the upper lip deeply 2-cleft, the lower 3-cleft, pur-
plish-white. Stamens included. Capsule 2-valved, each valve with 2
placenttB.

Stem subteiTanean or nearly so, scaly, often branched, each branch
sending up 1 to 3 slender, 1-flowered scapes, 3 to 5 inches high. Flow-
ers and scapes glandular-pubescent ; they appear in April and May.

Habitat. — In dry woodlands ; common.

Parts Used. — The entire plant — not official.

Constituents. — Unknown.

Preparations. — Used in decoction or powder.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Like those of Beech-Drops, which see.

SCROPHULARIACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Herbs, rarely shrubs or trees, with opposite or
alternate, exstipulate leaves, and irregular, monopetalous flowers. Calyx
5-lobed, rarely i-lobed, persistent. Corolla 5-lobed, rarely 4-lobed, often
2-lipped or more or less irregular. Stamens 2 or 4, sometimes 5, inserted
on the tube of the corolla. Ovary firee, 2-celled ; style 1, undivided ; stig-
ma entire or 2-lobed. Pod 2-celled, many-seeded.

A large and widely distributed order. JMost of the species are bitter,

204

SCROPHULARIACE^.

some of them acrid, and others possess narcotic properties, so that it is
difficult to chai-acterize them in general terms.

VERB ASCUM. —Mullein.

Verbascum Thapsus Linn6. — Common Mullein.
Description. — Calyx 5-parted. Corolla sHghtly concave, wheel-shaped,
5-lobed, the lobes slightly irregular. Stamens 5, three of them with woolly

filaments, the others glabrous.
Style flattened at the apex. Pod
globular, many-seeded.

A stout, erect biennial, simple
or branched above, 2 to 4 feet
high, densely clothed with soft
wooUy hairs. Leaves oblong,
pointed, slightly toothed, nar-
rowed at the base into two wings
which run down the stem ; the
lower ones often petiolate, and 6
to 10 inches long. Flowers yel-
low, in a dense, woolly, terminal
spike, appearing throughout the
summer.

Habitat. — NaturaHzed from
Europe ; common everywhere.

Fai'tH Used. — The leaves and
flowers — not official.

Constituents. — Both leaves and
flowers contain mucilage ; the
flowers yield also a small amount
of yellow volatile oil.

Preparations. — Of the leaves :
an infusion ; they are also emploj^ed in the preparation of poultices. Of
the flowers : an infusion in oil is a popular preparation in some parts of
Continental Europe.

Medical Properties and Uses. — The chief, if not the only medicinal con-
stituent of mullein is its mucilage. This being admitted, the indications
for the therapeutic use of the plant are plain. It may be employed in all
cases requiring demulcents, and, if not as agreeable as some other agents
of this class, it will probably be of equal efficacy. The infused oil of the
flowers is probably no more active than oil in which flowers have not been
infused ; it is used as an embrocation in sprains and bruises.

Fio. 142.— Verbascum Thapsus.

VERONICA SPEEDWELL. 205

SCROPHULARLA.— FiGWORT.

Scrophularia nodosa Linne. — Figwort.

Description. — Calyx deeply 5-parted, the lobes rounded. CoroUar-tube
somewhat globular, twice the length of the calyx, the margin 5-lobed, the
2 upper lobes longer than the 2 lateral, the lower spreading. Stamens 4,
turned downward ; a fifth rudimentary stamen is situated at the summit
of the corolla-tube. Capsule 2-celled, 2-valved, many-seeded.

A coai'se, erect perennial herb, 2 to 3 feet high. Stem quadrangular.
Leaves opposite, large, broadly ovate, or cordate, pointed, doubly crenate
or serrate. Flowers greenish-purple, in loose cymes, forming a terminal
panicle ; they appear in summer.

Habitat. — In damp woods ; common. Found also in Europe and Asia.

Parts Used. — The leaves and root — not official.

Constituents. — A peculiar principle, scrophulai^in, and the common con-
stituents of plants.

Preparations. — Infusion and decoction.

.Medical Properties and Uses. — This plant derives its generic name from
its supposed efficacy in scrofula, a supposition long since proved to be
without foundation. If it have any active medicinal virtue, the fact is yet
to be ascertained.

CHELONE. —Turtle-Head.

Chelone glabra Linne. — Turtle-Head, Balmony.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 5, distinct, imbricated. Corolla inflated-
tubular, with the mouth but little open, 2-lipped, white ; the upper lip
arched, keeled in the middle, notched at the apex ; the lower lip 3-lobed,
woolly in the throat, the middle lobe smallest. Stamens, 4 perfect, woolly,
and a fifth smaller, sterile. Capsule ovate, many-seeded.

A smooth perennial. Stem upright, branching. Leaves opposite,
lanceolate, serrate, acuminate, narrowed at the base into a very short
petiole. Flowers white, or tinged with rose-color, in sessile spikes or
clusters, appearing from July till autumn.

Habitat. — In wet places ; common.

Fart Used. — The herb — not official.

Constituents. — A bitter principle which has not been isolated.

Preparations. — A decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Balmony is laxative or purgative, accord-
ing to the dose administered. Its therapeutic limitations are, as yet, in-
definite.

VERONICA . — Speedwell.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx 4-parted. Corolla rotate or salverform,
4-parted, the lateral lobes or the lower one narrower than the upper.
Stamens 2, one each side of the upper lobe of the corolla, exserted. Style

206 SCROPHULARIACE^.

entire. Capsule compressed, often obcordate, 2-celled, few- or many-
seeded.

Herbs, rarely shrubs, with opposite or whorled leaves. Flowers soli-
tary, axillary, or in racemes, blue, flesh-colored, or white.

Veronica Virginica Linnu (Leptandra Virginica Nuttall). — Culver's-
JRoof, Citlrers-Phijidc.

Description.— Tube of the corolla longer than its limb, and much longer
than the calyx. Both calyx and corolla sometimes 5-parted. Pod oblong-
ovate, not notched, opening by 4 teeth at the summit, many-seeded.

A perennial herb. Stem simple, erect, smooth, 2 to 5 feet high. Leaves
in whorls of 4 to 7, lanceolate, pointed, finely serrate. Flowers white, in
dense teiminal spicate panicled racemes, appearing in July and August.

Habitat — In rich, open woods, from Vermont to Wisconsin and south-
ward.

Fart Used. — The rhizome and rootlets Ofi&cial name : Leptandra —
United States Pharmac(ypoeia.

Veronica officinalis Linne. — Common Speedwell.

Description. — Corolla with a very short tube, the limb rotate, the lower
segment narrowest. Capsule obovate or obcordate, many-seeded.

A low perennial. Stem perennial at the base, much branched, creeping
and rooting at the nodes. Leaves opposite, short petioled, obovate-elliptical
or wedge-oblong, serrate, hairy. Flowers in axillary racemes, nearly ses-
sile, rather small, pale blue, rarely flesh-colored, appearing in midsummer.

Habitat. — On dry hills and in open woods ; common both in this coun-
tiy and in Europe and Asia.

Part Used. — The herb — not ofiicial.

These two species of veronica, differing very widely in habit, represent
the medicinal characters of the genus. V. virginica stands, as it were,
alone, all other species resembling each other to a greater or less extent.

Constituents. — Leptandra contains, in addition to the ordinary constitu-
ents of plants, a peculiar crystalline principle, leptandrin, having the bitter
and nauseous taste of the crude drug. Speedwell also contains a bitter
principle, but whether similar to, or identical with that of leptandra has
not been determined.

Preparations.— Oi leptandra : Extractum leptandrse— extract of lep-
tandra ; extractum leptandrse fluidum — fluid extract of leptandra. —
United States Pharmacopoeia. There is also a commercial iDreparation, er-
roneously called leptandrin, prepared by precipitation from the alcoholic
tincture. Speedwell is commonly administered in infusion or decoction.

Medical Properties and T'^-^.^.— When fresh, leptandra acts as a violent
emeto-cathartic, too violent, indeed, to be used with safety. When dried,
its drastic properties are much modified, and in this condition it is said to
be laxative and cholagogue. It is used in disorders of the digestive sys-
tem, especially when accompanied by hepatic torpor.

MENTHA — MINT. 207

Speedwell has been considered diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, etc.,
"but is seldom employed, and probably possesses very little medicinal
Tirtue.

LABIATE.

Character of the Order. — Herbs, rarely undershrubs, with square stems,
and opposite, exstipulate leaves. Calyx tubular, 5- to 10-toothed or 2-
lipped, persistent. Corolla more or less 2-lipped ; the upper lip 2-lobed, or
sometimes entire ; the lower 3-lobed. Stamens 4, didynamous, or by abor-
tion 2, inserted on the tube of the corolla. Ovary deeply 4-lobed ; style 2-
lobed at the apex. Fruit 4 seed-like nutlets or achenia, enclosed in the
calyx.

Foliage commonly dotted with glands containing aromatic volatile oil.
Flowers axillary, chiefly in cymose clusters, and these frequently aggre-
gated in terminal spikes or racemes.

A very large order of aromatic plants, wholly destitute of deleterious
or poisonous properties. Very many of them have been cultivated for
culinary or medicinal purposes from time immemorial, hence a large per-
centage of the valuable species at present inhabiting North America have
been introduced.

TEUCRIUM. —Germander.

Teucrium Canadense Linne. — American Germander, Wood-Sage.

Description. — Calyx oblique, unequally 5-toothed. Corolla with the 4
upper lobes nearly equal, oblong, turned forward ; the lower much larger.
Stamens 4, exserted from a cleft between the two upper lobes of the corolla.

An herbaceous perennial. Stem erect, 1 to 3 feet high. Leaves ovate-
lanceolate, acute, serrate, rounded at the base, petiolate ; the upper ones
scarcely longer than the calyx. Both stem and leaves hoary-pubescent.
Flowers pale purple to white, in wdiorls of about 6, crowded in a long sim-
ple raceme ; they appear about midsummer.

Habitat. — In low ground from Canada to Florida.

Parts Used. — The herb — not official.

Constituents. — A volatile oil, a bitter principle, and tannin.

Preparations. — Commonly employed in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Germander, both American and European
species, possesses the stimulant and aromatic properties of labiate plants
generally, and has been employed as a diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue,
«tc.

MENTHA. -Mint.

Character of the Genus. — Cah^ 5-toothed, regular or nearly so. Corolla
bell-shaped, with a short tube, the margin nearly equally 4-lobed. Stamens
4, erect, equidistant.

208

LABIATE.

Perennial herbs with flowers in dense whorls, an-anged in terminal or
axillaiy heads or spikes. Corolla pale purple or whitish.

Mentha piperita Linne. — Fejjperminl.

Description.— Smooth. Stem erect, 1 to 2 feet high. Leaves ovate-ob-
long, and lanceolate, serrate, petiolate. Inflorescence mostly terminal, ia
interrupted heads or spikes.

Fio. 143.— Mentha piperita.

Fig. 144.— Mentha viridis.

Habitat. — Naturalized from Europe ; growing in low grounds and wet
places. It is extensively cultivated in some sections of the country, nota-
bly in Wayne County, New York, for the sake of its volatile oil. It multi-
plies rapidly by means of underground shoots.

Mentha viridis Linne. — Spearmint.

Dei>cnption. — Nearly smooth. Stem erect, 1 to 2 feet high. Leaves
oblong-lanceolate, acute, unequally serrate, nearly sessile. Inflorescence
terminal, in narrow, interrupted spikes.

Habitat. — Naturalized from Europe ; growing in damp soil along road-
sides and in waste places.

Parts Used. — The leaves and tops of both species — United States
Ph armacopma.

Constituents.— ThQ only important constituent of mint is its volatile
oil.

LYOOPUS WATER HOREHOUND. 209

Preparations. — Of peppermint : Aqua mentbse piperitse — peppermint
water ; oleum menthae piperitse — oil of peppermint ; spiritus menthse
piperitse — spirit of peppermint; trochisci mentlise piperitse —troches of
peppermint. Of spearmint : Aquae menthse viridis — spearmint water ;
oleum menthae viridis — oil of spearmint ; spiritus menthie viridis — spirit
of spearmint. — United States Pharmacopcma. Both species are also fre-
quently used in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — The aromatic, stimulant, and carminative
properties of peppermint and spearmint render them useful in a great va-
riety of gastric and intestinal disorders characterized by colic pains. The
only difference between them is one of degree, spearmint acting much
more mildly than peppermint, and its flavor being to some people more
agreeable.

LYCOPUS.— Water Horehound.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx 4- to 5-toothed. Corolla nearly equally
4-lobed, about the length of the calyx. Stamens 2, with rudiments of 2
more. Achenia truncate at the apex.

Perennial herbs resembling mints, but wanting their aroma, and having
but 2 perfect stamens.

Lycopus Virginicus JAnne.—Bugleweed.

Description. — Calyx-teeth 4, ovate, obtuse, without a spine, shorter
than the achenia. Stem 6 to 18 inches high, obtusely 4-angled. Leaves
broadly-lanceolate, serrate, tapering at both ends, short petioled. Entire
plant smooth, often purphsh. Flowers very small, in small capitate clus-
ters, appearing in midsummer.

Habitat. — In wet places ; common.

Lycopus Europaeus Linne. — Water Horehound.

Description. — Calyx-teeth 5, triangular-lanceolate, rigid and pointed,
longer than the achenia. Stem 1 to 2 feet high, sharply 4-angled. Leaves
oblong-lanceolate, or lance-ovate, acute, sinuate-toothed or pinnatifid,
more or less petiolate. Flowers small and very numerous, in dense axil-
lary whorls. A very variable species.

Habitat. — In wet places ; common both here and in Europe.

Parts Used. — The herb of both species — not official.

Constituents. — These plants probably possess the ordinary constituents
of the labiatae, though there is evidently much less volatile oil than in
many plants of the order, and more bitterness.

Preparations. — Commonly administered in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Bugle weed is said to be sedative, tonic,
astringent, and narcotic, but upon what authority it is difficult to deter-
mine. Water horehound is said to be remedial in intermittent fever, but
the authority for the statement is doubtful. By virtue of their bitterness,
l)oth these plants may probably produce tonic effects ; and through their

OIQ LABIATE.

volatile oil they may relieve colic pains, as do the labiatse generally, but
that either of them is dii'ectly narcotic, sedative, or specific, is extremely
improbable.

CUNIL A. —Dittany.

Cunlla Mariana Linne. — Dittany.

Desanptioii.— Calyx equally 5-toothed, the throat densely hairy. Co-
rolla twice as long as the calyx, 2-Upped ; the upper lip erect, flat, emargi-
nate ; the lower 3-cleft, spreading. Stamens 2, erect, exserted, distant.

A perennial herb. Stems tufted, 1 to 2 feet high, much branched, pur-
phsh. Leaves ovate, seiTate, subsessile. Flowers purplish, in corymbed
cymes or clusters, appearing in midsummer.

Habitat.— Jn. dry, open woods, from New York to IlHnois and southward.

Palis Used.— The herb — not official.

Constituents.— A very fragrant volatile oil, and ordinary constituents of
the labiatne.

Preparations. — Commonly used in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Dittany acts, in every essential particular,,
like the mints, and is used for the same purposes.

PYCNANTHEMUM.— Mountain Mint.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx tubular 10- to 15-nerved, equally 5-
toothed or with the 3 upper teeth more or less united. Corolla 2-lipped ;
the upper lip nearly entire ; the lower trifid, the middle lobe longest, all
of them ovate, obtuse. Stamens 4, distant, the lower pair longer.

Erect, rigid, perennial herbs, corymbosely branched above. Flowers
numerous, in dense whorls, usually forming terminal heads or close cymes.

Pycnanthemum incanum Michaux. — Mountain Mint.

Description. — Calyx 2-Hpped, the teeth, together with the bracts, awl-
shaped, and bearded with spreading hairs.

Stem erect, 2 to 4 feet high. Leaves oblong-ovate, acute, remotely
toothed, downy above and hoary-tomentose beneath, the floral ones whit-
ened both sides. Flowers pale red, dotted with purple, in dense, flattened,
compound cymes, appearing in July and August.

Habitat. — Rocky woods and barrens from New England to Michigan
and southward.

Pycnanthemum linifolium Pursh. — Virginia Thyme.

Description. — Calyx equally 5-toothed, the teeth pointed. Corolla very
short.

Stem erect, 1 to 2 feet high. Leaves narrow, sessile, entire, rigid,,
crowded and clustered in the axils. Flowers whitish, collected in dense,
globular, often fascicled heads, crowded in terminal cymes, appearing in
August.

COLLINSONIA HORSE-BALM. 211

Habitat. — Massachusetts to Illinois and southward.

Parts Used. — The herb — not official.

Constituents. — Mountain -mint has a taste intermediate between that of
pennyroyal and spearmint, due to its volatile oil, its only important con-
stituent. Virginia thyme has much less aroma, and more bitterness ; it
contains volatile oil, tannin, a bitter principle, etc.

Preparations. — Used in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — The above-described species of pycnan-
themum, together with several others of similar properties, have been used
medicinally to a limited extent, for the same purposes as other labiate
plants are employed. As they are less agreeable than many others of the
order in common use, and are certainly no more efficient, they do not de-
mand serious attention.

HEDEOMA. — Mock Pennyroyal.

Hedeoma pulegioides Persoon. — American Pennyroyal.

Description. — Calyx 13-nerved, gibbous at the base, 2-lipped, the
throat bearded ; the upper lip 3-toothed ; the lower 2-cleft and spined.
Corolla 2-lipped ; the upper lip erect, flat, notched at the apex ; the lower
3-lobed, spreading. Stamens 2 fertile and 2 rudimentary.

A low annual. Stem erect, 6 inches high, branching. Leaves oblong-
ovate, obscurely serrate, petiolate. Flowers bluish, in few-flowered, axillary
whorls, appearing throughout the summer.

Habitat. — In dry fields and open woods ; everywhere common.

Parts Used. — The leaves and tops. — United States Pharmacopooeia.

Constituents. — Its chief and only important constituent is an aromatic
volatile oil.

Preparations. — Oleum hedeomse — oil of hedeoma (oil of pennyroyal). —
United States Pharmacopoeia. It is often administered in infusion.

ATedical Properties and Uses. — Pennyroyal is an aromatic stimulant,
long used in flatulence, and to stimulate menstruation. In the latter case
it is not to be considered as exerting, in any sense, a specific action, but
simply as stimulating the secretions through its general stimulant proper-
ties, and not through any special action upon the organs engaged in the
function of menstruation.

COLLINSONIA.— Horse-Balm.

Collinsonia Canadensis Linne. — Horse-Balm, Stone-Root.

Description. — Calyx 2-lipped ; the upper lip 3- toothed, the lower 2-cleft.
Corolla greenish-yellow, somewhat 2-Upped, the throat expanded ; the
upper lip nearly equally 4-lobed, the lower much larger, the margin
fringed. Stamens 2, rarely 4, much exserted.

212 LABIATE.

A perennial herb. Stem 2 to 3 feet high, somewhat branching above.
Leaves 3 to 8 inches long and 3 to 4 inches broad, ovate, serrate, acumi-
nate, the lower on long petioles, the upper almost or quite sessile. Flowers
racemose, the racemes disposed in a large panicle ; they appear in summer
and early autumn.

Habitat. — In rich, moist woods ; common.

FUrts Used.— The root and herb— not official.

Constituents. — When bruised this plant has a strong, somewhat dis-
agreeable odor, faintly suggestive of a lemon or lime. Like other labiates
its chief important constituent is a volatile oil. The constituents of the
root have not been ascertained.

I^-eparations.—'Ein-plojed in infusion and tincture.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Stone-root is said to be diuretic and
tonic, and, as its name implies, useful in calculous affections. It cer-
tainly possesses stimulant properties similar to those of many other labiate
plants, but whether anything beyond this is, as yet, a matter of conjecture.
The leaves doubtless owe aU their efficacy to their volatile oil

MONARD A. —Horse-Mint.

Monarda punctata Linne. — Horse-Mint.

Description.— Gsilyx tubular, elongated, somewhat curved, nearly equally
5 -toothed, hairy in the throat. Corolla elongated, strongly 2-lippecl, upper
hp erect, linear, the lower spreading, 3-lobed, the lateral lobes ovate, ob-
tuse, the middle one narrower. Stamens 2, inserted in the throat of the
corolla, not longer than its upper lip.

A perennial herb. Stem 2 to 3 feet high, branching, whitened by a fine
pubescence. Leaves lanceolate, tapering to a point, petiolate. Flowers
yellowish, the upper lip spotted with purple, in a few dense whorled
heads, surrounded with bracts ; they appear late in summer.

Habitat. — In sandy soil from New York to Illinois and southward.

Ihrt Used. — The herb — not official.

Constituents. — A pungent volatile oil.

Preparations. — Oleum monardse — oil of monarda. Formerly official.
It is also employed in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Horse-mint is, like other labiates, stimu-
lating and aromatic. Like them also it is employed to relieve colic pains,
and in hot infusion to induce diaphoresis, and to stimulate the menstrual
function.

NEPETA. —Catmint.

Character of the (7e7iM,9.— Calyx tubular, 15-nerved, obliquely 5-toothed,
the upper teeth usually longest. Corolla dilated in the throat, 2 lipped ;
the upper lip erect, sHghtly concave, notched or 2-lobed, the lower spread-

SCUTELLAEIA SKULLCAP. 213

ing, 3-lobed. Stamens 4, in pairs under the upper Up, the upper pair
longer.

Nepeta Cataria Linne. — Catnip, Catmint.

Description. — A perennial herb 1 to 2 feet high. Leaves ovate-cordate,
acuminate, coarsely serrate, petiolate, whitish downy underneath. Elow-
ers whitish, dotted with pur-
ple, in compact cymes, form-
ing short, oblong spikes at
the ends of the branches;
they appear in summer and
autumn.

Habitat. — In waste places
about dwellings ; naturalized
from Europe.

Nepeta G I ec ho ma
Bentham. — Ground Ivy, Gill-
o ver-the-ground.

Description. — A more or
less hairy perennial herb,
creeping and rooting at the
base. Leaves orbicular or
reniform, crenate, petiolate,
green both sides. Flowers
blue, in axillary whorls of
about 6, appearing early in
spring and summer.

Habitat. In waste places ^IQ- 145.^Nepeta Glechoma,

about dwellings ; naturalized from Europe.

Part Used. — The herb of both species — not official.

Constituents. —Their only important constituents are their volatile oils.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Catnip is chiefly used for its stimulant
effect in the flatulent colic of infants, and, in hot infusion, to promote
menstruation. Ground ivy formerly had some reputation in catarrhal
affections and in pulmonary consumption, but without substantial founda-
tion, for there is no evidence to support the idea that it possesses prop-
erties essentially different from those of the labiatao generally.

SCUTELLARIA. —Skullcap.

Scutellaria lateriflora JArmd.— Skullcap.

Description. — Calyx bell-shaped, 2-lipped, the lips entire, the upper
one with a helmet-like appendage on the back, and closed after flowering.
Corolla 2- lipped, the upper lip vaulted, the lower dilated, spreading, con-
vex, notched at the apex. Stamens 4, ascending under the upper lip.

214 LABIATE.

A perennial herb. Stem erect, much branched, nearly smooth, 1 to 2
feet high. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, seiTate, petiolate. Flow-
ers small, blue, in axillaiy and terminal, one-sided racemes, appearing
late in sununer.

Habitat. — In wet, shady places ; common.

Part Used. — The herb — United States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — Skullcap has less volatile oil and more bitterness than
most other labiate plants, but possesses no constituents essentially differ-
ent from them.

Preparations. — Extractum scutellari;x3 fluidum — fluid extract oi Scu-
tellaria.— United States Pharmacopoeia. Commonly used in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — This and several unofficial species of
skullcap have at various times been esteemed of medicinal value, but on
what would appear to be doubtful testimony. They are almost or quite
destitute of aromatic properties, so common in labiates, and hence, one
would suppose, less efficient than many other jolants of the order whose
medicinal virtues reside in their essential oils. Again, the diseases in
which Scutellaria has been found most efficient, namely, hysteria and
hydrophobia, add not a little to one's scepticism. Hysteria we know is
quite as often amenable to moral treatment as to drugs ; and much of the
hydrophobia which has been cured has been undoubtedly of a purely
imaginaiy character. K, then, these plants do really possess any valuable
medicinal properties, the fact is yet to be demonstrated.

MARRUBIUM. — HoREnouND.

Marrubium vulgare Linne. — Horehound.

Description. — Calyx tubular, 5- to lO-nerved, 5- to 10-toothed, the
teeth spiny, the alternate ones shorter. Corolla 2-lipped ; upper lip erect,
flatfish or concave, notched ; the lower spreading, 3-lobed, the middle
lobe broadest Stamens 4, included in the tube of the corolla.

A perennial herb. Stem ascending, hoary-pubescent, branching at the
base, 1 to 2 feet high. Leaves roundish ovate, crenate, petiolate. Flowers,
white, in capitate whorls, appearing late in summer.

Habitat. — In waste places ; naturalized from Europe.

Parts Used. — The leaves and tops — United States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — Volatile oil, a peculiar bitter principle, marruhiin, and
common vegetable principles.

Preparations. — Commonly administered in infusion, or syrup.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Horehound is stimulant, tonic, and
slightly laxative. In warm infusion it produces diaphoresis, and is often
used in this manner in the early stages of colds ; while its tonic influence,
when taken cold, has been found serviceable in clu-onic pulmonary dis-
eases.

IPOMCEA. 215

LEONURUS. —Motherwort.

Leonurus CardlacaLinne. — Motherwort.

Description. — Calyx 5-nerved, 5-toothed, the teeth when old stiff and
prickly. Corolla 2-Hpped ; the upper lip erect, concave, entire ; the lower
3-lobed, spreading. Stamens 4, ascending under the upper lip of the co-
rolla.

A perennial herb. Stem erect, slightly hairy, 2 to 4 feet high. Leaves
long-petioled ; the lower rounded, palmately lobed ; the upper cuneate at
the base, 3-cleft, the lobes lanceolate. Flowers pale purple, in close axil-
lary whorls, appearing in summer.

Part Used. — The herb — not official.

Constituents. — Volatile oil, a bitter principle, and common vegetable
constituents.

Preparations. — Commonly administered in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Motherwort is stimulant and slightly
tonic. In warm infusion it is occasionally used to promote diaphoresis.

CONVOLVULACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Chiefly twining or trailing herbs, rarely
shrubby, with alternate leaves or scales. Calyx of 5 imbricated sepals.
Corolla monopetalous, 5-plaited or 5-lobed, convolute in the bud. Sta-
mens 5, inserted in the tube of the corolla. Ovary free, 2-, rarely 3-celled
or sometimes 4-celled by a false partition. Fruit a 2- to 6-seeded capsule.

A large order of mostly tropical plants, many of which are cultivated
for ornament, and several, as jalap and scammony, possess important me-
dicinal properties.

IPOMCEA.

Ipomoea pan du rata Meyer — Wild Potato-Vine, Man-of-the-Earth.

Description. — Calyx : sepals ovate-oblong, obtuse, smooth. Corolla
open funnel-form, 3 inches long, white, the tube tinged with purple. Sta-
mens included. Capsule 2-celled, 4-seeded.

An herbaceous i^ereunial with a very large thick root. Stems long and
stout, trailing or twining. Leaves cordate, entire, somewhat acuminate, on
long petioles. Peduncles longer than the petioles, 1- to 5-flowered. The
flowers are produced during summer.

Habitat. — In sandy fields from Connecticut to Illinois and southward.

Part Used. — The root — not official.

Constituents. — The fresh root, when wounded, emits a milky, resinous
juice which probably contains its active principle.

Preparalions. — It has been administered in powder and in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — This j)lant, generically allied with jalap

016 SOLANACE^.

{Tpomcea Jalapa), possesses similar properties, but of a much less active
character. It has been used to a limited extent only, for it is much less
efficient than jalap and many other common purgatives.

SOLANACEiC.

Character of the Order. — Herbs, rarely shrubs, with colorless juice and
alternate leaves. Flowers generally regular, 5-merous, on pedicels without
bracts. Calyx commonly persistent. Corolla monopetalous, valvate or con-
volute in the bud, often plaited. Stamens inserted in the tube of the
corolla, equal in number to, and alternate with its lobes. Ovary free,
2-celled ; style and stigma single. Fruit a berry or pod.

A large order of chiefly tropical plants. In general they contain

narcotic principles ; a few of
them, as the potato, tomato,
and egg-plant, afford impor-
tant articles of food. Very
few of the strictly North
American species deserve
mention ; those described be-
low, though mostly intro-
duced, are so widely diffused,
and most of them so impor-
tant, that they may well be
considered, for our purposes,
as indigenous.

SOLANUM. —Nightshade.

Solanum Dulcamara

Linne. — Bittersweet.

Description. — Calyx per-
sistent, 5-lobed, the lobes ob-
tuse, purple. Corolla ro-
tate, 5-lobed, the lobes acute,
reflexed, purple, with two
green spots at the base ; the
tube very short. Stamens 5, short, black ; anthers yellow. Berry small,
ovoid or globular, red, several-seeded.

A somewhat shrubby perennial. Stems flexuous, traihng or climbing,
often several feet in length. Leaves petiolate, ovate or ovate-lanceolate,
2 to 3 inches long, the lower entire, the upper often with a small lobe or
segment on each side, glabrous or downy. Flowers rather small, in loose
cymes on lateral peduncles shorter than the leaves, appearing in midsum-
mer ; they have a heavy narcotic odor.

Fio. 146.— Solanura Dulcamara.

PHYSALIS — GROUND CHERRY. 21 7

Habitat. — In moist situations ; common. Introduced from Europe.

Farts Used. — The young branches — United States I^harmacopoeia.

Constituents. — As its common name indicates, this plant has a taste
which is j&rst bitter, then sweet. Its only important constituent thus far
discovered is a peculiar principle termed dulcamarin ; this has, to an intense
degree, the taste of the plant.

Preparations. — Extractum dulcamarse fluidum — fluid extract of dul-
camara.— United States Pharmacopoeia. The plant is frequently adminis-
tered in decoction.

Medical Properties and t^ses.— Bittersweet, in full doses, produces a
certain amount of cerebral disturbance of a narcotic character, together
with dryness of the throat, and sometimes an erythematous eruption of the
skin, with a tendency to diaphoresis. It has been employed with benefit in
a variety of cutaneous eruptions, in muscular rheumatism, and in chronic
bronchial and pulmonary affections.

This plant should be carefully distinguished from Woody Bittersioeet
(Gelastrus scandens), which see.

Another species of this genus, S. nigrum Linne (Black Nightshade), also
introduced, and very common in waste places around dwellings, is said to
possess similar properties.

PHYSALIS.— Ground Cherry.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx 5-cleft, persistent, enlarging after flower-
ing, and at length enclosing the berry. Corolla wheel-shaped or bell-
shaped, with a very short tube, the margin 5-lobed. Stamens 5, enclosed
in the tube of the corolla. Fruit a succulent, 2-celled berry. Annual or
perennial herbs.

Physalis Alkekengi Linne. — Strawhei^ry Tomato, Winter Cherry.

Description. — Calyx- teeth awl-shaped ; fruiting calyx much inflated,
membranaceous, turning red at maturity. Corolla-tube very short, cover-
ing the stamens. Berry globular, bright red, edible.

A perennial herb. Stem 1 to 1^ foot high, sparingly branched, more or
less pubescent. Leaves large, broadly ovate, pointed, somewhat narrowed
at the base. Flowers solitary, axillary, greenish-white, appearing late in
summer.

Habitat. — Introduced from Europe ; cultivated, and naturalized in waste
places.

Physalis Pennsylvanica Linne.

Description. — Calyx-lobes variable ; fruiting calyx conical or globular-
ovate, pointed, with an impressed base. Corolla 5-angled or barely 5- to
10-toothed ; the tube marked with five concave spots. Berry red.

A perennial herb. Stem 1 foot high, erect or diffuse, minutely pubes-
cent or nearly glabrous. Leaves ovate, oblong, or oblong-lanceolate and

218

SOLANACEJE.

tapering at the base, entire or sparingly repand-toothed. Flowers solitaiy,
axillary, greenish-yellow, darker in the centre, appearing late in summer.

Habitat. — In dry or sandy soil, from Pennsylvania to Florida and west-
ward.

Parts Used. — The herb and fruit of C. Alkekengi — not official.
Constituents. — The herb contains a peculiar bitter principle termed
physalin ; the berries sugar and citric acid.

Preparations. — The herb has been employed in powder, decoction, and
vinous tincture ; the fruit, fresh, or dried and powdered.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Physalis appears to be entirely destitute
of acrid and narcotic properties, so common in the solanacese. Alkekengi,
by virtue of its bitter principle, appears to be tonic and febrifuge. It has
been employed in Europe in intermittents with satisfactory results. The
berries are pleasant to the taste, and are cultivated for the same purposes
as other small fruits of the garden. They have been employed medicinally

in urinary diseases, and in gout,
but, considering their constitu-
ents, one would not naturally
expect them to be very active.

The indigenous species above
described probably possesses
similar properties. Several
other North American species
might also be included in the
same statement.

Fio. 147. — Hyoscyamus niger.

HYOSCY AMUS. —Henbane.

Hyoscyamus niger Linne.

— Henbane.

Description. — Calyx b e 1 1 -
shaped or urn-shaped, 5-lobed,
persistent, the lobes broad, stiff,
almost prickly. Corolla funnel-
form, about 1 inch long, the
border 5-lobed, and more or less plaited. Stamens decHned. Capsule
globular, enclosed in the persistent and enlarged calyx, 2-celled, many-
seeded, opening by a lid at the top.

An annual or biennial herb, erect, 1 to 2 feet higl], more or less hairy
and viscid, with a fetid, nauseous smell. Leaves rather large, sessile ; the
upper ones clasping, ovate, irregularly pinnatifid. Flowers sessile, in one-
sided leafy spikes ; corolla pale dingy -yellow, with purplish vines.
^a6i7a^.— Introduced from Europe ; naturalized in waste places.
Parts Used.— The leaves collected from j)lants of the second years'

DATURA,

219

growth — United States Pharmacopoeia. The seeds are also employed, and
were formerly official.

Constituents.— The only really important constituent of henbane ap-
pears to be the alkaloid hyoscyamia.

Preparations. — Abstractum hyoscyami — abstract of hyoscyamus ; ex-
tractum hyoscyami alcoholicum — alcoholic extract of hyoscyamus ; ex-
tractum hyoscyami fluidum — fluid extract of hyoscyamus ; tinctura hyos-
cyami— tincture of hyoscyamus ; hyoscyaminse sulphas — sulphate of hy-
oscyamine. — United States Pharmacopoeia.

Medical Projjerfies and Uses. — Hyoscyamus is anodyne and hypnotic,
and is used in a great variety of cases requiring a soothing effect upon the
nervous system. In general terms, it may be said to have been employed
formerty in nearly the same class of cases in which chloral and the bro-
mides are at pi'esent so largely used. As an anodyne it is much less power-
ful than opium, but has the advantage of being laxative rather than con-
stipating, and of producing no unpleasant after-effects. As a hypnotic it
is less efficient than chloral,
but also less dangerous, and
much less likely to lead to
the pernicious habit of tak-
ing sleeping potions.

Much of the uncertainty
attributed to hyoscyamus is
doubtless due to inefficient
preparations, made from old
and inert specimens of the
drug. Even hyoscyamia, the
active principle, is rather
unstable and unreliable.
Hence it is desirable that
jDreparations should be made
from the recent herb if pos-
sible.

DATURA.

Datura Stramonium

linne. — Stramonium^ Thorn-
Apple, Jamestown Weed.

Description. — Calyx tubular, 5-toothed, the upper part faUing off after
flowering, while a small portion remains as a circular rim about the base
of the capsule. Corolla funnel-form, spreading, plaited, about 3 inches
long, white, the margin 5-toothed. Fruit a globular, very prickly capsule,
4-valved, 2-celled, each cell incompletely divided into 2 others by a false

Fia. 148,— Datura Stramonium.

OOQ GENTIANACEiE.

IDartition extending nearly to the top. Seeds very numerous, rather large.
Hat.

A coarse glabrous annual. Stem erect, 1 to 3 feet liigli, with spread-
ing, forked branches, green. Leaves rather large, ovate, with irregular,
angular, or pointed teeth or lobes. Flowers solitary, on short peduncles,
^'d the forks or at the ends of the branches ; they have a sickening odor.

A plant differing from this only in being rather more robust, and in
having a purplish stem j^nd pale violet-purple flowers, is recognized by
some authors as a distinct species under the name Datura Tatula Linne.

Habitat. — Common in waste places. D. Stramonium is a native of
Asia ; D. Tatula is rather doubtfully attributed to tropical America.

Parts Used. — The leaves and seeds of D. Stramonium — United States
Pharmacopoeia. D. Tatula is just as efficient.

Constituents. — The most important constituent of stramonium is the al-
kaloid datuiiu, which is found in all parts of the plant. Daturia produces
effects similar to those of atropia, and is said by some chemists to be a
mixture of atropia and hyoscyamia.

Preparations. — Of the leaves — no official preparations. Of the seeds :
extractum stramonii — extract of stramonium ; extractum stramonii fluidum
— fluid exti'act of stramonium ; tinctura stramonii — tincture of stramo-
nium ; unguentum stramonii— stramonium ointment. — United States PJiar-
macopoeia.

Medical Properties and Uses. — In its effects upon the human system in
a state of health, stramonium closely resembles belladonna ; therapeuti-
cally, however, each of the two seems to have a sphere of its own. Stra-
monium is employed chiefly in spasmodic diseases, particularly those affect-
ing the respiratory organs. It is probably more used in spasmodic asthma
than in all other diseases taken together. Here it is not only employed
internally, but the leaves are often smoked, the smoke being inhaled, with
the happiest effect. It has also some reputation in whooping-cough, dys-
menorrhoea, renal colic, etc. Externally the freshly bruised leaves and
ointment are often employed in rheumatism and other painful affections.

GENTIANACEiC.

Character of the Order. — Herbs with opposite, entire, simple, usually
ribbed leaves, without stipules. Calyx divided, persistent. Corolla wither-
ing-persistent, convolute, rarely imbricate or valvate in the bud. Stamens
of the same number as the lobes of the corolla, alternate with them, and
inserted on its tube. Ovary 1 -celled, with 2 parietal placentee, or with
nearly the whole inner face of the ovary bearing ovules ; style 1 ; stigmas
2. Fruit commonly a 2-celled, many-seeded pod.

A large order of plants, generally possessing bitter tonic properties.

FRASERA — AMERICAN COLUMBO. 221

SABBATIA.— American Centaury.

Sabbatia angularis Pursh. — American Centaury.

Description. — Calyx deeply 5-parted. Corolla deeply 5-parted, the oval
lobes twice the length of the calyx. Stamens 5, inserted on the short
corolla-tube ; anthers oblong, soon recurved. Style longer than the sta-
mens, dechned ; stigmas 2. Capsule 1-celled, 2-valved.

A smooth biennial. Stem erect, 1 to 2 feet high, square, the angles
winged ; branches axillary, opposite. Leaves ovate, entire, somewhat cor-
date and clasping at the base. Flowers numerous, large and showy, rose-
pink, forming a large corymb ; they appear late in summer.

Habitat. — In rich dry soil from New York to Illinois and southward.

Fart Used. — The herb — not official.

Constituents. — This, and probably all other species of sabbatia, contains
a bitter principle which has not, as yet, been isolated, to which their medici-
nal virtue is due.

Preparations. — Commonly administered in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — American centaury is a simple bitter
tonic. It was, in early days, used in intermittent and remittent fevers,
and probably, like other agents of the same class, sometimes with curative
effect. At present it is seldom employed, though it might doubtless be
occasionally beneficial as a promoter of the appetite, and an aid to diges-
tion in cases of debility and in convalescence. Several other indigenous
species are said to possess similar or identical properties.

FRASERA. — American Columbo.

Frasera Carolinensis Walter. — American Columbo.

Description. — Calyx 4-parted, persistent. Corolla rotate, 4-parted, the
lobes oblong, mucronate, each with a depressed fringed gland on the upper
face. Stamens 4, alternate with the lobes of the corolla. Style persistent ;
stigmas spreading. Capsule oval, compressed, 1-celled, 2-valved ; seeds
few, large, borne on the margins of the valves.

A smooth perennial herb, with a large spindle-shaped root. Stem cylin-
drical, erect, 3 to 8 feet high, with leaves and branches mostly in whorls
of four. Leaves sessile, lance-oblong, the lowest spatulate. Flowers
greenish-yellow, dotted with purple, in cymes disposed in a large pyram-
idal panicle, appearing in midsummer.

Habitat. — In rich dry soil, from Southern New York to Georgia and.
westward.

Part Used. — The root — formerly official, but dropped from thePhanna-
copoeia in 1880.

Constituents. — Gentisic acid, and gentiopicrin, both of which are found

222 GENTIANACE^.

also in gentian, the latter being a bitter principle, and apparently the most
important medicinal constituent of the plants.

Preparations. — Commonly administered in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — In the recent state, American columbo
is said to be emetic and cathartic, but when dried it appears to possess
only bitter tonic properties similar to those of gentian. In the recent
state, it has been employed as a substitute for rhubarb, but it is, at best,
a poor one ; while, as a tonic, the dried drug is much inferior to gentian
or true columbo.

GENTIAN A. —Gentian.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx 4- to 5-cleft. Corolla 4- to 5-lobed,
usually with intermediate smaller segments. Stamens 4 to 5. Ovary
1 -celled ; style short or absent ; stigmas 2, persistent. Fruit a 1-celled,
2-valved, many-seeded capsule.

Perennial herbs with opposite, ribbed leaves. Flowers solitary or
cymose, commonly blue, though sometimes white, yellow, or even red,
appearing late in summer or in autumn.

All gentians are more or less bitter, and all possess medicinal activity,
though few indigenous species have been subjected to experiment. Those
described below are selected more as common representatives of the genus
as found in different sections of the country than because of their reputa-
tion as therapeutic agents.

Gentlana crinita Froel. — Fringed Gentian.

Description. — Calyx 4-cleft, the lobes unequal, ovate and lanceolate, as
long as the tube of the corolla. Corolla funnel-form, deeply 4-parted, the
lobes obovate, wedge-shaped, the summit finely and beautifully fringed.
Stamens 4 ; filaments as long as the corolla-tube. Pod short-stalked.

Stem erect, smooth, 1 to 2 feet high. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, some-
what cordate or rounded at the base. Flowers solitary on long peduncles,
terminating the stem or simple branches. Corolla 2 inches long, sky-blue,
showy.

Habitat. — In low grounds from New England to Wisconsin and south-
ward. A common and very beautiful species,

Gentlana ochroleuca Yroei.— Yellowish-white Gentian.

Description. — Calyx 5-parted, the lobes linear, unequal, erect. Corolla
bell-shaped, with plaited appendages between the lobes, one-third or one-
half longer than the calyx. Anthers erect, separate.

Stem ascending i to 1 foot high, mostly smooth. Leaves oblong or
obovate-oblong, narrowed at the base, the upper ones narrower and acute.
Flowers in a dense terminal cluster, and in axillary clusters. Corolla
open, 1 to 1^ inch long, greenish-white, striped with green and purple
veins within.

Habitat. — In dry grounds from Southern Pennsylvania southward.

MENYANTHE8. 223

Gentiana Andrews!! Grisebach. — Closed Gentian.

Description. — Calyx 5-parted, the lobes ovate, recurved, shorter than
the tube. Corolla inflated club-shaped, closed at the mouth, the broad,
short, rounded lobes remaining in apposition and concealing the interme-
diate fringed appendages. Anthers connivent. Pod at length projecting
from the persistent corolla.

Stem erect, smooth, simple or sparingly branched, 1 to 2 feet high.
Leaves ovate-lanceolate, acute, narrowed at the base. Flowers in terminal
and axillary clusters ; corolla 1 to IJ inch long, pale blue, sometimes white.

Habitat. — In rich moist situations ; the most common species north-
wai'd.

Gentiana puberula Michaux {G. Cateshcei Elliott). — Blue Gentian.

Description. — Calyx 5-parted, the lobes lanceolate, about as long as the
tube. Corolla large, open, the lobes ovate, spreading, 2 to 4 times as long
as the cut-toothed appendages. Anthers connivent.

Stem erect or ascending, 1 to IJ foot high, rough or slightly pubes-
cent. Leaves lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, rough-margined. Flowers
in axillary and terminal clusters ; corolla bright blue, lined with yellow and
deeper blue.

Habitat. — Dry prairies and barrens from Ohio to Wisconsin and south-
ward.

Part Used. — The root — not official. That of the last described species
was formerly official, but was dropped from the Pharmacopoeia in 1880.

Constituents. — Nothing of a positive nature is known of the chemical
constituents of these plants, though they are supposed to be identical with
those of the official species, G. lutea.

Preparations. — Water extracts the bitter principle of these plants, hence
they may be employed in infusion or decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — There is probably no other difference
than of degree between the therapeutic effect of these and the official
species, and they may be employed for like j^urposes.

MENYANTHES.

Menyanthes trifoliata LinnG. — Buckbean, Marsh Trefoil.

Description. — Calyx 5-parted, the lobes obtuse. Corolla rotate or short
funnel-form, more than twice as long as the calyx, 5-pai'ted, deciduous,
the upper surface white bearded, the lobes valvate in the bud with the
margins turned inward. Stamens 5, as long as the corolla. Style slender,
l^ersistent ; stigma 2-lobed. Capsule 1 -celled, many-seeded, bui'sting ir-
regularly.

An herbaceous perennial with a long, round, jointed, horizonital rhi-
zome, with numerous fibrous rootlets. Leaves trifoliate, upon long sheath-
ing petioles, which proceed from the end of the rhizome ; leaflets oval or

224 LOGANIACE^.

oblong, entire or bluntly denticulate, smooth. Flowers racemose on a
naked scape 1 foot high, white or reddish, appearing in May or June.

Habitat. In bogs from New England to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and

northward.

Parts Used. — The rhizome and leaves — not official

Constituents. — A bitter principle, termed menyanthin, appears to be
the only active constituent.

Preparatims. — Infusion, decoction, and alcoholic tincture.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Buckbean possesses the bitter tonic
properties common to the gentianacese, and also has some cathartic power,
hence it may be used in cases requiring a tonic and laxative effect.

LOCANIACE^.

Character of the Order. — Herbs, shrubs, or trees, with opposite, entire,
stipulate leaves. Calyx 4- to 5-parted. Corolla 4- to 5-cleft or parted, con-
volute, valvate, or imbricate in the bud. Stamens 4 to 5, not always of
the same number as the lobes of the corolla. Ovary free from calyx. Fruit
a capsule or berry.

An order of plants inhabiting the tropics chiefly, generally possessing
active poisonous properties. Strychnos, Gelsemium and SpigeHa are weU-
known examples.

GELSEMIUM. — Yellow Jessamine.

Gelsemium sempervirens Alton. — Yellow Jessamine.

Description. — Calyx small, 5-parted, the lobes lanceolate, acute. Corolla
funnel-form, f to 1^ inch long, the margin 5-lobed, the lobes imbricated
in the bud. Stamens 5, half as long as the corolla, upon which they are
inserted ; anthers oblong, sagittate. Style longer than the stamens ; stig-
mas 2, each 2-parted. Pod elliptical, flattened contrary to the partition,
2-celled, 2-valved, many-seeded.

A smooth, twining, shrubby perennial. Leaves opposite, entire, ovate
or lanceolate, petiolate, smooth and shining, nearly evergreen. Flowers
showy and fragrant, in short axillary clusters ; pedicels with scaly bracts.
The flowers appear in March and April.

Habitat. — In low grounds from Virginia to Florida ; often cultivated for
ornament.

Parts Used. — The rhizome and rootlets — United States Pharmacopceia.

Constituents. — In addition to common vegetable principles, there exist
in gelsemium a peculiar alkaloid, gelseminia and gelseminic add, the latter
being identical with cesculin, a principle found in the horse-chestnut.

Preparations. — Extractum gelsemii fluidum — fluid extract of gelsemium ;
tinctura gelsemii — tincture of gelsemium. — United States Pharmacopceia.

PLATE Vli

i...iohnson.Dei. GELSEMIUM S E M PE R V I R E N S.

PLATE VII.— Celsemium sempervirens.

Fig. 1. — A flowering branch.

Fig. 2.— Calyx and pistil.

YiQ. 3.— Corolla with stamens— all natural size.

SPIGELIA PINKROOT. 227

Medical Properties and Uses. — Gelsemium is a very powerful drug
•whose therapeutic hmitations are not, as yet, accui-ately defined. In toxic
(Joses — and, unfortunately, these have been only too frequently adminis-
tered— it produces paralysis of both motion and sensation, without, how-
ever, greatly affecting the mind, except in rare instances. In fatal cases,
after motion is entii'ely destroyed, the respiration becomes progressively
more and more labored, and finally ceases from paralysis of the respiratory
muscles. Occasionally death is preceded by convulsions and coma, but
usually the mind is clear nearly to the last. These severe effects of the
drug, moreover, have not always borne a definite relation to the size of
the dose administered. In other words, there seems to be an amount of
uncertainty about the action of the drug which, on the one hand, adds to
its danger, and on the other, detracts from its value as a therapeutic agent.
In some cases, quite unexpectedly, poisonous effects have followed doses
supposed to be far within the limits of safety ; in oiiiers, much larger doses
have failed to produce the therapeutic effects desired and expected. Re-
garding its therapeutic applications, rejecting, as we reasonably may, aU
its claims to specific effect in certain diseases, there seems to remain no
other just place for it except in febrile and inflammatory affections of a
decided sthenic type. That in such cases it may moderate or subdue
febrile action, through its powerfully depressant effects, is veiy evident ;
but that the desired results can be obtained more readily and more safely
by this drug than by several other better-known and more certain agents,
certainly requires demonstration. Meanwhile the judicious physician will
suspend judgment, or, at least, experiment with great caution.

SPIGELIA. — PiNKROOT.

Spigelia Marilandica Linne. — Pinkroot.

Description. — Calyx deeply 5-parted, the lobes very slender, pointed,
persistent. Corolla five times as long as the calyx, tubular funnel-form,
somewhat inflated toward the summit, the border with 5 acute, spreading
segments. Stamens 5, very short, inserted in the mouth of the corolla
and alternate with the segments. Ovary small, ovate, free ; style longer
than the corolla, slender, jointed near the middle, hairy above. Capsule
double, consisting of 2, cohering, 1-celled, few-seeded cai-pels which sepa-
rate at maturity, and open loculicidally.

An herbaceous perennial, with a short rhizome, beset with numerous
fibrous rootlets. Stems several from the same rhizome, erect, ^ to 1|- foot
high, simple. Leaves opposite, sessile, ovate, acuminate, entire, smooth,
with the margins and veins somewhat pubescent. Flowers spiked, in one-
sided cymes ; the spikes simple or forked, short, appearing in June and
July. The corolla is 1^ inch long, scarlet or ciimson without, yellow
within, and very showy.

228

APOCYNACEiE.

Habitat.— In rich woods from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin and south-
ward.

Farts Used.— The rhizome and rootlets— United States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — A peculiar bit-
ter principle, volatile oil, resin,
tannin and other common vege-
table principles. Upon which
of its chemical constituents its
therapeutic virtues depend is
not known.

Preparations. — Extr actum
spigelia fluidum — fluid extract
of spigelia. — United States Phar-
macopoeia. It is most commonly-
administered in infusion or de-
coction.

Medical Properties and Uses.
— Spigelia enjoys a high reputa-
tion among the laity as a remedy
for lumbricoid worms, but, as it
is commonly administered with
senna, there is a difference of
opinion as to which of the drugs
is the more active agent in the
destruction of the worms. How-
ever this may be, spigelia is certainly entitled to a share of the credit. It is
even capable of producing toxic effects upon the human subject, such as
drowsiness, muscular tremor, strabismus, and convulsions, hence the prac-
tice of administering it in large and often-repeated doses to young chil-
dren, upon the bare suspicion of the presence of worms, cannot be too
strongly condemned.

Pig. 149.— Spigelia Marilandica.

APOCYNACEiE.

Character of the Order. — Plants with opposite, rarely alternate, exstipu-
late leaves, and generally an acrid, milky juice. Calyx 5-parted. Corolla
5-parted, the lobes convolute in the bud. Stamens 5, inserted on the co-
rolla ; filaments distinct. Ovaries 2, distinct, but with styles united. Finiit
a pod.

A large order of chiefly tropical plants, represented in North America
by only a few genera.

APOCYNUM. —Dogbane.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx 5-parted, small, the lobes acute. Co-
rolla 5-cleft, bearing 5 triangular scales in the throat opposite the lobes.

APOCYNUM DOGBANE. 229

Stamens 5, inserted on the base of the corolla ; filaments flat, shorter than
the sagittate anthers. Style none ; stigma large, slightly 2-lobed. Fniit
consists of 2 long, coriaceous pods ; seeds numerous, ovoid, with a long
tuft of silky down at the apex.

Perennial herbs with upright, branching stems, opposite, mucronate-
pointed leaves, tough fibrous bark, and small, pale, terminal or axillary
flowers, on short pedicels.

Apocynum androsaemifolium Linne. — Dogbane.

Description. — Stem 2 to 3 feet high, smooth, often purplish, with
forked branches above. Leaves ovate, petiolate, smooth or somewhat
downy. Flowers in loose spreading cymes ; corolla bell-shaped, the lobes
revolute, the tube longer than the ovate, pointed segments of the calyx,
pale rose-color, appearing in June and July.

Habitat. — In copses, and borders of woods ; common.

Apocynum cannabinum Linne. — Indian Hemp.

Description. — Stem and branches erect or ascending, 2 to 3 feet high,
smooth. Leaves oblong or oblong-lanceolate, obtuse or rounded, or the
uppermost acute at both ends, petiolate. Flowers smaller than in the pre-
ceding, in close, many-flowered cymes ; corolla-lobes nearly erect, the tube
not longer than the lanceolate segments of the calyx, greenish-white, ap-
pearing in July and August. A somewhat variable species.

Habitat. — In shady places ; common.

Part Used. — The root of A. cannabinum — United States Pharmacopoeia,
The root of the other species is also used.

Constituents. — The active principles of these plants have not been iso-
lated.

Preparations. — They are usually employed in decoction.

Medical Pi^operties and Uses. — A. cannabinum is diaphoretic, diuretic,
emetic, and cathartic. It has been used chiefly in dropsy, and is said to
possess some advantages over many hydi'ogogues in that it acts not only
upon tlie bowels but powerfully also upon the skin and kidneys. The
other species possesses similar properties, but is believed to be less active.

ASCLEPIADACE^.

Character of the Order. — Plants with opposite or whorled, rarely scat-
tering, exstipulate leaves, and a milky juice. Calyx 5-parted. Corolla 5-
parted, the lobes commonly valvate in the bud. Stamens 5, inserted in
the corolla ; filaments commonly united into a tube which encloses the
pistil ; anthers adherent to the stigma ; poUen cohering into granular or
wax-like masses. Fruit a pod.

A large order of chiefly tropical plants, represented in North America
by only a few comparatively unimportant genera.

230 ASCLEPIADACE^.

ASCLEPIAS. —Milkweed.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx 5-parted, persistent, the lobes small,
spreading. Corolla deeply 5-parted, the lobes bent downward toward the
stalk ; within the petals are 5 hooded processes, each with an incurved
horn, forming what is called the crown, and enclosing the stamen-tube.
Stamens 5, inserted in the base of the corolla ; filaments united into a tube
which encloses the pistil ; anthers adherent to the stigma, each with 2
vertical cells, each cell containing a flattened pear-shaped mass of pollen.
Ovaries 2 ; styles united ; stigma 1, fleshy, 5-angled. Follicles 2, one of
them often abortive, ovate or somewhat curved, spindle-shaped ; seeds nu-
merous, tufted with soft silky hairs.

Perennial herbs with thick, deep-growing roots. Flowers terminal or
lateral in simple, many-flowered umbels.

Asclepias cornuti Decaisne {A. Syii^ca Linne). — MUkiveed, Silkweed,

Description. — Hoods of the crown ovate, obtuse, with a lobe or tooth
on each side of the short and stout horn. Pods ovate, woolly, and rough,
with soft spines. Stem simple, erect, stout, 3 to 4 feet high. Leaves op-
posite, oblong-ovate, with short petioles, smooth above, minutely downy
beneath, pale green. Umbels many-flowered, terminal and lateral in
pedicels shorter than the leaves ; flowers greenish-purple, appearing in
midsummer.

Habitat. — Common everywhere.

Asclepias incarnata Linne. — Swamp Milkweed.

Desenption. — Hoods of the crown scarcely as long as the slender,
pointed horn. Pods commonly smooth and glabrous. Stem erect, branch-
ing, 2 to 3 feet high, leafy to the top. Leaves opposite, oblong-lanceolate,
acute or pointed, obtuse or obscurely cordate at the base, with short peti-
oles. Umbels numerous, erect, mostly terminal, often in opposite pairs ;
flowers rose-purple, appearing in midsummer.

A somewhat variable species, sometimes more or less hairy-pubescent,,
again nearly smooth.

Habitat. — In wet, swampy places ; common.

Asclepias tuberosa JAmid.—ButterJiyweed— Pleurisy-Root.

Description. — Hoods of the crown narrowly oblong, scarcely longer than
the nearly erect, slender, pointed horns, bright orange; corolla lobes
greenish-orange. Pods lanceolate, hoary. Stems numerous from a large
fleshy rhizome, 1 to 2 feet high, very leafy. Leaves numerous, scattered,
some of them opposite, oblong-lanceolate or linear, sessile or short-petioled.
Umbels corymbose at the summit of the stem and branches ; flowers very
showy, appearing late in summer.

Habitat. — In dry fields, and along roadsides ; common southward.

Part Used. — The root of A. tuberosa — United States Pharmacopoeia,
The roots of A. incarnata and A. cornuti were formerly official, but were

FRAXINUS ASH. 231

dismissed from the Pharmacopoeia in 1880. They are probably little less
efficient than the official species.

Constituents. — A. tuberosa has yielded to analysis, besides common
vegetable principles, two resins, and a peculiar principle possessing the
taste of the root. The other species have been analysed with somewhat
similar results.

Preparations. — None are official. They are commonly administered in
decoction. Extracts and oleo-resinous preparations occur as commercial
articles.

Medical Properties and. Uses. — The various species of asclepias have
been employed with diuretic, diaphoretic, expectorant, emetic, and even
purgative effect. They have also been credited, though on insufficient
grounds, with specific action in certain diseases. Their diaphoretic
effects have been found useful in acute pulmonary and bronchial affections
and in rheumatism.

OLEACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Trees or shrubs with opposite, simple or com-
pound leaves, and perfect or unisexual flowers. Calyx 4-cleft, sometimes
obsolete. Corolla 4-cleft, or of 4 separate petals, sometimes w^anting.
Stamens 2, rarely 3 or 4. Ovary free, 2-celled, commonly 2-ovuled.
Fruit drupaceous, baccate, capsular or samaroid.

An order, taking its name from the oHve {Olea Europcea), which com-
prises about 20 genera and 150 species, mostly natives of temperate regions.
Its most important representatives in North America are found in the
genus

FRAXINUS.— Ash.

Fraxinus Americana Linne. — White Ash.

Description. — Calyx minute, 4- toothed, persistent. Corolla wanting.
Stamens 2, rarely 3 or 4. Style single, stigma 2-cleft. Fruit a samara, flat-
tened, winged at the apex, 1- to 2-seeded.

A large tree, 60 to 80 feet high, with gray furrowed bark, smooth gray
branehlets, and rusty-colored buds. Leaves 12 to 14 inches long, un-
equally pinnate ; leaflets 7 to 9, ovate or lance-oblong, pointed, entire,
rarely denticulate, light-green above, pale and either smooth or pubescent
underneath. Flowers dioecious, in crowded panicles or racemes, from the
axils of the preceding year's leaves. Fruit terete below, expanded above
into a lanceolate, oblanceolate, or wedge-linear wing.

Habitat. — River banks and margins of swamps from Canada to Florida.

Part Used. — The inner bark — not official.

Constit uen ts. — Unknown .

Preparations. — It has been used in infusion and vinous tincture.

232 ARISTOLOCHIACE^.

Medical Properties and Une.^. — The bark of white ash has been used
with asserted benefit in dysmenorrhsea, but as so many other drugs have
attained a short-Hved reputation in this affection, only to fall into disre-
pute when subjected to more extended experiments, this one may be ex-
pected to follow them. Still it appears desirable that the American ashes
be investigated, since at least two European species are possessed of valu-
able medicinal properties, one of them, F. ornus Linnc, furnishing the
manna of commerce. Several of our species have been used to some ex-
tent, both in domestic and regular practice, but the results are as yet in-
definite.

Division HE. — Apetalous Exogenous Plants.

Corolla wanting, the calyx being the only floral envelope ; sometimes
even this is absent, and then the flower is naked.

ARISTOLOCHIACE>E.

Character of the Order. — Low herbs or twining plants with apetalous,
perfect flowers. Calyx valvate in the bud, and coherent with the 6-ceUed
ovary. Stamens 6 to 12, more or less united with the style. Fruit a 6-
celled, many-seeded pod or berry.

A small order of chiefly tropical plants, represented in North America
by two genera, namely Asarum and Aristolochia, both comprising medici-
nal species.

ASARUM.— Wild Ginger.

Asarum Canadense Linne. — Wild Ginger.

Description. — Calyx bell-shaped, 3-parted, the lobes pointed, abruptly
spreading, dull purple inside ; at each sinus ie usually a small awl-shaped
appendage. Stamens 12 ; filaments slender, united with the base of the
styles, the latter united into one, 6-lobed at the summit, with 6 radiating
stigmas. Fruit a fleshy, globular pod, bursting irregularly.

A low, stemless, perennial herb with a creeping rhizome. Leaves a
single pair, radical, membranaceous, reniform, more or less pointed, 4 to
5 inches wide when full-grown, on long petioles. Flower solitary, on a
short petiole, appearing early in spring.

Habitat. — In rich upland woods ; common northward.

Parts Used.~The rhizome and rootlets. Formerly official but dropped
from the Pharmacopoeia in 1880.

Constituents. — An aromatic volatile oil and an acrid resin, besides com-
mon vegetable principles.

ARISTOLOCHIA — BIRTHWORT.

233

Preparations. — Commonly administered in infusion.

Medical J^operties and Cses. —Wild ginger has a peculiar, pungent, aro-
matic taste, and is an aromatic stimulant. In hot infusion it produces
diaphoresis, and may relieve the pains of colic. It is, however, less agree-
able to most persons than many other drugs of its class, and scarcely de-
serves to rank as a medicinal agent.

ARISTOLOCHIA.— BiRTHWORT.

Aristolochia Serpentaria Linne. — Virginia Snakeroot.

Description. — Calyx tubular, contorted, bent in the shape of the letter
S, dilated at both extremities, the limb 5-lobed, and somewhat 2-iipped.
Stamens 6, the sessile anthers ad-
herent to the 3-lobed sigma. Pod
G-valved, 6 -angled, many-seeded.

A perennial herb. Stems sev-
eral, from a short, fibrous-rooted
rhizome ; they are simple or
slightly branched, flexuous, some-
what swollen at the joints, about
one foot high, often tinged with
red, especially near the base.
Leaves alternate, ovate or oblong,
cordate or halberd-shaped at the
base, pointed, entire, petiolate.
Flowers near the root, axillary,
on short peduncles, of a stiff
leathery texture and a dull brown-
ish-i3urple color, appearing in mid-
summer.

Habitat. — In rich woods from
Connecticut to Indiana and south-
ward ; most common along the
Alleghanies.

Farts Used. — The rhizome and rootlets.
United States Pharmacojxeia.

Constituents. — A small proportion of volatile oil, an amorphous bitter
principle, and common vegetable constituents.

Preparations. — Extractum serpentarise fluidum — fluid extract of ser-
pentaria ; tinctura serpentarise — tincture of serj^entaria. One of the
constituents of tinctura cinchonse composita — compound tincture of cin-
chona.— United States Pharmacopoeia. An infusion was formerly official.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Serpentaria is a stimulant tonic, but may
also produce diaphoretic, diuretic, or emetic effects, according to the dose

Fig. 150. — Aristolochia Serpentaria.

Official name : Serpentaria —

234 PHYTOLACCACE^.

and manner of administration. It was formerly employed in fevers of a
typhoid character, but is now little used, except in bronchial and pulmo-
nary aflfections of an adynamic character.

PHYTOLACCACE^.

Character of the Order. — Herbs or undershrubs much resembling the
following order — Chenopodiacete — but having a many-celled, many-ovuled
ovary, which in fruit forms a berry. Kepresented in North America by
the genus

PHYTOLACCA. — Pokeweed.

Phytolacca decandralinne. — Pokeweed, Scokeweed, Garget, Pigeon-
berry.

Description. — Calyx : sepals 5, rounded, white, petaloid. Corolla ab-
sent. Stamens 10, rather shorter than the sepals. Ovary of 10 carpels
united in a ring ; styles 10, short, recurved. Fruit a depressed-globose
beriy, dark purple, 10-seeded.

A smooth, stout perennial herb with hollow stems and large fleshy
roots. Stem much branched, 3 to 8 feet high, at first green but becoming
purplish with age. Leaves scattered, ovate-oblong, entire, acute, smooth
both sides, petiolate. Flowers in long racemes opposite the leaves, ap-
pearing in summer. The berries ripen in autumn, and are filled with
crimson juice.

Habitat. — Common everywhere.

Farts Used. — Phytolaccse bucca — phytolacca berry ; phytolaccse radix —
Phytolacca root— United States Pharmacopceia.

Constituents. — The active principle of poke has not yet been isolated.

Preparations. — None are official. Both the berries and root have been
employed in decoction and in tincture, and the root has been used also in
the form of an ointment.

Medical Properties and Uses. — All parts of the plant possess acrid and
somewhat narcotic properties. The juice of the fresh plant, or a strong
decoction of the root, applied locally, may strongly irritate the skin, espec-
ially if tender or abraded. Taken internally it produces nausea, vomiting,
and purging, and, in overdoses, acro-narcotic poisoning. It has been em-
ployed with more or less satisfactory results in a great variety of cutaneous
affections, and in rheumatism, especially when chronic or of a syphilitic
origin. There is little doubt that, in view of the uncertainty which at f>res-
ent exists regarding it, this plant would well repay further careful experi-
mentation.

CHENOPODIUM — GOOSEFOOT, PIGWEED. 235

CHENOPODIACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Chiefly herbs, rarely undershrubs, with mostly
alternate, exstipulate leaves. Calyx deeply divided, sometimes tubular at
the base, persistent, commonly enclosing the fruit. Stamens generally of
the same number as the lobes of the calyx, and inserted opposite them or
on their base. Ovary free, 1-celled, with a single ovule attached to its
base ; styles or stigmas 2, rarely 3 to 5. Fruit a thin utricle, rarely an
achenium.

A large order, comprising many common weeds, and a few plants, as
the beet, spinach, and chenoi^odium of economic importance.

CHENOPODIUM.— GoosEFOOT, Pigweed.

Character of the Genus, — Calyx 5-cleft, rarely 2- to 4-cleft or parted,
more or less enveloping the fruit. Stamens commonly 5. Styles 2, rarely
3. Seed round, flattened.

Coarse, weedy plants, usually somewhat succulent, and with a white
mealiness, or viscid glandular. Flowers small, greenish; numerous, sessile.
in clusters collected in terminal spikes.

Chenopodium ambrosioides Linne (Var. Anthelminticum
Gray). — Wormseed.

Description. — Flowers mostly in leafless spikes. Stem erect, angular,
sparingly branched, 1 to 3 feet high. Leaves ovate-oblong, acute, nar-
rowed at the base, petiolate, deeply sinuate- serrate, the lower sometimes
almost laciniate, pinnatifid, thin, smoothish, destitute of mealiness, glandu-
lar beneath, bright green. The whole plant has a strongly aromatic
odor.

Habitat. — Introduced from Tropical America ; common southward, in
w^aste places.

Chenopodium album Linne. — Pigweed, Lamb's Quarters.

Description — Flowers in dense or loose, nearly leafless racemes.
Stem erect, sulcate-striate, loosely branched, 1 to 5 feet high. Leaves
varying from rhombic-ovate to lanceolate or linear above, all or only the
lower more or less sinuate-toothed, mostly with a pale mealiness. A very
variable species.

Habitat. — A very common weed in cultivated grounds and about farm
buildings.

Of these two species the first is introduced on account of its medicinal
importance, and the second because it t^^pifies a number of closely related
species of common weeds, differing from the official plant in being mealy
instead of viscid glandular.

Part Used. — The fruit of C. ambrosioides Linne, var. anthelminticum
Gray. Official name : Chenopodium — United States Pharmacopoeia.

236 POLYGONACE^.

Cotistituents.— Its onlj* important constituent is a volatile oil.

Preparations. — Oleum chenopodii — oil of chenopodium. — United States
Pharmacopoeia. The bruised seeds are sometimes administered in sub-
stance or decoction.

Medical Properties and t^'es. —Chenopodium is used solely as an an-
thelmintic for lumbricoid worms.

POLYCONACE>E.

Character of the Order. — Herbs with alternate, commonly entire leaves,
and stipules in the foi-m of membranaceous sheaths above the swollen
joints of the stem. Flowers commonly perfect. Calyx 3- to 6-cleft, more
or less persistent. Stamens 4 to 12, inserted on the base of the calyx.
Ovary free, 1-celled ; styles or stigmas 2 or 3. Fruit a seed-like nutlet,
commonly triangular.

An order comprising few North American genera, and these are largely
represented by common weeds, many of them possessing more or less
acrid properties. The most important plants of the order are buckwheat
(Fagopyrum) and rhubarb (Rheum).

POLYGONUM. —Knotweed.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx commonly 5-parted, the lobes often
petaloid, withering or persistent. Stamens 4 to 9. Styles or stigmas 2 or
3. Fruit a lenticular or triangular achenium, surrounded by the erect lobes
of the calyx.

Polygonum Hydro pi per Linne. — Smartweed, Water-Pepper.

Description. — Flowers mostly greenish, in nodding spikes, usually short
or interrupted. Stamens 6. Style 2- to 3-parted. Achenium dull, minutely
striate, flat or obtusely triangular. A smooth annual, 1 to 2 feet high.
Leaves lanceolate, tapering to both ends, minutely pellucid-punctate.

Habitat. — In damp places ; very common.

Polygonum acre H. B. K (P. punctatum ^Wioii).'— Water Smartweed.

Description. — Flowers whitish or flesh-colored, in erect spikes. Sta-
mens 8. Style mostly 3-parted. Achenium smooth, shining, sharply tri-
angular. A nearly smooth perennial. Stem ascending, rooting at the de-
cumbent base, 2 to 5 feet high. Leaves larger and longer than in the
preceding species.

Habitat. — In wet places ; common, especially southward.

Polygonum Bistorta UmnC^.— Bistort.

Description. — Flowers pink or white in a dense oblong or cylindrical
spike, 1 to 2 inches long, Styles 3. A perennial with a thick, cylindrical,
somewhat flattened rootstock. Stem erect, simple, 1 to 2 feet high, ter-
minating in a flower spike. Leaves mostly radical on long petioles, ovate-

RUMEX — DOCK.

237

lanceolate or cordate, 5 to 6 inches long ; stem leaves much smaller and on.
shorter petioles.

Habitat. — In the Eocky Mountain region and northward ; common alsa
in Northern Europe and Asia.

Parts Used — Of P. bistorta the root ; of the other species, the herb —
none are official.

Constituents. — Bistort contains a large percentage of tannic and gallic
acids. Water pepper and water' smartweed possess an acrid principle
termed polygonic acid, to which
they owe their medicinal virtues.
This acid is also present in many
other species of the genus, in a
greater or less percentage.

Preparations. — Bistort is ad-
ministered in powder, decoction, or
extract. Water pepper and water
smartweed are commonly adminis-
tered in decoction, but as their ac-
tive principle is dissipated by heat
or long keeping, an alcoholic tinc-
ture, made from the fresh plant,
is the best form in which to pre-
serve them for any great length
of time. In the country they are
gathered and dried annually for
domestic use, and do not seem to
lose much of their efficiency dur-
ing the few months that they are
kej)t.

Medical Properties and Uses. —
Bistort is used both topically and ^'^- ^^i-P^'y^^"""^ Bistorta.

internally as an astringent, in the same manner as many other drugs rich in
tannin. Water smartweed and water pepper have a burning, biting taste,
inflame the skin when rubbed upon it, and possess somewhat acrid stimu-
lating properties. They are employed in domestic practice, externally as
counter-irritants, and internally to promote the menstrual flow, to induce
diaphoresis in acute inflammatory affections, etc., in the same manner as.
other acrid and stimulating drugs are used.

RUMEX.— Dock.

Character of the Genus. — Calyx of 6 sepals in two series of ^ each ; the
outer series herbaceous, the inner larger, somewhat colored, increasing in
size after flowering, and converging over the triangular achenium. Stamens
6, st3des 3 ; stigmas tufted. Herbaceous plants, many of them pestiferous

238 LAURACEJE.

weeds in cultivated fields, with small, homely, mostly greenish flowers in
close panicled racemes.

Rumex crispus Linne. — Curled Dock, Yellow Dock.

Description. — Flowers in whorls, crowded in long, wand-like, leafless
racemes. Inner sej^als cordate, obscui-ely denticulate or entire, and com-
monly bearing a grain-hke tubercle on the back.

A smooth perennial, with a deep, spindle-shaped, yellow root. Stem
erect, 2 to 4 feet high, with few commonly erect branches. Leaves curled
and wavy on the margins, lanceolate, acute, the lower truncate or obscurely
cordate at the base, the upper smaller, narrower, and gradually passing into
mere bracts.

Habitat. — Natm-alized from Europe ; common in cultivated and waste
groimds.

Rumex orbiculatus Gray {R. aquaticus Pursh?) — Great Water-Dock.

Description. — Flowers in whorls crowded in upright, almost leafless ra-
cemes, which are ai-ranged in a large, compound panicle ; pedicels capillary,
nodding, about twice the length of the fruiting calyx ; inner sepals orbicu-
lar or round-ovate, obtuse, obscurel}^ cordate at the base, membranaceous,
finely reticulated, entire or repand-denticulate, each of them bearing a
grain-like tubercle on the back.

A smooth perennial, with a deep, yellow root. Stem stout, erect, 5 to
6 feet high. Leaves smooth, not wavy on the margins, oblong-lanceolate,
rather acute at both ends, the lowest, including the petiole, 1 to 2 feet
long.

Habitat. — In wet places ; common, especially northward.

Part Used. — The root of rumex crispus and of other species of rumex.
— United States Pharmacopoeia. Several other species may be employed,
but those above described sufficiently represent the medicinal properties
of the genus.

Preparations. — Extractum rumicis fluidum ; fluid extract of rumex. —
United States Pharmacopoeia. It is also employed in the form of decoction
and syrup.

Constituents. — Yellow dock closely resembles rhubarb in chemical com-
position, but is more astringent.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Yellow dock is tonic, astringent, and
slightly laxative. These properties render it useful in a variety of chronic
affections, such as scrofula, obstinate cutaneous diseases, dyspepsia, syph-
ilis, etc., in which an alterative and depurative effect may be desired for a
long time.

LAURACE^.

Character of the Order. — Trees or shrubs with simple, alternate, exstip-
ulate, mostly pellucid-dotted leaves. Flowers often dioecious. Calyx of
4 or G sepals in two rows. Stamens 8 to 12, in two or more rows, the

SASSAFRAS. 239

3 or 4 innermost usually abortive ; anthers opening by 2 or 4 uplifted
Talves. Ovary 1-celled, 1-ovuled ; style solitary. Fruit a 1 seeded berry
or drupe.

A large order of aromatic plants, chiefly tropical, represented in North
America by only about half a dozen species. Of the tropical species the
most important are Camphora afficinarum, •which yields gum-camphor,
and the various species of Ginnamomum, from which are derived the cin-
namon and cassia of commerce.

SASSAFRAS.

Sassafras officinale Nees. — Sassafras.

Description. — Flowers dioecious. Calyx 6-parted, spreading. Sterile
flowers with 9 stamens in 3 rows, the inner row with a pair of stalked

Fig. 152.— Sassafras offlcinale.

glands at the base of each ; anthers 4-celled, 4-valved. Fertile flowers with
6 rudimentary stamens and an ovoid ovary. Fruit a blue, ovoid drupe,
raised upon a reddish pedicel, which is thickened and cup-shaped at its
extremity.

Northward commonly a tall shrub or small tree, 10 to 20 feet high ;
further south, and especially in rich soil, it often attains a height of 40
to 50 feet, with a diameter of 2 to 3 feet. Leaves 4 to 5 inches long, ovate
and entire, or variously lobed ; some of them regularly 3-lobed, others
mitten-shaped. Flowers greenish-yellow, naked, clustered in peduncled

240 EUPIIORBIACE^.

corjTubose racemes at the ends of the last year's branches, unfolding with
the leaves in April and May. The twigs and young branches have a
smooth yellowish-green biirk, while that of the trunk is grayish and
deeply furrowed.

Habitat. — From Canada to Florida ; common.

Parts Used. — The bark of the root — official name, Sassafras ; the pith
of the young branches — official name, Sassafras medulla — United States
Phai^iacopoeia.

Constituents. — Of the bark of the root, an aromatic volatile oil and tlie
common constituents of plants. Of the pith, gummy matter, which i»
readily imparted to water, forming a limpid mucilage.

Preparations. — Of the bark of the root : Oleum sassafras — oil of sassa-
fras. Of the pith : Mucilago sassafras medullne — mucilage of sassafras-
pith. — United States Pharmacopoeia.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Sassafras is an aromatic stimulant. It»
chief use is, however, in the form of the oil, as a flavoring agent. Muci-
lage of sassafras pith is used as a demulcent in acute febrile and inflam-
matoiy affections.

LINDERA. —Spice-Bush.

Lindera Benzoin Meisner — Spice-Bush, Wild Allspice, Fever-Bush.

Description. — Flowers polygamous-dioecious. Calyx 6-parted, spread-
ing. Sterile flowers with 9 stamens in 3 rows, the inner row bearing
glands at the base ; anthers 2-celled, 2-valved. Fertile flowers with 15 to
18 rudimentary stamens ; ovary globular. Fruit a red, obovoid drujDe.

A shrub 6 to 15 feet high. Leaves oblong-obovate, entire, smooth.
Flowers yellow, in nearly sessile clusters, each of 4 to 6 flowers, appearing
in March or April before the leaves.

Habitat. — In damp woods and copses ; common.

Parts Used. — The bark and fruit — not official.

Constituents. — A volatile oil, and common vegetable principles.

Preparations. — The oil possesses all the medicinal virtues of the plant.
A decoction of the bark or fruit is most commonly employed.

Medical Properties. — The bark of the spice-bush has a warm spicy taste,
and in sufficient doses acts as a vascular stimulant. It has been employed
to produce diaphoresis in acute inflammatory and febrile aft'ections. The
fruit has been employed as a substitute for allspice, and, medicinally, for
the same purposes as the bark. The aroma of the plant is less pleasant
than that of sassafras.

EUPHORBIACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Plants with opposite or alternate, often stipu-
late leaves, commonly an acrid milky juice, and monoecious or dioecious,
apetalous, sometimes naked flowers. Perianth, when present, lobed, and

EUPHORBIA — SPURGE. 241

"with glandular, scaly, or petaloid appendages. Stamens few or many,
«epai*ate or united into one or more bundles. Ovary free, usually 3-celled,
each cell with a single or sometimes a pair of suspended ovules ; stigmas
or branches of the style as many or twice as many as the cells. Fruit usu-
ally a 3-lobed pod, the lobes or carpels separating elastically from a per-
sistent axis ; seeds often arillate.

In the tropics a very large and important order, containing many acrid
and poisonous plants. Eepresented in North America by only a few gen-
era, comprising a small number of medicinal species.

EUPHORBIA. —Spurge.

Character of the Genus. — Flowers monoecious, collected into heads, sur-
rounded by a 4- to 5-lobed involucre, which resembles a calyx or corolla.
Within the involucre are a number of stamens surrounding a stalked
ovary, the whole resembhng a single flower ; but as each stamen is jointed
on a pedicel, and proceeds from the axil of a bract, it is considered as a
separate flower, hence each involucre includes a number of staminate
flowers, each consisting of a single stamen, surrounding a solitary, stalked
pistillate flower. Ovary 3-lobed, 3-celled ; styles 3, each 2-cleft. Pod
3-lobed, splitting elastically into 3 one-seeded, 2-valved carpels.

A very large genus, represented in North America by numerous herba-
ceous species. All of them are characterized by a more or less acrid, milky
juice.

Euphorbiacorollata Linn e . — LargeTFlowering Spurge.

Description. — Stems several from a large branching root ; erect, nearly
simple, 2 to 3 feet high, glabrous or sometimes sparingly hairy. Leaves
ovate, lanceolate, or linear, entire, obtuse, only the uppermost or floral
ones whorled or opposite. Flowers in 5- to 7-rayed umbels, the rays 2- to
5-forked ; involucres white, petaloid, showy, on long peduncles. Pod
smooth, on a slender pedicel.

Habitat. — In rich or sandy soil from New York to Wisconsin and south-
ward.

Euphorbia Ipecacuanha© Linne. — Ipecacuanha Spurge.

Description. — Stems numerous from a long, deep perennial root, erect
or diftusely spreading, 5 to 10 inches high, branching dichotomously from
near the base. Leaves obovate, oblong, or naiTOwly linear, nearly sessile,
glabrous, all or only the upper ones opposite. Peduncles axillary, elongated.
Involucre petaloid, 4- to 5-lobed, with the same number of obtuse glands.
Pod long-pedicelled, obtusely angled, nearly smooth.

Habitat. — In sandy soil near the coast from New York southward.

Several other indigenous species of euphorbia have been used medici-
nally, but those described above are believed to well represent the genus
as found in North America.

242 EUPHORBIACE.E.

Part Used. — The root oi both species. Formerly official, but dismissed
from the Phajrmacopceia in 1880.

Constituents. — A perfectly satisfactory analysis of these plants is yet to-
be made. That they contain an emetic principle is very evident, but it
has not yet been isolated.

Preparations. — Commonly administered in powder.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Both species possess similar if not quite
identical properties, being actively emeto-cathartic ; in small doses, diapho-
retic. More pleasant to the taste than ipecacuanha ; either of them may
be substituted for it in cases where emesis is desired, and cathartic action
is not objectionable.

STILLINGIA.

Stillingia sylvatica Linne. — Stillingia, Queen's Boot.

Description. — Flowers monoecious, collected in a terminal spike. Calyx
2- to 3-cleft or parted. Corolla absent. Stamens, 2 to 3 ; anthers adnate,
extrorse. Style single ; stigmas 3, diverging. Pod 3-lobed, 3-celled, 3-
seeded. Seed carunculate.

An herbaceous perennial. Stems 1 to 3 feet high, erect, smooth, from
a very large tapering root. Leaves alternate, oblong-lanceolate, serrulate^
nearly sessile, commonly with two glands at the base. Fertile flowers few,,
at the base of a dense sterile spike. The flowers are produced in summer.

Habitat. — In sandy soil from Virginia southward.

Part Used. — The root — United States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — Stillingia has a strong disagreeable odor, which is les-
sened by drying, and a bitter, acid, and pungent taste, which persists even
when the dried root has been exposed to the air for a long time. It has
yielded to analysis a volatile oil possessing the odor and taste of the crude
drug, and a resinous body which also appears to possess medicinal activity.
The so-called oil of stillingia, occurring as a commercial article, is said to
be an ethereal extract, not without medicinal properties, but in no way
resembling the true volatile oil.

Preparations. — Extractum stillingise fluidum — fluid extract of stillin-
gia.— United States Pharmacopoeia. It is also administered in decoction
and syrup.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Stillingia, in large doses, is an active
emeto-cathartic ; in small doses, alterative. By that class of practitioners
who reject mercury in the treatment of syphilis, stillingia is very largely
employed as a substitute. In scrofula, chronic cutaneous and hepatic dis-
orders, it is also said to act beneficially. In general terms, it may be said
to have earned its present reputation and standing as a remedy in those
cases which, in former times, were considered most amenable to sarsapa-
rilla. Whether its reputation rests upon a more secure foundation than
did that of sarsaparilla, is a question not easy to decide. One thing, how-

ULMUS — ELM. 243

ever, must be conceded — stillingia is certainly not without activity. Now,
while it is not claimed to act specifically in syphilis, the fact seems well es-
tablished that in certain cases, by stimulating the secretory functions, it
exerts a very beneficial influence. The same may be said of its action in
scrofulous and cutaneous affections. It undoubtedly deserves more care-
ful examination than it has hitherto had, in order that its sphere of use-
fulness may be more accurately defined.

URTICACE^.

Character of the Order. — Plants with alternate or opposite, stipulate
leaves, and monoecious, dioecious or, rarely, perfect flowers. Cal^rx regu-
lar, monosepalous, or with 2 to 5 or more divisions. Stamens as many
as the segments of the calyx, and opposite them. Ovary free, 1-celled, 1-
ovuled, rarely 2-celled ; style or stigma simple. Fruit 1- seeded.

A very large order of chiefly tropical plants, comprising several well-
characterized sub-orders. Not very well represented in North America.

ULMUS.— Elm.

Ulmus fulva Michaux. — Slippery Elm, Red Elm.

Description. — Flowers polygamous. Calyx bell- shaped, 7- to 9-lobed,
Stamens 7 to 9, with long, slender filaments. Ovary 2-celled, each cell 1-
ovuled ; styles 2, diverging. Fruit a 1-celled, 1-seeded, membranaceous
samara.

A medium-sized tree, 20 to 60 feet high, 1 to 2 feet in diameter, with
a rough, light-gray bark and reddish wood. Leaves alternate, 4 to 8
inches long, ovate-oblong, taper-pointed, doubly serrate, rough above, soft-
downy beneath. Flowers reddish, pubescent, in lateral clusters, preced-
ing the leaves in March and April.

Habitat. — In rich, rather dry soil, from Western New England to Lake
Superior and southward.

Part Used. — The inner bark — official name, Ulmus — United States Phar-
rmwopoeia.

Constituents. — The only important constituent of slippery elm bark is
an abundance of mucilage.

Preparations. — Mucilago ulmi — mucilage of elm. — United States Phar-
macopoeia. This is merely an infusion of the sliced bark in boiling water.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Slippery elm is demulcent and slightly
nutritious. It is used largely in acute inflammatory and febrile affections,
either alone or sHghtly acidulated with lemon-juice, and is one of the most
valuable agents of its class, seldom or never deranging the stomach. Ex-
ternally it is often employed in the form of a poultice, being first ground
or torn into shreds, and made into a mass of proper consistence with boil-
ing water. It has also been employed, in the form of tents, to dilate the
neck of the uterus and fistulous tracts.

244

URTICACE^

MORUS. —Mulberry.

Morus rubra Linne. — Red Mulberry.

Description. — Flowers monoecious or dioecious. Staminate flowers in
drooping axillary spikes ; calyx 4-parted ; stamens 4. Pistillate flowers
in dense, ovate, erect spikes ; calyx of 4 sepals ; ovary 2-celled, one of the
cells disappeai'ing during the development of the fruit ; styles 2, filiform.
When ripe each ovary is an achenium covered by the succulent calyx, the
whole fertile spike becoming a dark-purple, juicy fruit resembling a black-
berry.

A small tree 20 to 30 feet high. Leaves alternate, ovate, cordate,
pointed, serrate, rough above, downy beneath ; those of the young shoots
sometimes 2- to 3-lobed. The flowers appear in May ; the berries are ripe
in July ; they are about an inch long, and have an agreeable sweetish and
acidulous taste.

Habitat. — In rich woods from New England to Illinois and southward.

Part Used.— The fruit-
not official.

Constituents. — G 1 u c o s e ,
fi-ee acid, and mucilaginous
matter.

Preparations. — Conimouly
used in the form of a syrup
or expressed juice.

Medical Properties and
Uses. — Mulberries are shght-
ly laxative, and their mildly
acid properties render them
cooling and refreshing. They
are chiefly employed in the
preparation of refrigerant
drinks in acute febrile and
inflammatory affections.

URTICA. —Nettle.

Character of the Genus. —
Flowers monoecious or dioeci-
ous, in axillary clusters or
spikes. Staminate flowers ;
stamens 4, inserted around the rudiment of a pistil. Pistillate flowers ;
sepals 4, in pairs, the outer pair smaller, spreading, the inner, in fruit, en-
closing the achenium.

Annual or perennial herbs, with stinging haii's. Leaves opposite, stip-
ulate. Flowers greenish.

Fig. 153.— Urtica dioica.

CANNABIS HEMP. 245

Urtica dioica Linn 6. — Common Nettle.

Stem erect, 2 to 4 feet high, very bristly. Leaves ovate, cordate,
pointed, strongly serrate, mostly smooth above, downy underneath.
Flower spikes much branched.

Habitat. — In waste places, especially about dwelHngs ; introduced from
Eui'ope.

Urtica urens Linne. — Dwarf Nettle.

Stem erect, 8 to 12 inches high, less bristly than the preceding.
Leaves elliptical or ovate, coarsely and deeply serrate. Flower clusters 2
in each axil, the staminate and pistillate flowers intermingled.

Habitat. — In waste places ; introduced from Europe. Less common
than the preceding.

Wood Nettle {Laportea Canadensis Gaudichaud), an indigenous plant,
closely related to the genus urtica, also possesses stinging properties, and
is probably hardly less eJSicient.

Parts Used. — The seed, leaves, and tops — not official.

Constituents. — The stinging hairs of nettles contain free formic acid,
but as their effect upon the skin differs sensibly from that of pure formic
acid, it is inferred that there is present also some other imtatiug substance.

Preparations. — The expressed juice, decoction, and the bruised leaves.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Flagellation of the skin with fresh net-
tles was formerly employed for counter-irritant effect in paralysis, and
in coma whether produced by disease or by alcohol or opium. Internally
the drug has been used with asserted benefit in hemorrhages from the
nose, lungs, uterus, etc., and in catarrhal affections.

CANNABIS.— Hemp.

Cannabis sativaLinne. — Hemp, American Hemp.

Description. — Flowers dioecious. Staminate flowers with 5 sepals, and
5 drooping stamens. Pistillate flowers with a calyx of one sepal which
is folded around the ovary ; ovary roundish, 1-ovuled ; stigmas 2, filiform,
glandular. Achenium ovate, 1-seeded.

A coarse, pubescent, somewhat viscid annual. Stem erect, 3 to 6 feet
high, angular, branching. Leaves alternate or opposite, on long weak
petioles, digitate, with 5 to 7 linear-lanceolate, sharply serrate segments.
Flowers in axillary clusters ; staminate clusters lax, drooping, leafless at
the base ; pistillate, erect, leafy at the base.

Habitat. — In waste places. Largely cultivated in some of the Western
and Southern States. Introduced from Europe.

Parts Used. — The flowering tops. Official name. Cannabis Americana —
American Cannabis — United States Pharmacopoeia.

This plant is specifically identical with that affording the Cannabis
Indica {Indian Hemp, Hashish) of commerce, and has received the above
pharmacopoeial name simply for identification.

246

URTICACE^.

Constituents. — The constituents of American cannabis do not differ
from those of Indian cannabis save, perhaps, in degree ; authors pretty-
generally consider the latter more active than the former. The active
properties of cannabis appear to reside chiefly in a resin which has re-
ceived the name cannabin; but there is also found a small proportion of
volatile oil possessing the characteristic odor and taste of the plant, and
producing narcotic effects. Its remaining constituents are medicinally-
unimportant.

Preparations. — There are no oflScial preparations of American cannabis.

Fig. 154. — Cannabis sativa.

It may be employed in the same manner as Indian cannabis, namely, in
extract, fluid extract, or tincture.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Cannabis, when fresh, has a pecuHar
narcotic odor, which is said to be capable of producing headache and
other cerebral symptoms. This property is considerably diminished by-
drying and long keeping, hence the drug should be used as fresh as pos-
sible. Indeed, there is little doubt that much of the imcertainty of can-
nabis is dependent upon a want of care in this respect. Cannabis is a
powerful narcotic, causing, first, exhilaration and delirious hallucinations,
generally of a pleasurable character, and afterward drowsiness and stu-
por. Though much less certain than opium, it has none of the unpleasant
after-effects of the latter, and is often used instead to reUeve pain, allay
spasm, and produce sleep.

HUMULUS.— Hop.

Humulus Lupulus Linne.-.-^op.

Description. — Flowers dioecious. Staminate flowers with 5 sepals, and
erect stamens. Pistillate flowers with a single sepal, which embrace*

HUMULUS — HOP.

247

the ovary, grows with it after flowering, and covers the achenium at ma-
turity.

A perennial plant, with annual, angular, rough, twining stems, which
climb to the height of many feet. Leaves mostly opposite, on long, wind-
ing petioles, the smaller ones cordate, the larger 3- or 5-lobed, serrate,
veiny, and very rough. Stipules, 2 or 4 between the petioles, cvate, re-
flexed, persistent. Staminate flowers in loose, axillary panicles ; pistillate
in catkins of numerous foliaceous,
imbricated, concave bracts, each 2-
flowered, forming, in fruit, mem-
branaceous strobiles. The achenium,
fruiting calyx, etc., are covered with
yellow resinous grains, called lupulin.

Habitat. — The common hop is
widely distributed over most tem-
perate regions, growing in thickets
without cultivation. It is indigen-
ous to North America, being espe-
cially common in the northern and
western portions of the United States.
In some sections of the country it is
extensively cultivated for use in brew-
ing ale, beer, etc.

Parts Used. — The strobiles — of-
ficial name, Humulus — Hops. The
glandular powder separated from the
strobiles — official name, Lupulinum
— Lupulin. — United States Pharma-
copoeia.

Constituents. — Hops have a pecu-
liar aromatic, somewhat narcotic odor,
and an aromatic, bitter, astringent taste. These properties are more strongly
marked in lupulin that in the strobiles after this has been sepai*ated from
them. Lupulin constitutes from one-tenth to one-sixth the w^eight of hops,
and contains, as its most important constituents, volatile oil, a peculiar
bitter principle, and an alkaloid having an odor somewhat resembling that
of conia. The scales of hops from which the lupuHn has been separated
possess the same active principles but in smaller proportions.

Preparations. — Of hops : Tinctura humuli — tincture of hops. Of lu-
pulin : Extractum lupulini fluidum — fluid extract of lupulin ; oleoresina
lupulini — oleoresin of lupulin. — United States Pharmacopceia, An infusion
of hops is also efficient and is often employed.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Hops are tonic and slightly narcotic.
Their tonic influence has been found useful in debility of the digestive

Fig. 155.— Humulus Lupulus.

248 JUGLANDACEA.

organs, while tlieir nai'cotic aud sedative effects seem most pronounced in
irritable conditions of the genito-urinary tract. A pillow of hops is om
of the standai'd remedies among the laity for sleeplessness, and is often
used with the happiest effects. Hop fomentations are frequently emjiloyed
to relieve the pain of abscesses and inflammations, and form an excellent
appHcation for the purpose.

JUGLANDACEA.

Character of the Order. — Trees witli alternate, pinnate, exstipulate
leaves. Flowers monoecious, the staminate in catkins, with an ii-regular
calyx adnate to the bract ; the fertile sohtary or in small clusters or
spikes, with a regular 3- to 5-lobed calyx adherent to the incompletely 2-
to 4:-celled, 1-ovuled ovary. Finiit a dry, bony-shelled druj^e, containing
a large 4-lobed, oily seed.

A small order of trees of great economic importance. Among its most
important representatives in North America are ' the butternut, black-
walnut and hickory.

JUGLANS. —Walnut.

Juglans cinerea Linne. — Butternut.

Description. — Staminate flowers in long, simple, lateral catkins from
the wood of the preceding year ; calyx unequally 3- to 6-cleft. Stamens 12
to 40 ; filaments free, very short. Pistillate flowers solitary or clustered on
a peduncle at the end of the branches ; calyx 4-toothed, with 4 minute
petals at the sinuses. Styles 2, very short ; stigmas 2, club-shaped, slightly
fringed. Fruit oblong, with a clammy, fibrous-fleshy epicarp, and a very
hard, irregularly and deeply-furrowed endocarp, or nut-shell.

A tree 20 to 50 feet high, with gray bark and widely spreading branches.
Leaves long, unequally pinnate ; leaflets 15 to 17, the lateral sessile, the
terminal petiolate, oblong-lanceolate, rounded at the base, acuminate,
finely serrate, downy, especially beneath, the petioles and branchlets
downy with clammy hairs.

Habitat. — In rich woods and in fields ; everywhere common.

Part Used. — The inner bark of the root — United States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — The most important constituent thus far isolated from
butternut bark is a volatile acid, called by its discowevev juglayidic acid, but
believed by other chemists to be identical with niicin, previously found in
the pericarp and leaves of Juglans regia Linne. To this substance is
doubtless due the greater part of the activity of the bark.

Preparations. — Extractum juglandis — extract of juglans. — United States
Pharmacopoeia.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Butternut is a mild cathartic, resembling

QUERCUS — OAK. 249

rhubarb in the mildness of its action and freedom from irritating proper-
ties. It has been used with best effect in habitual constipation.

CUPULIFERiC.

Character of the Order. — Trees or shrubs with alternate, simple, feather-
veined leaves, furnished with very deciduous stipules, forming the bud-
scales. Flowers monoecious •; the staminate in catkins ; the pistillate sol-
itary, clustered or spiked, and provided with an involucre which forms a cup-
like receptacle, or an entire covering to the 1-celled, 1-seeded nut. Calyx
adherent to the ovary, the minute teeth crowning its summit. Ovary more
or less 2- to 7-celled, each cell 1-ovuled, only one of which matures. Seeds
comparatively large, thick and fleshy, often edible.

An order of few genera, but comprising many valuable species. The
oak (Qiiercus)y chestnut (Castanea), and beech (Fagus), are among the most
important.

QUERCUS.— Oak.

Quercus albaLinne. — White Oak.

Description. — Staminate flowers in long, slender, pendulous catkins ;
stamens 5 to 12, surrounded by narrow scales which are sometimes united
into an irregular perianth. Pistillate flowers scattered or clustered ; peri-
anth more or less 6-lobed, adherent to the ovary, which is about 3-celled,
the whole enclosed by a scaly, bud-like involucre which becomes a hard,
woody cup about the base of the rounded nut or acorn.

A large tree, sometimes growing to the height of 70 to 80 feet, with a
diameter of 6 to 7 feet. Leaves ovate or obovate-oblong in general out-
line, obliquely and deeply cleft into 3 to 9 oblong, obtuse lobes. When
young they are reddish above, whitish and downy beneath, but at matu-
rity bright green above, and smooth, pale, or glaucous beneath. Cup
hemispherical-saucer- shaped, rough or tuberculated at maturity, naked,
much shorter than the ovoid or oblong (1 inch long), sweetish, edible
acorn. The bark is very light-colored, whence the specific name of the tree.

Habitat.— From Canada to Florida and westward; common.

Part Used. — The bark, deprived of the corky layer — official name,
Quercus alba. — United States Phaimacopceia.

Constituents. — The only important constituent of oak bark is tannin.

Preparations. — There are no official preparations. It is usually em-
ployed, whether internally or topically, in decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Oak bark is astringent by virtue of its
tannin, and is used for the same purposes as other vegetable astringents.
The decoction is sometimes employed externally to prevent the formation
of bed-sores.

Many other indigenous species of oak possess essentially similar prop-
erties.

250 MYRICACE^.

CAST ANEA. —Chestnut.

C asta nea vesca Linn e. — Chestnut.

Description. — Staminate flowers clustered upon long, pendulous cat-
kins ; calyx commonly 6-parted ; stamens 8 to 20. Pistillate flowers few,
usually three together in a scaly, prickly involucre, which encloses them,
and at maturity opens by 4 valves ; calyx with a G-lobed border which
crowns the 3- to 7-celled, 6- to 14-ovuled ovary ; stigmas as many as the
cells of the ovary, and surrounded by 5 to 12 rudimentai-y stamens. Nuts
coriaceous, ovoid, flattened, 1 to 3 in number, sweetish, edible.

A large tree, 30 to 50 feet in height, with a diameter of 3 to 6 feet.
Leaves 6 to 7 inches long, IJ to 2 inches wide, oblong-lanceolate, acumi-
nate, sharply serrate, very regularly feather-veined, when mature, smooth
and yellowish-green both sides. It blooms in June and July and matures
its fruit after frost, when the burrs open and the nuts fall.

Habitat. — la rocky and hilly places, and in alluvial or sandy soil ;
widely distributed, and often associated with oak and pine.

Fart Used. — The leaves, collected in September or October while still
green. Ofiicial name — Castanea. — United States Pharmacojxeia.

Constituents. — Nothing save common vegetable princij)les have as 3'et
been detected in chestnut leaves.

Preparations — Extractum castanese fluidum — fluid extract of castanea.
— United States Pharmacopoeia.

Medical Properties and Uses. — There is much doubt regarding the medi-
cinal activity of chestnut leaves. Introduced as a remedy for whooping-
cough, the drug was considerably lauded for a time, but its slight popu-
larity seems already waning. In absence of anything to establish the
presence of a therapeutically active principle, or of physiological experi-
ments to prove its activity, the mere statement that it exerts a controlling
influence upon a disease of such uncertain course as whooping-cough may
well be received with caution.

MYRICACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Monoecious and dioecious shrubs, with both
staminate and pistillate flowers in short scaly catkins. Leaves alternate,
resinous-dotted, and often fragrant.

A small order having few representatives in North America. In genend
they possess, to a greater or less degree, aromatic, astringent, and stimu-
lant properties.

MYRICA. — Baybekry.

Myrica cerifera Linno. — Bayherry, Wax-Myrtle.
Description. — Flowers mostly dioecious. Staminate catkins oblong,
scattered ; pistillate ovoid, from scaly, axillary buds. Both kinds destitute

COMPTONIA SWEET-FERN. 251

of calyx and corolla, the solitary flowers being placed each under a scaly
bract, with a pair of bractlets. Stamens 2 to 8. Ovary with 2 to 4 scales
at its base ; stigmas 2. Fruit an ovoid nut or drupe, covered with whitish
wax.

A shrub, 3 to 8 feet high. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, narrowed at the
base, entire or somewhat toothed toward the apex, shining and resinous-
dotted both sides, fragrant, appearing late in April before the flowers.
Nuts scattered or clustered along the last year's branches, sometimes per-
sisting for two or three years.

Habitat — In sandy or rocky places on or along the coast.

Parts Used. — The bark and wax — not official.

Constituents. — Besides common vegetable principles, there are in bay-
berry bark an acrid resin, an astringent resin, and a peculiar acrid acid,
termed myricinic acid. Myrtle wax in mass, after separation from the
fruit, is greenish-gray in color, with a consistence intermediate between
that of beeswax aud tallow. It burns with a white flame and a fragrant
odor.

Preparations. — There are no official preparations. The bark has been
used chiefly in powder and in decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Bayberry bark is an acrid stimulant
and astringent. In moderate doses it produces a sensation of heat in the
stomach ; in large doses, nausea and vomiting. The powder is very irri-
tating to the nasal mucous membranes, and produces violent sneezing. It
has been employed to some extent in a great variety of diseased conditions,
but without acquiring reputation in any. Bigelow stated, sixty years ago,
as the result of his investigations, that it is " more interesting in a chemi-
cal than a medical point of view ; " and his statement, in the present state
of our knowledge, scarcely requires comment or revision.

COMPTONI A. —Sweet-Fern.

Comptonia asplenifolia Alton. —Sweet-Fern.

Description. — Flowers monoecious and dicBcious. Staminate flowers in
cyHndrical catkins with imbricated, concave, reniform, acuminate, 1-flowered
scales ; stamens 3 to 6. Pistillate flowers in egg-shaped, burr-like catkins ;
ovary surrounded by 8 long, linear, awl-shaped scales, which are persistent
around the ovoid-oblong, smooth, 1-seeded nut.

A low shrub, 1 to 3 feet high, slender, branched, somewhat hairy.
Leaves alternate, linear-lanceolate, 3 to 4 inches long by half an inch broad,
deeply pinnatifid with many rounded lobes, resembling those of a fern.
This resemblance, together with the fragrance of the leaves, has given the
plant the popular name of siveet-fern.

Habitat. — In dry sterile or sandy soil from Virginia to Wisconsin and
northward.

252 BETULACEyE.

Parts used. — The leaves and tops — not official.

Constituents. — The most important constituents are volatile oil and tan-
nin.

Preparations. — Commonly used in decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Sweet-fern is stimulant and astringent.
It is occasionally employed as a domestic remedy in diarrhoea, colic, etc.

BETULACE^.

Character of the Order. — Trees or shrubs with simple, alternate, stipu-
late leaves, often strongly feather-veined. Flowers monoecious, in scaly
catkins, 2 or 3 under each bract, and without a perianth. Ovary 2-celled ;
stigmas 2. Fruit a dry, 1-celled, 1-seeded, often winged nut.

A small order inhabiting chiefly the northern temperate regions.

BETULA.— BiiiCH.

Betula lenta Linne. — Sweet, Black, or Cherry Bii'ch.

Desc7i,ption. — Staminate flowers 3, under each scale of the catkin, each
with 4 short stamens. Pistillate flowers 2 or 3 under each scale of the
catkin, each consisting of a naked ovary which, in fruit, becomes a winged
nutlet or samara.

A medium-sized tree with brownish-red, cherry-like bark. Leaves
ovate or oblong-ovate, cordate, acuminate, sharply serrate, smooth and
shining above, glabrous beneath. Sterile catkins long and drooj^ing, ter-
minal and lateral, formed in summer, and expanding the following spring.
Fertile catkins oblong-cylindricnl in fruit, usually terminal on short lateral
branches of the season. Bark, of the younger branches especially, aro-
matic, having the odor and taste of gaultheria. When wounded the stem
yields a saccharine juice.

Habitat. — In moist woods from New England to Illinois northward, and
along the Alleghanies southward.

Parts Used. — The bark, leaves, and saccharine juice — not official.

Constituents. — The bark and leaves, by distillation, yield a volatile oil
identical in composition vdth that obtained from gaultheria, and, it is said,
frequently sold for the latter.

Preparations. — Commonly used in decoction. The oil evidently pos-
sesses all the virtues of the drug, and is therefore the most efficient prepa-
ration.

Medical Properties and Uses. — The white birch of Europe (Betula alba
Linne) and the related American species, Betula alba, var. Po2)ulifolia Spach,
and Betula lenta L., have been considered purifiers of the blood, and have
been employed as domestic remedies in rheumatism, gout, cutaneous affec-
tions, etc. Whatever virtues they possess are probably due to their vola-

SALTX WILLOW. 253

tile oil, and as this is identical with that of gaultheria, their therapeutic
effects must necessarily be similar.

ALNUS.— Alder.

AInus serrulata Aiton. — Black Alder, Tag Alder.

Description. — Staminate flowers 3, rarely 6, under each scale of the
catkin ; calyx 3- to 5-parted ; stamens as many as the lobes of the calyx,
with short filaments. Pistillate flowers 2 to 3 under each scale of the cat-
kin ; calyx of 4 small scales, adherent to the scales of the catkin.

A slender shrub, 6 to 12 feet high. Leaves obovate, acute at the base,
rounded or blunt at the apex, shai-ply serrate, somewhat coriaceous, green
both sides, smooth or downy beneath. The flowers appear early in spring
before the expansion of the leaves, the staminate ones in long drooping
catkins, the pistillate, in short erect ones, which, in fruit, are ovate, and
persist for a long time upon the stem.

Habitat. — Common in swamps and along the marshy borders of streams,
from Southern New England to Wisconsin and southward.

Fart Used. — The bark — not official.

Constituents. — The only important constituent of alder bark thus far
discovered is tannin.

Preparations. — Commonly used in decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Alder bark is alterative and astringent.
It is said to have been used in diarrhoea, and hsematuria. In some sec-
tions of the country it is largely employed in domestic practice as a puri-
fier of the blood, both for the human subject and domestic animals. The
author has seen it employed many times in persons afflicted with succes-
sive crops of boils, with the happiest effect. Evidently such effects could
not have been produced by the tannin which it contains, hence there is
probably present some other principle of an active character which has not
as yet been isolated.

Other species of alnus, both indigenous and exotic, possess similar
properties.

SALICACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Trees or shrubs with alternate simple, stipu-
late leaves. Flowers dioecious, in catkins, one under each bract, entirely
destitute of a floral envelope. Fruit a 1-celled, 2-valved, many-seeded pod,
the seeds provided with long silky down.

A small order comprising two genera, namely, Sahx and Populus. All
of them possess, to a greater or less extent, bitter tonic properties.

SALIX.— Willow.

Character of the Genus. — Scales of the catkin entire. Staminate flowers
of 2 to 10 distinct or united stamens, with 1 or 2 small glands. Pistillate
flowers with a small, flat gland at the base of the ovary.

254 SALICACE^.

A very large genus of shrubs and trees, growing chiefly along water-
courses in the northern temperate zone, but some inhabit high mountains,
and one is found nearer the north pole than any other shrubby plant. All
known species are bitter, and contain salmn in a greater or less proportion.
The one in which this principle is most abundant, and which has therefore
been chiefly employed medicinally, is :

Salix alba Linne. — White Willow.

Description. — Catkins long, loose, pedunculate, borne on the summit of
the lateral leafy branches of the season. Scales entire, greenish-yellow,
more or less hairy, falling before the pods are ripe. Stamens mostly 2 ;
filaments hairy below. Ovary short-stalked or nearly sessile, glabrous ;
stigmas thick, recurved.

A trje, 50 to 80 feet high. Leaves lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate,
pointed, somewhat toothed, clothed more or less with white, silky hairs,
especially beneath.

Habitat. — Introduced from Europe, but naturalized and very common
in moist situations.

The indigenous species of wiUow are very numerous, and many of them
are very common, but, as few of them have ever been employed medicinally^
they need not occupy our attention here.

Part Used. — The bark of salix alba and of other species of salix. —
United States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. —Willow bark contains as its most important constituent,
salicin. This, as remarked above, has been found in all species which have
been examined. On this account the Pharmacopoeia recognizes not only
salix alba, but "other species." The bark also contains considerable tan-
nin, and common vegetable principles.

Preparations. — None are official. It has been employed in powder, de-
coction, and infusion. The active principle, salicin, is the most eligible
and efficient form in which to employ it.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Willow bark is tonic and antiperiodic. It
has been used in intermittents, and as a tonic in dyspepsia, debility, and
convalescence. Kecently salicin has been employed with asserted benefit in
rheumatism.

POPULUS. —Poplar.

Character of the Genus. — Scales of the catkins jagged or irregularly cut-
lobed at the apex. Flpwers in a cup-shaped disk ; the staminate with 4 to
30 stamens ; the pistillate of a single pistil. Trees with broad, more or
less cordate leaves, the petioles often compressed laterally, thus occasion-
ing a tremulous motion when the least agitated. Catkins long and drooj)-
ing, appearing before the leaves.

Populus tremuloides Michaux. — American Aspen.

Description. — Scales of the catkins in 3 or 4 linear divisions, fringed

POPULUS — POPLAR. 255

-with long hairs. A tree, 20 to 50 feet high, with smooth, greenish-white
bark. Leaves roundish- cordate, acuminate, serrate, smooth both sides,
downy on the margins ; petioles long, slender, laterally compressed, so
that the gentlest breeze suffices to keep the leaves constantly agitated.

Habitat. — In woods and copses ; common.

Populus balsamifera Linne. — Balsam Poplar, Tacmahac.

Descnption. — Scales of the catkins dilated, slightly hairy. A tree, 40 to
80 feet high. Leaves ovate, acuminate, serrate with appressed teeth,
smooth both sides, green above, white and reticulate-veiny beneath. Jn
spring the buds are covered with an aromatic resin.

Habitat. — In moist soil, Northern New England to Wisconsin and north-
ward.

A variety of this species (P. candicans Alton — Balm of Gilead) differs in
having the leaves broader and somewhat cordate ; it is common in cultiva-
tion as a shade tree.

Parts Used. — Of P. tremuloides, the bark ; of P. balsamifera the resin-
ous exudation of the buds — neither is official.

Constituents. — The bark of all species of poplar contains a crystalline
principle, termed pojmlin, closely resembling salicin. The resin of the
balsam poplar does not differ materially in composition from other aro-
matic resins.

Pi^eparations. — Poplar bark is commonly administered in decoction or
infusion. The resin of the balsam poplar is readily separated from the
uuds by boiling them in water ; it may then be dissolved in alcohol, and
administered in this form, or a tincture of the entire buds may be em-
ployed.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Poplar bark is a bitter tonic, acting like
willow-bark, and possessing feeble antiperiodic properties. It is little
used.

Poplar balsam is reputed tonic and stimulant. It was formerly used
to a limited extent in pharmacy, to prevent ointments becoming rancid.

CONIFER/E.

Character of the Order. — Monoecious, rarely dioecious, trees or shrubs ;
tlowers in catkins, destitute of calyx and corolla ; stamens inserted on the
axis of the catkin under the scales, or the anther-cells are sessile on the
scales themselves ; ovules and seeds naked. Leaves mostly awl-shaped or
needle-shaped. Juice commonly resinous.

A large order, dispersed over all parts of the globe, most abundant
in temperate regions, but extending also to the tropics and frigid zones.
It comprises three well-marked sub-orders, namely : Abietineae, Pine
Family; Cupressineee, Cypress Family ; Taxineae, Yew Family.

256 CONIFERS.

ABIETINE^.

Character of the Sub-Order. — Ovules 2, inverted, in the axil of a scale or
bract ; bracts imbricated, in fruit forming a woody cone.

PINUS.— Pine.

Character of the Genus. — Sterile catkins clustered about the base of the
young current-year shoots ; the fertile at the apex, and maturing the fol-
lowing year. Leaves 2 to 5 in a cluster, sheathed at the base by thin, chaff-
like persistent scales.

Trees of a gregarious habit, often forming large forests ; found only
in the Northern hemisphere.

Pinus australis Michaux (P. palastris Linne.) — Long-leaved or Yellow
Fine.

Description. — Cones 6 to 10 inches long, cylindrical or conical-oblong,
the thick scales armed with a short recurved spine. Leaves in clusters of 3,
10 to 15 inches long, with long sheaths, crowded at the summit of thick
and very scaly branches. A tree 60 to 80 feet high, with thin-scaled bark
and very resinous wood, dividing near the summit into a number of spread-
ing branches.

Habitat. — From Southern Virginia southward, growing in sandy soil,
and often forming forests many miles in extent.

Pinus Taeda Linne. — Loblolly or Old-field Pine.

Descrijytion. — Cones 3 to 5 inches long, elongated-oblong, tapering, the
scales tipped with a stout incurved spine. Leaves in clusters of 2 or 3, 6 to
10 inches long, with long sheaths. A tree 50 to 100 feet high, with very
thick, furrowed bark, and sparingly resinous wood ; when growing in fields
it is low, with spreading branches.

Habitat. — In light soil, from Delaware southward ; often establishing
itself in fields exhausted by cultivation, hence called old-field pine.

The above-described species may be taken as fairly representing the
medicinal trees of the genus, though many others possess similar or identi-
cal properties. Recognizing this fact, and that the medicinal derivatives
of pine are procured from a variety of species, the United States Pharma-
copoeia mentions by name only the most important, Pinus australis, but
adds, "other species of pinus."

Pai'ts L^sed. — The medicinal virtues of pine reside in its oleo-resin.
This exudes in greater or less quantity from all species when wounded,
most abundantly, however, from P. australis, and is official under the
name terebinthina — turpentine. From it are procured oil of turpentine
and resin, while from the wood itself tar is obtained by the process of de-
structive distillation.

Constituents. — Turpentine, as it exudes from the tree, is a yellowish.

ABIES — SPRUCE. 257

viscid, somewhat opalescent liquid, of an agreeable odor and a pungent,
bitterish taste. Exposed to the air for a length of time it concretes, and
forms a tough mass which is brittle when cold. It consists of volatile oil
and resin. The former is separated by distiQation, and is the spirit of
turpentine of commerce, while the latter is the non-volatile residue, com-
mercially known as rosin. Tar is an empyreumatic oleoresin of very com-
plex composition, contaiaing acetic acid, methylic alcohol, creasote, car-
bolic acid, etc.

Freparations. — Of turpentine : Oleum terebinthinse — oil of turpentine,
resina — resin. Preparations of oil of turpentine : Linamentum canthari-
dis — cantharides liniment ; linamentum terebinthinse — tui-pentine lini-
ment. Preparations of resin : Ceratum resinse — resLa cerate ; emplastrum
resina? — resin plaster. Preparations of tar : Syrupus picis liquidse — syrup
of tar ; unguentum picis liquidse — tar ointment. — United States Pharma-
copoeia.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Crude turpentine is seldom or never
used internally at the present day ; since its virtues are believed to reside
chiefly in its essential oil, this is almost universally employed instead. Oil
of turpentine is stimulant, diuretic, anthelmintic, and, in large doses, cathar-
tic ; externally it is rubefacient and mildly vesicant. In small, frequently
repeated doses it stimulates the kidneys, augments the secretion of lu-ine,
and occasionally produces strangury and hsematuria. In large doses it
produces vertigo, nausea, and often brisk catharsis. It is used in a great
Tariety of cases. Like other terebinthinate medicines it is often employed
in the later stages of gonorrhoea, and in other cataiThal affections. In
typhoid fever, and in other affections where tympanites is a prominent and
distressing symptom, it often affords great relief ; and, indeed, in low ty-
phoid conditions generally its employment is commonly very satisfactory.
Its controllmg influence in passive hemorrhages has also long been recog-
nized and made use of. As a vermifuge it often enters into the composi-
tion of draughts for the expulsion of taenia. Externally, alone or in com-
bination, it is largely employed as a rubefacient.

Resin is employed as an ingredient of plasters and cerates, to which it
gives consistence and adhesiveness, without adding sensibly to their ac-
tivity.

The medicinal properties of tar are similar to those of turpentine,
modified, however, to some extent by the purely empyreumatic bodies
which it contains. It is used internally and by inhalation in chronic ca-
tarrhal affections, and externally in a variety of cutaneous diseases.

ABIES.— Spruce.

Character of the Genus.— Sterile catkins scattered or clustered in the
axils of the leaves of the preceding year ; fertile catkins lateral or terminal
on the branches of the preceding year ; both appearing in spring, the cones

258 CONIFERS.

maturing in the autumn of the same year. Scales of the cones thin, not
tipped, as in the pine, with a thickened spine. Leaves rigid, foHaceous,
scattered, not fasciculate, persistent for two or three years.

Abies balsamea Marshall.— ^a/sar?? Fir.

Description. — Cones cylindrical, 2 to 4 inches long, erect on the upper
side of the spreading branches; scales mostly deciduous fi'om the persist-
ent axis at maturity. Leaves ^ to f inch long, narrow, flat, rigid, bright
green above, silvery beneath, mostly sessile on horizontal branches, and
spreading in two directions so as to seem 2-ranked.

A slender, tapering tree, rarely more than 40 feet high ; branches dimin-
ishing in length in proportion to their height from the ground, foriuing,
under favorable circumstances, a perfectly regular pyramidal head. Bark
rather smooth, bearing resin in vesicles.

Habitat. — In cold damp woods and swamps from New England to Penn-
sylvania, Wisconsin, and northward ; common in Canada, not forming for-
ests but disseminated among other trees.

Abies Fraseri Pursh. — Frasei-'s or Southern Batmm Fir.

Description. — Cones oblong-ovate, 1 to 2 inches long, otherwise much
like the preceding. A small tree.

Habitat. — In the mountains from Pennsylvania to North Carolina.

Abies Canadensis Michaux, — Hemlock, Hemlock Spruce.

Description. — Cones oval, ^ to f inch long, hanging on the ends of the
branches of the preceding year, persistent ; scales not falling awaj^ from
the axis. Leaves linear, obtuse, ^ inch long, scattered, somewhat 2-ranked,
dark green above, paler beneath. A large tree, often 70 to 80 feet high,
with a diameter of 2 to 3 feet ; in forests, with spreading branches at the
top. Bark rough and deeply-furrowed ; wood light, coarse-grained, but
comparatively strong, largely used for fences and outbuildings.

Habitat. — In hilly and rocky soil. In many regions it forms forests of
considerable extent, especially on west hillsides. Most common north-
ward. It is approaching extinction in many sections of the Northern
United States, since it does not flourish as a second-growth tree.

Farts Used. — The resinous exudation of all sjDecies. That procured
from A. balsamea is ofiicial under the name Terebinthina Canadensis —
Canada turpentine, or Canada balsam. It is contained in l^listers or vesi-
cles upon the bark and is collected by puncturing these and pressing out
their contents. A. Fraseri yields a balsam of identical character. The
resinous exudation of A. Canadensis is official under the name Pix Cana-
densis— Canada pitch or hemlock pitch.

Constituents. — Canada turpentine is a yellowish or faintly greenish,
transparent, viscid liquid, of an agreeable terebinthinate odor, and a bitter-
ish, shghtly acrid taste. Exposed to the air it slowly concretes, and forms
a mass which is brittle when cold. It is composed of volatile oil and
resm.

LARIX — LARCH. 269

Canada pitcli is in opaque, reddish-brown masses, hard and brittle at
ordinary temperatures, but readily softening by the apphcation of little
heat. It contains resin, and a minute proportion of volatile oil.

Preparations. — Of Canada turpentine : none. Of Canada pitch : Em-
plastrum picis Canadensis — Canada pitch plaster. — United States Pharmaco-
pceia.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Canada turpentine does not differ mate-
rially in action from common turpentine, and is seldom employed medici-
nally. Canada pitch, applied externally in the form of a plaster, produces
mild rubefaction, by virtue of its volatile oil. It is employed to some extent
as a substitute for Burgundy pitch, the product of A. excelsa of Europe.

The bark of A. Canadensis is very astringent and is largely used in
tanning. An extract prepared from it occurs as a commercial article and
has been employed to some extent as a topical astringent. It appears to
have no advantages over other common vegetable astringents.

L ARIX. — Larch.

Larix Americana Michaux. — American Larch, Tamarack.

Description. — Catkins terminating short lateral branches of the preced-
ing year, the sterile from leafless buds, the fertile mostly with leaves below ;
cones ovoid, ^ to f inch long ; scales few, rounded, not thickened. Leaves
needle-shaped, soft, fasciculate, deciduous. A tall, slender tree, with hori-
zontal branches, and thin scaly bark, from which exudes an aromatic resin.

Habitat — In swamps and marshy borders of small lakes and ponds from
New England to Pennsylvania and AVisconsin ; most common northward.
It attains its greatest perfection in peat swamps ; indeed, an abundant
growth of this tree in a swamp is almost certain evidence of a deposit of
peat.

Parts Used — The inner bark and the resinous exudation — not official.

Constituents. — It does not appear that an analysis of the bark of the
American larch has yet been made. The bark of an allied European
species L. Europcea contains tannin of a peculiar character, and another
acid principle allied to pyrogallic acid and pyrocatechu. The resinous
exudation contains resin and a smaU quantity of volatile oil.

Preparations. — The bark is commonly employed in decoction. The
resinous exudation, is an article of commerce under the name of tamarack,
or spruce gum. It is prepared, generally by sophistication with other
cheaper substances, for use as chewing-gum.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Little is known of the therapeutic prop-
erties of tamarack bark, though it is said to be laxative, tonic, diui-etic,
and alterative. Tamarack gum has no inherent medicinal properties.
Being chewed, it stimulates the salivary secretion, and to some dyspep-
tics affords a certain amount of relief ; but whether this is because of the

260 CONIFERS.

increased flow of saliva, or that the act of chewing keeps their minds off
the subject of digestion, which consequently goes on more smoothly, are
questions not easily answered. That some dyspeptics are relieved by the
practice is certain. And yet, it may be well to add, tamarack gum is
chiefly chewed, not for medicinal purposes, but simply as a habit.

CUPRESSINEyB.

Character of the Sub- Order. — Fertile flowers, consisting of a few carpel-
lary scales, without bracts, bearing single or several erect ovules on their
face, forming a closed strobile, or a sort of drupe in fruit.

THUJA.— Arbor Vit^.

Thuja OCCidentalis Linn6. — American Arbor Vitce, Yellow Cedar,
White Cedar.

Description. — Flowers mostly monoecious on different branches, in
small, terminal, ovoid catkins. Stamens with 4 anther cells. Fertile
catkins, with a few imbricated scales, each bearing two ovules. Cones
small ; scales smooth, not thickened ; seeds winged all around. Leaves
appressed, closely imbricated in 4 rows on the 2-edged branchlets, per-
sistent, evergreen, shining.

A tree, 30 to 50 feet high, with a rapidly tapering trunk, and horizon-
tal or declinate branches, often from base to summit. Wood light, some-
what resinous, very durable.

Habitat. — In deep, cold swamps, often associated with tamarack, and on
wet, rocky banks ; common.

Farts Used. — The fresh tops (small branchlets with their covering of
imbiicated leaves) — United States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — Thuja has a balsamic, somewhat terebinthinate odor, and
a pungently aromatic, camphoraceous and bitter taste. It has yielded to
analysis volatile oil, a peculiar crystalline principle termed thujin, and
common vegetable principles.

Preparations. — There are no official preparations. Fluid extracts and
tinctures occur as commercial articles. These should be made from the
fresh drug.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Thuja possesses stimulating properties
similar to those of terebinthinate drugs generallj^ but is probably more
nearly allied to savine in its action than to any other remedy of the class.
It has been employed in amenorrhoea, catarrhal affections, passive hemor-
rhage, etc. Externally it is useful in repressing fungous granulations,
removing warts, etc.

Thuja should be carefully distinguished from Cupressus thyoides, also,
and more properly called, white cedar.

JUNIPERUS — JUNIPER.

261

JUNIPERUS. —Juniper.

Character of the Genus. — Flowers dioecious, occasionally monoecious,
in very small lateral catkins. Anthers 3 to 6, one-celled, inserted in the
lower edge of the scales. Fertile flowers few in a small ovoid catkin, of
3 to 6, fleshy coalescent scales, each one-ovuled. Fruit berry-like, though
in reality a reduced fleshy cone, with scaly bracts at the base, black with a
whitish bloom.

Evergreen shrubs or trees with small, scale-like leaves.

Juniperus communis Linne. — Common Juniper.

Berries globular, one-third inch in diameter, dark-purplish, and covered
with a whitish bloom. Leaves artic-
idated, in whorls of 3, with a slender
prickly point, one-half to three-fourths
of an inch long, bright green below,
glaucous-white above.

A low shrub, 4 to 6 feet high, as-
cending or spreading on the ground.

Habitat. — On dry sterile hills ;
common. It is abundant also in Eu-
rope, where it fruits more freely than
here.

Juniperus Virginiana Linne. —
Red Cedar.

Description. — Berries smaller than
in the preceding. Leaves of two dif-
ferent forms ; the younger ones small,
ovate, acute, scale-Uke, imbricate in
foui' rows upon the sub-divided
branchlets ; the older, awl-shaped,
loose, one-half inch long. The latter
form is common in young plants,
making them resemble, to some ex-
tent, the preceding species.

A shrub or small tree in the East, but westward often attaining a height
of 60 to 90 feet.

Habitat. — In sterile or rocky soil ; common.

Parts Used. — Of J. communis : the fruit — United States Pharmacopoeia.
Of J. Virginiana : the tops — formerly official, but dropped from the Phar-
macopoeia in 1880.

Constituents. — Juniper berries contain a small percentage of fragrant
volatile oil, a peculiar principle termed juniperin, and common vegetable
principles. Red cedar contains volatile oil, resin, and common vegetable
principles.

Fig. 156.— Juniperus communis.

262 CONIFERiE.

Preparations. — Of juniper berries : Oleum juniperi — oil of juniper ; spir-
itus juniperi — spirit of juniper ; spiritus juniperi compositus — compound
spirit of juniper. — United States Pharmacopceia.

Ked cedar has been most commonly employed in infusion or decoc-
tion. The berries possess properties similar to those of common juniper,
and have been employed in the same manner.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Juniper berries are stimulant, diuretic,
carminative and emmenagogue, imparting to the urine the odor of violets,
and sometimes producing irritation of the urinary passages. They are
chiefly employed as an adjuvant to other more active medicines.

Bed cedar resembles savine in action, but is seldom used.

TAXUS.

Taxus baccata Linne var. Canadensis Gray. — American Yew,
Ground Hemlock.

Description. — Flowers dioecious or monoecious ; the sterile in small
globular catkins formed of a few naked stamens ; fertile solitary, consisting
of an erect ovule with an annular disk, becoming in fruit pulpy and berry-
Hke, globular and red, enclosing a single nut-like seed. Leaves evergreen,
one-haK to three-fourths inch long, flat, mucronate, rigid, 2- ranked, much
resembling those of the hemlock spruce, but larger. A low, diffusely-
spreading shrub.

Habitat. — In dark shady places, often under other evergreens, flourish-
ing equally well in cedar swamps, uplands, and rocky gorges ; very com-
mon everywhere. In some sections wrongly called poison hemlock.

This plant, a variety only of the Eui'opean jew, cannot be said to have,
as yet, a place among medicines. It is believed, however, to possess poi-
sonous properties, and is perhaps worthy of investigation. Regarding the
poisonous properties of the berries, the author can state that he has eaten
them without deleterious effect, but whether because the quantity was in-
sufficient or not, is an open question. Cases of fatal poisoning from eating
the berries of the European yew are on record, and therefore our variety
is certainly open to suspicion.

CLASS n.— MONOCOTYLEDONOUS OR ENDOGENOUS PLANTS.

Stems with no distinction of bark, wood, and pith, their fibrous and
cellular tissue being irregularly commingled. When perennial, such stems
do not increase by the deposition of annual layers outside the wood
already formed, but by new material deposited within, whence the term
endogenous, that is, gro\ving within. Leaves commonly parallel-veined,
sheathing at the base, and not articulated with the stem. Parts of the

ARIS^MA INDIAN TURNIP. 263

flower in threes. Embryo with a single cotyledon (or seed-leaf), whence
the term monocotyledonous.

ARACE^.

Character of the Order. — Plants with an acrid or pungent juice, simple
or compound alternate leaves, and flow-
ers on a spadix which is commonly
surrounded by a spathe. Floral enve-
lopes absent, or of 4 to 6 sepals. Fruit
usually a berry.

A large order of chiefly tropical
plants. In general they possess acrid
and iriitating properties.

ARIS^MA.— Indian Turndp.

Arisaema triphyllum Torrey. —
Indian Turnip.

Description, — Flowers monoecious
or by abortion dioecious, crowded upon
the base of an elongated, club-shaped
spadix, which is surrounded and cov-
ered by a flattened, incurved, hooded
spathe ; both spathe and spadix, the for-
mer especially, often variegated with
dark purple spots and stripes. Floral
envelope absent. Sterile flowers above
the fertile, each of a cluster of 2- to 4-
celled anthers ; fertile flowers, consist-
ing of a single 1-celled, 5- to 6-ovuled
ovary, forming in fruit a scarlet, 1- to 5-
seeded berry. Leaves mostly two, di- ^«- i57.-ArisiBma triphyUam.

vided into 3 elliptical-ovate, entire, pointed, veiny leaflets.

A low perennial herb, with a wrinkled, turnip-shaped, farinaceous corm.
It blooms in April and May.

Habitat. — In rich woods, everywhere.

Parts Used. — The corm— not official.

Constituents. — Indian turnip contains an intensely acrid principle which
has not yet been isolated. It is evidently very volatile, being partially lost
in drying, and entirelj^ so by long keeping.

Preparations. — It has been employed in substance and in syrup.

Medical Properties and Uses. — In the recent state Indian turnip, applied
to the skin, may vesicate ; being chewed it leaves in the mouth an acrid

264 ARACE^.

impression which persists for hours. It has been employed chie% in
domestic practice, as a stimulating expectorant, and to relieve flatulent
coHc. Topically it has been employed in aphthous sore mouth, as a
stimulant to indolent ulcers, and in cutaneous affections.

SYMPLOCARPUS.— Skunk Cabbage.

Symplocarpus foetidus Salisbury. — Skunk Cabbage.

Descnption. — Flowers perfect, thickly crowded upon a globular, short-
stalked spadix, which is surrounded and covered by a fleshy, hooded spathe ;
the latter striped and spotted with purple. Sepals 4, hooded. Stamens
4, opposite the sepals. Ovary 1-celled, immersed in the fleshy receptacle ;
Style 4-angled ; stigma small. Fruit a globular mass, 2 to 3 inches in
diameter, composed of the enlarged fleshy spadix enclosing the seeds just
below the surface.

A perennial herb, with a thick descending root-stock, and numerous
strong fibrous roots. Leaves all radical, 1 to 2 feet long when fully grown,
ovate, cordate, entire, short petioled, smooth and shining green. It blooms
very early in spring, sometimes even in winter when the weather is mod-
erate ; the fruit matures about September.

Habitat. — In bogs and wet places, often associated with veratrum vi-
ride ; common.

Farts Used. — The rhizome and roots. Formerly official under the name
dracontium, but dropped from the Pharmacopceia in 1880.

Constituents. — All parts of this plant have a strong odor like that of
the skunk. The root has an acrid, pungent taste, and possesses an acrid
principle of a volatile character which has not been isolated. This prin-
ciple is dissipated in drying or by heat, and is entirely lost by long keep-
ing.

Preparations. — ^It has been employed in infusion, tincture, and in sub-
stance.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Skunk cabbage has been used chiefly in
spasmodic affections, its disgusting odor having probably first afforded
the suggestion. It is said to have produced happy effects in spasmodic
asthma and in hysteria. In the latter it probably acts quite as strongly
upon the mind as upon the body of the patient, possibly more so. As its
activity is diminished or lost by long keeping, it is essential that the drug
be used as fresh as possible, or at least that the preparations employed be
made from the fresh plant.

ACORUS.— Sweet Flag.

Acorus Calamus Linne. — Sioeet Flag, Calamus.

Description. — Flowers perfect, thickly crowded upon a cylindrical
spadix which emerges from the side of a simple, 2-edged, leaf-like scape.

ALISMA WATER PLANTAIN. 265

Sepals 6, concave. Stamens 6 ; filaments linear ; anthers reniform.
Ovary 2- to 3-celled, each cell several-ovuled ; stigma minute. Fruit at
length dry, gelatinous inside, 1- to few-seeded.

A perennial herb with thick, creeping rootstocks, from which are sent
up 2-edged leaves and scapes. It flowers early in summer.

Habitat. — In wet places ; common both here and in Europe.

Part Used.—Th.Q rhizome. Official name : Calamus — United States
Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — Calamus has a pungent, bitterish and aromatic taste, and
a strong fragrant odor. It contains a small percentage of volatile oil, a
bitter principle, and common vegetable constituents.

Preparations. — Extractum calami fluidum — fluid extract of Calamus. —
United States Pharmacopoeia.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Calamus is an aromatic which excites a
sensation of warmth in the stomach, improves the appetite, and aids diges-
tion. It is used chiefly as an adjuvant of other more powerful remedies.

ALISMAGE^.

Marsh herbs with scape-like flowering stems, and perfect or monoe-
cious flowers. Sepals and petals 3, distinct. Stamens 6, hypogynous.
Ovaries 3 to many, distinct or partly so, and, if united, separating at matu-
rity into three 1- or 2-seeded pods or achenia.

An order comprising two sub-orders, only one of which, Alismece, has
medicinal species.

ALISMA. — Water Plantain.

Alisma plantago Linne (var. Americanum Gray). — Water Plan-
tain.

Description. — Flowers perfect, numerous, on compound paniculate
scapes. Sepals 3, green, persistent. Petals 3, involute in the bud, white,
deciduous. Stamens commonly 6. Ovaries many, in a simple circle on a
flattened receptacle, forming obliquely-ovate, coriaceous achenia, which are
dilated, and 2- to 3-keeled on the back.

A perennial herb. Leaves ovate, oblong or lanceolate, pointed, mostly
rounded or cordate at the base, 3- to 9-nerved, on long petioles.

Habitat. — In shallow water ; common.

Parts Used. — The root and leaves. Not official.

Constit uents. — Unknown .

Preparations. — It has been employed in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Little can be said on this subject. It
has been employed with asserted benefit in hydrophobia, and for diuretic
effect in nephritic and calculous affections.

266 ORCHID ACE^.

ORGHIDACE^.

Character of the Order. — Herbs with perfect, irregular flowers. Peri-
anth of 6 divisions, in 2 sets ; the three outer (sepals) commonly petaloid ;
of the three inner (petals) one is commonly more or less different in form
from the others, and is called the lahellum or hp ; it is commonly directed
forward. In front of the hp is the column, composed of a single stamen,
or in Cypripedium, of two, with the rudiment of a third, coherent with, or
borne upon the thick fleshy style or stigma ; anther 2-celled, each cell con-
taining one or more masses of pollen. Stigma a broad glutinous surface,
except in Cypripedium. Ovary 1-celled, with innumerable ovules on 3
parietal placentie. Fruit a 1-celled, 3-valved pod, with innumerable very
small seeds.

Perennial herbs, with alternate leaves, often tuberous roots, and showy,
irregular, often singularly-shaped flowers. A very large order of chiefly
tropical plantsi The North American species are in general of little medi-
cinal importance.

GORALLORHIZ A. —Coral-Root.

Coral lorhiza odontorhiza Nuttall. — Coral-Boot.

Description. — Perianth _ somewhat ringent, obscurely spui;red at the
base ; sepals and petals nearly alike, the upper arching ; lip entire or den-
ticulate, broadly ovate or obpvate, abruptly contracted at the base. An-
ther terminal ; pollen masses 4. Pod at first acute at the base, at length
oval.

A iight-brown or purplish, plant, with scales instead of leaves, 6 to 16
inches high, with bulbous, coral-hke roots, probably parasitic. Flowers
6 to 10, on slender pedicels, whitish, appearing from May to July.

Habitat. — In rich woods from New York to Michigan and southward.

Part Used. — The root — not official.

Constituents. — Unknown. "■^•

Preparations. — Commonly employed in infusion.

Medical Properties. — Coral-root is said to be a prompt and efficient
diaphoretic. i

CYPRIPEDIUM.— Lady's^Swppeb.

Cypripedium pubescens Willdenow.— Yellow Lady's Slipper.

Description. — Calyx : sepals elongated-lanceolate, spreading, wavy,
brownish, 2 of them united into one piece below the lip. Corolla : lateral
petals elongated-lanceolate, brownish or yellowish-green, wavy or more com-
monly twisted ; lip slipper- or moccasin-shaped, much inflated, 1 to 2 inches
long, yellow without, spotted within with brown. Column declined, with
a fertile stamen on each side ; on the upper side is an abortive stamen in

PLATE VIII

I.. Johnson. Del.

CYPRIPEDIUM PUBESCENS.

PLATE VIII.— Cypripedium pubescens.

Fig. 1. — Flowering plant— natural size.
Fig. 2. — Side view of the column and style.
Fig. 3. — Front view of the abortive stamen.

ALETRIS — STAR-GRASS. 269

the shape of a triangular, greenish-yellow, spotted body, corresponding^
with the fertile stamen of other orchids, and covering the summit of the
style ; stigmg. terminal, broad, obscurely 3-lobed, moist, not viscid.

A perennial, 1 to 2 feet high, with a horizontal rhizome, tufted
fibrous rootlets, and strongly ribbed, slightly pubescent leaves ; stem also
pubescent, 1- to 2-flowered.

Another species, G. parviflorum, Salisbury, is very similar, if not iden-
tical with this ; at least it is extremely difficult to distinguish one from
the other.

Habitat. — In bogs, swamps, and low woods ; sometimes in mountain
woods. Widely distributed, and, in some regions, common. The vary-
ing conditions under which it will flourish are rather remarkable. The
author, while seeking plants to illustrate this work, found it in a dry situ-
ation on the Orange Mountains, N. J., and again in Western New York,
in a deep, and almost impassible swamp, where it grew upon moss-covered
logs, surrounded hj Avater.

Parts Used. — The rhizome and rootlets of C. pubescens and C. parvi-
florum— United States Fharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — A minute quantity of volatile oil, volatile acid, resin,
and common vegetable principles.

Preparations. — Extractum cypripedii fluidum — fluid extract of Cy-
pripedium. — United States Pharmacopoeia.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Cypripedium is a mild nervous stimu-
lant and anti-sjDasmodic, acting somewhat like valerian, but less efficiently.
Its use is almost entirely restricted to hysterical affections, though it is
said to have been employed successfully in epilepsy, neuralgia, and other
nervous diseases.

H>EMODORACE>E.

Character of the Order. — Perennial herbs with fibrous roots, ensiform,
equitant leaves, and bearing woolly hairs or scurf on their stems and flow-
ers. Perianth 6-cleft at the summit, cohering with the whole surface, or
with the base only of the ovary. Stamens 3 to 6, inserted at the base of
the lobes of the perianth. Ovary 3-celled ; style single, often 3-cleft.
Pod crowned or enclosed by the persistent perianth, 3-celled, 3- to many-
seeded.

A small order of mainly unimportant plants.

ALETRIS. —Star-Grass.

Aletris farinosa Linne. — Star-Grass, Colic-Root.

Description. — Perianth oblong-tubular, 6-cleft, not woolly, but wrinkled
and roughened, cohering wit'i the base of the ovary, white. Stamens 6.

270 IRIDACE^.

Style awl- shaped, 3-cleft. Pod ovate, enclosed in the persistent perianth ;
seeds numerous.

A perennial herb with a horizontal rhizome and fibrous rootlets.
Leaves all radical, in a cluster, thin. Hat, lanceolate. Flowers small, in a
wandlike raceme terminating a naked scape, 2 to 3 feet high. It blooms
in July and August.

Habitat. — In sandy and grassy woods ; widely distributed.

Parts Used. — The rhizome and rootlets — formerly official.

Constituents. — Stai*- grass contains a bitter principle, not yet isolated,
starch, and other common vegetable constituents.

Preparations. — Commonly used in infusion or decoction. The bitter
principle, however, seems to be more soluble in alcohol than in water, and
hence a tincture would undoubtedly be more efficient. It has also been
employed in powder.

Medical Pi^operties and Uses. — Star-grass probably possesses no me-
dicinal properties other than those of simple bitters generally, though
others have been ascribed to it ; and as remedies of this class produce
different effects, depending largely upon the manner of administration, so
this may be employed as a tonic, diaphoretic, emetic, etc.

IRIDACE/E.

Character of the Order. — Herbs with corms, rhizomes, or fibrous roots,
equitant, 2 -ranked leaves, and flowers from a sheath of 2 or more leaves or
bracts. Perianth 6-parted, in 2 rows, sometimes irregular, the tube cohe-
rent with the 3-celled ovary, and 3 distinct or monadelphous stamens, alter-
nate with the inner divisions of the perianth and opposite the stigmas.
Pod 3-celled, many seeded.

A large order in tropical regions, but represented in North America
by few species. They are generally characterized by acrid properties.

IRIS.

Iris versicolor Linne. — Blue Flag.

Description. — Perianth deeply 6-parted, the 3 outer divisions reflexed,
the 3 inner smaller, erect ; the tube prolonged beyond the ovary, but
shorter than the lobes. Stamens distinct, covered by the petaloid stigmas.
Ovary and pod obtusely triangular.

An herbaceous perennial with a tortuous, thickened root-stock. Stem
«tout, 1 to 3 feet high, angled on one side, branching, leafy. Leaves ensi-
form, three-fourths inch wide, 6 to 8 inches long. Flowers large and
showy, 2^ to 3 inches long, violet-blue variegated with greenish, yellow,
and white, with pui'ple veins, appearing in May and June.

Habitat. — In marshes and wet places ; one of the commonest and most
beautiful of wild flowers.

IRIS.

271

Parts Used. — The rhizome and rootlets. Official name : Iris — United
States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — Besides common vegetable principles iris contains an
acrid resin, upon which its medicinal activity depends.

Fig. 158. — Iris versicolor.

Preparations. — Extractum iridis — extract of iris ; extractum iridis flui-
dum — fluid extract of iris. — United States Pharmacopoeia. A saturated
tincture made from the fresh rhizome is an excellent preparation.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Iris, in full doses, is an active emeto-
cathartic, operating with violence, and producing considerable prostration.
Its effects upon the Hver appear to be analogous to those of podophyllum.
In sick headache dependent upon indigestion, small doses, frequently re-
peated, often act most happily. It has been largely used by eclectic prac-

272 LILIACE^.

titioners, and is highly esteemed by them as a hydragogue cathartic, an
alterative, sialagogue, vermifuge, and diuretic.

LILIACEiC.

Character of the Order. — Herbs, rarely woody plants, with bulbs, conns,
rhizomes, or fibrous roots, simple, sheathing or clasping leaves, and regu-
lar flowers. Perianth colored, of 6 divisions or 6-cleft ; stamens G ; ovary
3-celled ; style single ; stigma simple or 3-lobed. Fruit 3-celled, capsular
or succulent.

A very large order in temperate and tropical regions. Many of them
are actively emetic, cathartic, etc., while others, as the onion and garUc,
are edible.

TRILLIUM.— Three-leaved Nightshade.

Character of the Genus. — Divisions of the perianth in 2 series, the
outer 3 (sepals) lanceolate, spreading, often foliaceous, persistent ; the
inner 3 (petals) larger, colored, withering. Anthers on short filaments, ad-
nate. Styles or sessile stigmas 3, separate down to the ovary, persistent.
Ovary 3- to 6-angled. Fruit an ovate, 3-celled, many-seeded berry.

Perennial herbs with a simple stem rising from a short thick rhizome,
and bearing a whorl of 3 leaves and a single terminal flower.

Trillium erectum Linne. — Bethroot, Birthroot, Wake-Robin.

Description. — Flower on a slender, erect or inclined peduncle, 1 to 3
inches long. Petals ovate, acutish, dark purple, spreading, withering, a
little longer than the sepals. Leaves dilated-rhomboidal, about as broad
as long. It blooms in May.

A variety of this species {var. album Pursh — T. pendulum Aiton) has
the petals greenish- white or yellowish.

Habitat. — In rich woods ; common. The variety is found in similar
locations.

Trillium grand if lo rum Salisbury. — Large White Wake-Robin.

Description. — Flower on a slender erect or inclined peduncle, 2 to 3
inches long. Petals obovate, spreading, 2 to ^^ inches long, much longer
than the sepals, white, changing to rose-color and finally withering.
Leaves rhomboid- obovate, longer than broad. It blooms in June.

Habitat. — In rich woods from Vermont to Kentucky, Wisconsin and
northward.

The above described species of trillium will serve to illustrate the ge-
nus. There is probably little difference in the activity of any indigenous
species, and all are collected indiscriminately.

Parts Used. — The rhizome and rootlets — not official.

Constituents. — In addition to common vegetable constituents, as starch,

VERATRUM FALSE HELLEBORE.

273

tannin, etc., trillium contains a peculiar acrid principle which requires
further investigation.

I^'eparations. — Used in powder and in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Trillium is said to be astringent, tonic,
and alterative. From its supposed action upon the uterus it derived the
name birth-root. It has been employed to check hemorrhages, as epis-
taxis, haemoptysis, and menorrhagia, and as an astringent and stimulating
apphcation to ulcers, etc. It is little used except by eclectic practitioners,

VERATRUM.— False Hellebore.
Veratrum viride Alton. — American Hellebore.

Fig. 159.— Veratrum viride.

Description. — Flowers monoeciously polygamous. Perianth of 6, sepa-
rate, spreading, yellowish-green, persistent sepals. Stamens free from, and

274 LILIACE^.

shorter than the sepals, recurved. Ovary 3 celled, free from the perianth ;
styles 3, diverging. Pod 3-lobed, of 3 membranaceous carpels, united in
the axis, but separating when matm*e, several-seeded.

A stout herbaceous perennial, 2 to 4 feet high. Stems simple, from a
thickened rootstock, beset with numerous strong, fibrous rootlets. Leaves
broadly oval, pointed, sheathing at the base, strongly plaited, the lower
large, the upper very much reduced. Flowers in dense spike-like racemes
arranged in a large, leafy panicle, appearing in June and July.

Habitat. — In swamps and low grounds ; everywhere common, often as-
sociated with skunk-cabbage.

Parts Used. — The rhizome and rootlets ; official name, Veratrum viride
— United States Pharmacopoeia.

Constituents. — The active piinciples of veratrum viride appear to be of
a rather complex character. In 1865 two alkaloids were discovered in the
drug, which received the names viridia and veratroidia. The first-named
was afterward shown to be impure Jervia, while veratroidia, upon inves-
tigation, yielded a number of proximate principles. None of these princi-
ples, however, have been separated in commercial quantities. At most
only a trace of veratrina (veratrine) has been discovered in veratrum viride,
this alkaloid being procured for medicinal purposes from the seed of
Asagrcea officinalis Lindley ( Veratrum sabadilla Schlecht).

Preparations. — Extractum veratri viridis fluidum — fluid extract of vera-
trum viride ; tinctura veratri viridis — tincture of veratrum viride. — United
States Pharmacopoeia.

Medical Properties and Use.'?. — Veratrum viride is a powerful irritant
whether employed externally or internally. The powdered drug, when
snuffed up the nostrils, even in minute quantities, causes violent sneezing ;
moistened and applied to the cutaneous surface, it produces redness and
burning. Taken internally, it reduces the fulness and frequency of the
pulse, and, if the dose be large, or long-continued, excites nausea, vomiting,
and purging and causes great prostration. It is used chiefly in inflamma-
tory affections of a decidedly sthenic type, particularly those of the respira-
tory organs. Many practitioners rely upon it almost to the entire exclusion
of other agents in the early stage of pneumonia, claiming that, by control-
ling the heart's action, it limits the inflammatory process. Its action is,
however, rather difficult to gauge properly, for at the very moment of pro-
ducing its happiest effects upon the heart, distressing nausea and vomiting
may occur and reduce the patient to a dangerous degree. It is plainly con-
tra-indicated in cardiac debility and in all asthenic conditions of whatever
nature.

CHAM^LIRIUM.— Devil's Bit.

Chamdelirium luteum Gray [Helonias lutea Aiton). — Blazing-Star^
DeviVs Bit, Starwori

Description. — Flowers dioecious. Perianth of 6, separate, spatulate-

POLYGONATUM — SOLOMOn's SEAL. 275>

linear, spreading, white, withering-persistent sepals. Stamens longer than
the sepals ; anthers yellow. Pistillate flowers with rudimentary stamens ;
styles 3, revolute. Pod ovoid-oblong, membranaceous, 3-valved, many-
seeded.

An herbaceous perennial. Stem simple, wand-like, IJ to 2 feet high,
from a short, thick rootstock with numerous fibrous rootlets. Leaves flat,
lanceolate, the lowest spatulate, tapering into a petiole. Flowers in a ter-
minal spicate raceme, 4 to 9 inches long, appearing in June.

Habitat. — In low grounds from New England to Illinois and southward.

I^arts Used. — The rhizome and rootlets — not official.

Constituents. — A bitter neutral principle, termed chamcelirin, and com-
mon vegetable constituents.

Preparations. — Commonly used in infusion or tincture. An impure
resinous substance, termed helonin, is considerably employed by eclectics.
It is prepared by precipitation from the alcoholic tincture.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Blazing-star is said to be tonic and an-
thelmintic ; it is probably little more than a simple bitter.

CONVALLARIA.— Lily of the Valley.

Convallaria majalls Linne. — Lily of the Valley.

Description. — Perianth bell-shaped, 6-lobed, white, deciduous. Stamens
6, shorter than the perianth and inserted on its base. Ovary 3-celled ;
style simple, stout ; stigma triangular. Fruit a red, few-seeded beriy.

A low, stemless perennial, with slender, running rootstocks, and fibrous
rootlets. Leaves two, oblong, their long petioles rolled one within the
other. Scape somewhat angular, having a one-sided raceme of beautiful,
fragrant flowers, which appear in May.

Habitat. — On high mountains from Virginia southward ; specifically-
identical with the common flower of gardens of the same name which was
introduced from Europe.

Farts Used. — The rhizome and rootlets — not official.

Constituents. — Two giucosides, termed convallarin and convallamarin,
besides the common constituents of plants.

Preparations. — It is commonly employed in the form of fluid extract.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Convallaria has been recently reintro-
duced as a remedy, and is being considerably experimented with as a
cardiac tonic. In action it somewhat resembles digitalis. Its sphere of
usefulness is not, as yet, accurately defined..

POLYGONATUM.— Solomon's Seal.

Character of the Genus. — Perianth cylindrical, 6-lobed at the margin.
Stamens 6, inserted about the middle of the tube of the perianth, included.
Ovary 3-celled, each cell 2- to 6-ovuled ; style slender, jointed ; stigma ob-
'♦^irely 3-lobed. Fruit a globular, black or blue, 3- to 6-seeded berry.

276 LILIACExE.

Herbaceous pereunials, with thick, knotted rootstocks. Stems leafless be-
low, leafy above, and bearing small axillary flowers, which appeal' in early
summer.

Polygonatum biflorum Elliott. — Smaller Solomon's Seal.

Desci^iption. — Flowers greenish, one-half inch long, on 1- to 3-, com-
monly 2-flowered peduncles, nodding. Stem glabrous, 1 to 3 feet high, re-
curved. Leaves alternate, ovate-oblong, or lance-oblong, nearly sessile,
commonly minutely pubescent above, glaucous beneath.

Habitat. — In rich woods ; common.

Polygonatum giganteum Dietrich. — Great Solomon's Seal.

Description. — Flowers like the preceding but larger and on 2- to 8-
flowered peduncles. Entire plant glabrous. Stem stout, 2 to 8 feet high,
recurved. Leaves ovate, somewhat clasping, 5 to 8 inches long, the upi3er
oblong, nearly sessile.

Habitat — Li rich alluvial soil.

Parts Used. — The rhizome and rootlet of both species — not officiaL

Constituents. — Unknown.

Pi^eparations. — Commonly used in decoction or infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Solomon's seal has a sweetish, mucilagi-
nous taste, followed by a faint sense of bitterness, and appears to owe what
little virtue it possesses to its mucilage. In decoction it is employed as a
domestic remedy to allay irritation of mucous surfaces, and in rhus jDoison-
ing, where it acts by protecting the inflamed parts from the air in the same
manner as other agents of like character.

The rhizomes of several indigenous species of Smilacina, a closely aUied
genus, possess similar properties and are used for the same purposes.

ERYTHRONIUM. —Dog's Tooth Violet.

Erythronium American um Smith. — Adders Tongue, Dog's Tooth
Violet.

Description. — Perianth of 6 distinct, petaloid sepals, in 2 series, re-
curved or spreading above, deciduous ; the outer series greenish-yellow
without, yellow within, inner series all yellow. Stamens 6, awl-shaped.
Style club-shaped ; stigmas united into one. Pod 3-valved, many-seeded.
A low stemless perennial, sending up in early sjDring, from a deeply buried
corm, a pair of clasping elliptical-lanceolate, pale green leaves, commonly
mottled with purplish, and a smooth scape bearing a single nodding flower.

Habitat. — In damp places in woods ; common.

Paii Used. — Tlie corm — not oflScial.

Constituents. — Unknown.

Preparations. — It has been employed in powder and in infusion.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Dog's tooth violet in full doses acts as
an emetic, but its irritant properties are lost in drying, so that it becomes
bland and even edible. It has never been much used.

ADIANTUM MAIDENHAIR. 277

CRYPTOGAMOUS OR FLOWERLESS PLANTS.

Plants which produce directly without the intervention of flowers, in-
stead of seeds, minute bodies of homogeneous structure, termed spores,
which do not contain an embryo or plantlet previous to germination.

Cryptogams are divided into two great classes, Thallogens and Acro-
GENS, the latter comprising those having a distinct axis, that is, a stem or
stem and branches, growing from the apex only, containing woody fibre
and vessels, and commonly with some sort of foliage. To this class be-
long the few cryptogams described in this work.

FILICES— FERNS.

Character of the Order. — Plants with leaves, called fronds, all radical,
on stalks, called stipes, rising from a root or roostock, circinate in the bud,
and bearing the fruit variously arranged in 1-celled spore-cases on their
under surface. The North American species are all herbaceous perennials.
Few of them are medicinally important.

POLYPODIUM— Polypody.

Polypodium vulgare Linne. — Common Polypody.

Description. — Fruit-dots round, comparatively large, naked, placed
half-way between the midrib and margin, commonly in a row, but some-
times scattered. Eoot-stock creeping, branched, often forming a tangled
mass, covered with brownish chaffy scales. Fronds evergreen, oblong or
lanceolate in general outline, smooth both sides, 4 to 10 inches high, sim-
ply and deeply pinnatifid ; the lobes linear-oblong, obtuse, entire or ob-
scurely toothed.

Habitat. — On rocks and fallen trees ; common both here and in Europe.

J^arts Used. — The rhizome and rootlets — not official.

Constituents. — Unknown.

Preparations . — Commonly used in decoction.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Common polypody has a sweetish, some-
what nauseous taste. In the recent state, large doses produce mild pur-
gation. Highly esteemed by the ancients, it has fallen into entire disuse.
Owing to the ease with which it may be administered in milk, it has been
recently recommended as a purgative for young children.

ADIANTUM. —Maidenhair.

Adiantum pedatum Linne. — Maidenhair.

Description. — Fruit-dots marginal, short, slightly crescentic, covered
by an indusium formed of the reflected border of the lobe. Fronds erect

278 FILICES FERNS.

on dark-purple or black polished stipes, 6 to 15 inches high ; these fork at
the summit, and each branch gives off on its upper side simple branches 3
to 9 inches long, which are thickly and regularly clothed with alternate, tri-
angular or rhomboidal short-stalked pinnae ; these are entire and vein-bear-
ing on their lower margin, while their upper border is lobed, and fruit-
bearing. The plant as a whole is extremely delicate and beautiful

Habitat. — In rich moist woods ; common.

Part Used. — The leaves — not official.

Constituents. — Unknown.

Preparations. — Used in decoction and syrup.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Maidenhair has a bitterish, aromatie
taste, and has been esteemed demulcent and i^ectoral. An allied specieS\
A. Capillus-Veneris, indigenous to Europe, and also found in Florida, was
formerly much used in chronic catarrhal affections.

PTERIS— Brake.

Pteris aquiiina Linne. — Common Brake.

Description. — Fruit in a continuous line along the margin of the fertile
frond, and covered by its reflexed border. Fronds erect, on a stout stipe
2 to 3 feet high, ternate, the wide-spreading branches bipinnate ; pinnae
oblong-lanceolate, the upper undivided, the lower often deeply pinnatifid.

Habitat. — In dry situations along the border of woods ; common.

Fart Used. — The entire plant — not official.

Constituents. — Unknown.

Preparations. — Used in decoction or infusion.

3Iedical Properties and Uses. — Brake is reputed astringent and anthel-
mintic, but is seldom used. Another indigenous species, P. atroi^urpurea
(Rock Brake), a much more deHcate plant, possesses similar properties.

ASPLENIUM. — Spleenwort.

Asplenium fllix-foemina Bernhardt.

Description. — Fruit-dots short, variously curved, at length confluent ;
often the fertile vein bears two sporangia, back to back, the delicate indu-
sium crossing the vein and covering both. Fronds numerous, clustered,
from an ascending scaly rootstock ; they are 1 to 3 feet high, ovate-oblong
or broadly lanceolate, bipinnate ; pinnae lanceolate ; pinnules confluent
upon the secondary rachis by a narrow margin, oblong and doubly serrate
or elongate and incisely cut-toothed. A variable and beautiful species.

Habitat. — In moist shad}^ places ; common.

Part Used. — The rhizome — not official.

It is supposed to possess properties, similar to those of male fern (As-
pidium filix-mas), which see.

Several other indigenous species of asplenium, of widely different ap-
pearance, are supposed to possess medicinal properties.

ASPIDIUM SHIELD-FERN.

279

SCOLOPENDRIUM. — Hart's-Tonque.

Scolopendrium vulgare Smith. — Hart's-Tongue.

Description. — Fruit-dots linear, one-fourth to one-half inch long, con-
tiguous by twos, covered by a delicate indusium which is torn away at
maturity, and, the two coalescing, appear like a single one. Frond oblong-
lanceolate, auricled at the base, wavy on the margins, 6 to 18 inches long
by 1 to 2 inches wide, smooth and shining, bright green, on stipes 3 to 4
inches long.

Habitat. — In a few shaded limestone ravines near Syracuse, N. Y.,
and sparingly in the Lake
Superior region of British
America ; very common in
Europe.

Parts Used. — The fronds
— not official.

Constituents. — Mucilagi-
nous and astringent princi-
ples.

Preparations. — Used in
decoction.

Medical Properties and
Uses. — Scolopendrium is one
of the unimportant remedies
much used by the ancients.
It is considered diuretic and
slightly astringent,

ASPIDIUM. —Shield-Fern.

Character of the Genus. —
Fruit-dots round. Indusiima
flat or flattish, scarious, or-
bicular and peltate at the cen-
tre, or somewhat reniform,
fixed at the centre or the sinus, and opening all around ; stipe withering-
persistent, not articulated with the rootstock.

Aspidium Filix-mas Swartz. — Male Perm.

Description. — Fniit-dots rather large, nearer the mid^vein than the mar-
gin, and usually confined to the lower half of the fertile pinnules. Fronds
lanceolate, 1 to 3 feet high, bipinnate, the upper pinnules confluent,
some of the lower pinuatifid- toothed ; pinnules oblong, obtuse, serrate at
the apex. Stipes chaffy at the base. The rootstock is from 3 to 6 inches
long, ^ to 1 inch thick, or with the stipe-remnants 2 to 3 inches in diam-
eter, densely covered with glossy brown chaffy scales.

Fig. IfiO. — Aspidium Filix-mas.

280 FILICES — FERNS.

Habitat. — In rocky woods, from Lake Superior westward ; common in
Europe.

Aspidium margin ale Swai-tz. — Marginal Shield-Fern.

Description. — Fruit-dots similar to the preceding, but placed close to
the* miargin of the fertile pinnules. Fronds evergreen, almost coriaceous,
ovate-oblong, 1 to 2 feet high, bipinnate, the pennse lanceolate, broadest
^t the base ; pinnules oblong or oblong-scythe-shaped, obtuse, entire or
obscurely creriately toothed. Stipes chaffy at the base. Bootstock similar
to the preceding.

Habitat: — On rocky hills ; common.

Part Used.: — The rhizome of both species. Official name : Aspidium
— United States Pharmacojyoeia.

Constituents. — Proximate analysis of male-fern has yielded different re-
suits to different chemists. For practical purposes it is sufficient to know
that its active principles reside in an oleo-resin, and that its other consti-
tuents are unimportant.

Freparaiions.'-^Oleo-remiSi aspidii — oleo-resin of aspidium. — United
States Pharmacopoeia.

.3Iedical Properties and Uses. — Oleo-resin of male-fern is one of the
best known remedies for tapeworm, and also one of the most efficient.
Doubtless much of the disappointment experienced with it is attributable
to inefficient preparations. Since, however, it has been demonstrated
that A. marginale is quite as efficient, and, as this species is very abun-
dant, there is now no good reason why reliable preparations should not
be the rule rather than, as heretofore, the exception.

OSMUNDA.— Flowering Fern.

Osmunda regalis Linne. — Floivering Fern.

Description. — Sporangia naked, globular, short-pedicelled, densely ag-
gregated along the margins of the very much contracted upper pinnules of
the frond, the whole appearing to the casual observer like a mass of minute,
tawny flowers. Fronds 2 to 5 feet high, clustered, very smooth, pale green,
bipinnate ; sterile pinnules, 13 to 25, oblong-oval, or lance-oblong, mi-
nutely serrulate, occasionally crenately-lobed at the base.

Habitat. — In swamps and wet places ; common both here and in
Europe.

Part Used. — The rhizome — not official.

Constituents. — Mucilaginous and astringent principles.

Preparations. — Used in' decoction.

.Medical Properties and Uses. — Flowering fern was at one time consid-
ered efficacious in rachitis, but it is now believed to be nearly inert, and
is rarely if ever employed medicinally.

PLATE IX.

L. Johnson. Del.

ASPIDIUM MARGINALE.

Plate IX.— Aspidium marginaie.

Fig. 1. — A small frond, showing the upper side.

Fig. 2. — A similar one, under side, showing the fruit-dots.

Fig. 3. — A fruit-dot {sporangium) — enlarged.

LYCOPODIUM — CLUB-MOSS. 283

LYCOPODIACE^.

Character of the Order. — Plants of a moss-like aspect having spore-
cases in the axils of their simple, commonly awl-shaped leaves.
A small order of comparatively unimportant plants.

LYCOPODIUM. —Club-Moss.

Lycopodium clavatum Linne. — Common Club-Moss.

Description. — Spore-cases reniform, coriaceous, 1-celled, 2-valved, in
spikes at the summit of the branches.

A low perennial. Stem creeping extensively, with numerous short as-
cending branches ; these are thickly beset with linear-awl-shaped leaves
tipped with a bristle. The fertile branches are terminated by a short
peduncle bearing 2 or 3 hnear-cylindrical fruiting spikes.

Habitat. — In dry woods ; common both here and in Europe.

Part Used.— The sporules. Official name : Lycopodium. — United States
JPharmacopceia.

Constitxients. — Lycopodium is a fine, pale-yellowish, inflammable powder,
without odor or taste. It contains fixed oil and a minute proportion of
sugar.

Medical Properties and Uses. — Lycopodium is used as a dusting powder
for irritated and excoriated surfaces, and by apothecaries to prevent newly
made piUs from adhering together.

INDEX

The names of Orders and Sub-orders are in Small Capitals; Latin synonyms
in Italics ; genus, species, and common names, in Roman.

Abies, 357

Balsamea, 358
Canadensis, 358
Fraseri, 258

ABTETINEi^^, 255

Achillea Millefolium, 181
Acorus Calamus, 364
Actaea, 69

alba, 70

racemosa^ 68

spicata, var. rubra, 69
Adder's tongue, 376
Adiantum pedatum, 377
^sculus, 136

glabra, 127

Hippocastanum, 126

Pavia, 127
Agrimonia Eupatoria, 139
Agrimony, 139
Alder, 353
Aletris farinosa, 269
Alisma plantago — var. Americanum,
Alismace^, 265
Alnus serrulata. 353
Althaea officinalis, 105
Alum-root, 144
Ambrosia. 178

artpmisiaefolia, 178

trifida, 178
American centaury, 221

columbo, 331

hellebore, 273

hemp, 245

holly, 198

larch, 259

senna, 134
Amygdale^, 135
Anacardiace/E, 117
Andromeda arbor ea^ 194

Mariana, 193
Anemone, 59

patens, var. Nuttalliana, 59
Angelica, 153
Angelica-tree, 156
Anthemis nobilis, 181

Apetalous Exogenous Plants, 233
Aphyllon uniflorum, 203
Apocynace.<e, 228
Apocynum, 328

androsaemifolium, 329

cannabinum, 229
Aquifoliace^, 197
Arace^, 263
Aralia, 156

nudicaulis, 156

quinquefolia, 156

racemosa, 156

spinosa, 156
Araliace^, 155
Arbor-vitae, 260

Archangelica atropurpurea, 153
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, 191
Arisaema triphyllum, 263
Aristolochia Serpentaria, 233
Aristolochiace^, 233
Arrow-wood, 163
Artemisia Absinthium, 183
Asarum Canadense, 233

ASCLEPIADACE^, 339

Asclepias, 330

cornuti, 330

incarnata, 330

Syriaca, 330

tuberosa, 230
Aspen, 354
Aspidium, 379

Filix-mas, 379

marginale, 380
Asplenium Filixfoemina, 278
Avens, 140

Balm of Gilead, 255
Balmony. 205
Balsam fir, 258
poplar, 255
Baneberry, 69
Baptisia tinctoria, 133
Barberry, 76
Bayberry, 250
Bearberry, 191

286

INDEX.

Beaver-tree, 73
Hedstraw, 167
Beech-drops, 203
Bkuberidace^, 76
Berberis, 76

Aquifolium, 77

Canadensis, 77

vulgaris, 77
Bethroot, 272
Betula lenta, 252
Betulace^, 252
Bignonia capreolata, 201
Bignoniacb^, 201
Birch, 252
Birthroot. 272
Birthwort, 233
Bistort, 236
Bitter Polygala, 129
Bittersweet, 216
Black alder, 253
Blackberry, 141
Black birch, 252

cohosh, 68

haw, 164

miistard, 95

raspberry, 142

snakeroot, 68, 150
Blazing-star, 274
Bloodroot, 86
Blue cohosh, 78

flag, 270

gentian, 223
Blueberry Root, 79
Boneset, 172
Bouncing Bet, 103
Brake, 278
Bramble, 141
Brassica, 95

alba, 95

nigra, 95
Broom-rape, 203
Buckbean, 223
Buckeye, 126
Buckthorn, 122
Bugbane, 68
Bugle-weed, 209
Burdock, 185
Burning-bush, 125
Bush-honeysuckle, 163
Buttercup, 61
Butterfly-weed, 230
Butternut, 248
Butter-weed, 175
Button-bush, 168
Button snake-root, 150, 170

Calamus. 264
Calico-bush, 194
California buckthorn, 123
Canada fleabane, 175
Canadian moonseed, 75
Cancer-root, 202, 203
Cannabis Americana, 245

sativa, 245
Caprifoliace-*:, 161

Capsella Bursa-pastoris, 96
Cardinal flower, 189
Carrot, 151

Caryophyllace^, 103
Cassena, 198
Cassia Marilandica, 134
Castanea vesca, 250
Catalpa bignoionides, 301
Catchfly, 104
Catgut, 133
Catmint, 213
Catnip, 213

Caulophyllum thalictroides, 78
Ceanothus Americanus, 123
Cedar, 260
Celandine, 88
Celastrack^, 124
Celastrus scandeus, 124
Centaury. 221

Cephalanthus occidentalis, 168
Cerasus seroUna, 135
Virgihiana, 135
Chamselirium luteum, 274
Chamomile, 181
Checkerberry, 192
Chelidonium majus, 88
Chelone glabra, 205
Chenipodiace^. 235
Chenopodium, 235

album, 235

ambrosioides, 235

var. anihehninticum, 235
Cherry, 135
Chestnut, 250
Chicory, 186
Chimaphila maculata, 197

urabellata, 197
Choke-cherry, 136
Cichorium Intybus, 186
Cicuta rauculata, 153
Cimicifuga racemosa, 68
Cinque-foil, 140
C I STAGED, 99

Cleavers, 167
Clematis, 58

Vioma, 58

Virginian a, 58
Club- moss, 283
Cochleana Armoracia, 93
Colic-root, 170, 269
Collinsonia Canadensis, 211
Coltsfoot, 173
CoMPosnvE, 169
Comptonia asplenifolia, 251
CONIFEU^E, 255
Conium maculatum, 154
CoQopholis Americana, 203
Convallaria majalis, 275

CONVOLVULACE^, 215

CoptiP. 64

trifolia, 64
Corallorhiz!) odoutorhiza, 266
Coral -root. 266
COHNACEi*:, 158

Cornel, 158

INDEX.

287

Comus, 158

circinata, 158

Florida, 158

sericea, 158
Cory dalu for mom ^ 89
Cotton-plant, 107
Cow-parsnip, 152
Cramp-bark, 164
Cranberry -tree, 164
Crowfootr, 61
CRUCIFEII.E, 92

Cryptogamous Plants, 277
Cacumber-tree, 72
Cud-weed, 183
Culver's physic, 206
Culver's root, 206
Cunila Mariana, 210
cupressine^, 260
Cdpdlifer^, 249
Curled dock, 238
Cypripedium parviflorum, 269
Cypripedium pubescens, 266

Daisy fleabane, 1.74
Dandelion, 188
Date plum, 199
Datura Stramonium, 219
Daucus Carota, 151
Deer's-tongue, 170
Devil's-bit, 170, 274
Dewberry, 141
Dicentra Canadensis, 89
Dicotyledonous Plants, 57
Dier villa, 162
Diospyros Virginiana, 199
Dittany, 210
Dogbane, 229
Dog's-tooth violet, 276
Dogwood, 158
Droserace^, 101
Drosera rotundifolia, 101
Dwarf sumac, 118

EBENACE.E, 199

Elder, 163

Elecampane, 177

Elm, 243

Epigaea repeus, 192

Epilobium angustifolium, 148

Epiphegus Virginiana, 202

Erechthites hieracifolia, 184

Ericace^, 190

Erecine.e, 190

Erigeron, 174

annuum, 174

Canadensis, 175

heterophyUum, 174

Philadeiphicum, 174

pur pure urn, 174

strigosum, 174
Eryngium yuccaefolium, 150
Eryngo, 150

Erythroniura Americanum, 276
Euonymus atropurpureus, 125
Eupatorium, 172

Eupatorium perfoliatum, 173

purpureum, 172
Euphorbia, 241

coroUata, 241

Ipecacuanhas, 241
EUPHORBIACE^, 240
Evening primrose, 149
Everlasting, 183
Exogenous Plants, 57

False hellebore, 274
Ferns, 277
Fever-bush, 240
Fever- wort, 162
Figwort, 205
Filices, 277
Fire pink, 104
Fire -weed, 184
Five-finger, 140
Flax, 1(»9
Fleabane, 174
Flowering dogwood, 158
Flowering fern, 280
Flowering Plants, 57
Flowerless Plants, 277
Frasera Carolinensis, 221
Fraxinus Americana, 231
Fringed gentian, 222
Frost- weed, 100
Fumariace^, 89
Fumaria officinalis, 90
Fumitory, 90

Galium, 167

Aparine, 167

triflorum, 167
Garget, 234

Gaultheria procumbens, 192
Gelsemium sempervirens, 224
Gentian, 222
Gentiana, 222

Andrewsii, 223

catesbcei, 223

crinita, 222

ochroleuca, 222

puberula, 223
Gentianace^e, 220
Geraniace^, 110
Geranium maculatum, 110
Germander, 207
Geum rivale, 140
Gillenia trifoliata, 138
Gill-over-tbe-ground, 213
Ginseng, 156

Gnaphalium polycephalum, 183
Goat's rue, 133
Golden ragwort, 184
Golden rod. 175
Golden seal, 64
Goldthread. 04
Goosefoot, 235
Goose-grass, 167
Gossypinm herbaceum, 107
Gravel-root. 172
Grindelia, 170

288.

INDEX.

GriDdelia robusta, 176

squarrosa, 176
Ground cherry, 217

hemlock, 263

ivy, 213

laurel, i92

h^modorace^, 269
Hamamelace^, 144
Hamamelis Virginica, 145
Hardhack, 137
Hart' 8- tongue, 279
Hawk-weed, 187
Hedeoma pulegioides, 211
Helenium auturanale, 180
Helianthemum, 100

Canadense, 100

corymbosum, 100
Helianthus annuus, 179
Helonias lutea, 274
Hemlock, 258

spruce, 258
Hemp, 245
Henbane, 218
Hepatica, 61

acutiloba, 61

triloba, 61
Heracleum lanatum, 153
Hercules' club, 15(5
Heuchera Americana, 144
Hieracium venosum, 187
High cranberry, 164
Hoary pea, 138
Hog-weed, 178
Holly, 198
Hop, 246
Hop-tree, 116
Horehound, 214
Horse-balm, 211
Horse-chestnut, 126
Horse-gentian, 162
Horse-mint, 212
Horseradish, 93
Horse-weed, 175
Humulus Lupulus, 246
Hydrangea, 143
Hydrangea arborescens, 143
Hydrastis Canadensis, 64
Hyoscyamus niger, 218
Hyperioaci^:, 102
Hypericum perforatum, 103

Ilex, 198

Cassine, 198

Dahoon, 198

opaca, 198

var. myrtifolia, 198
Indian bean, 201

hemp, 229

physic, 138

tobacco, 189

turnip. 263
Inula Helenium, 177
Ipecacuanha spurge, 241

Ipomoea pandurata, 215
Iridace^:, 270
Iris versicolor, 270

Jamestown-weed, 219
JefEersonia diphylla, 79
Jessamine, 224
Joe-Pye-weed, 172
Juglandace^, 248
Juglans cinerea, 248
Juniper. 261
Juniperus, 261

communis, 261

Virginiana, 261

Kalmia angustifolia, 195

latifolia. 194
Knotweed, 236

Labiate, 207
Labrador tea, 196
Lady's slipper, 266
Lake-cress, 94
Lamb-kill, 195
Lamb's quarters, 235
Lappa officinalis, 185
Larch, 259

Larix Americana, 259
Laurace^., 238
Laurel, 194

magnolia, 71
Leather- flower, 58
Ledum latifolium, 196

palustre, 196
Leguminos^s, 130
Leonurus Cardiaca, 215
Leptandra Virginica, 206
Liatris, 170

odoratissima, 170

spicata, 170
LiLIACE/E, 272
Lily of the valley, 275

LlNACE^S, 108

Lindera Benzoin, 240
Linum usitatissimum, 109
Liquid ambar Styraciflua, 146
Liriodendron Tulipifera, 73
Liverwort, 61
Lobelia, 189

cardinalis, 189

inflata, 189

syphilitica, 189
LOBELIACE^, 188

Loblolly pine, 256
Locust tree, 132
LOGANIACE^, 224
Long-leaved pine, 256
Lycopodiace^, 283
Lycopodium clavatum, 283
Lycopus, 209

Europaeus, 209

Virginicus, 209

Macrotps serpentaria, 68
Magnolia, 71

INDEX.

289

Magnolia acumiuata, 72

glauca, 71

tripetala^ 72

Umbrella, 72
Magnoliace^, 71
Maidenhair, 277
Male fern, 279
Mallow, 106
Malvaceae, 104
Malva rotund if olia, 106
Mandrake, 80
Man- of-the- earth, 215
Marginal shield-fern, 280
Marrubium vulgare, 214
Marsh-cress, 94
Marsh -mallow, 105
Marsh-rosemary, 200
Marsh-tea, 196
Marsh-Lrefoil, 223
Mariita cotula, 180
Masterwort, 152
May-apple, 80
May-tlower, 192
May- weed, 180
Meadow-sweet, 137
Melilot, 130
Melilotus, 130

alba, 131

officinalis, 130
Menispermace^, 75
Menispermum Canadense, 75
Mentha, 207

piperita, 208

viridis, 208
Menyanthes trifoliata, 223
Milfoil, 181
Milkweed, 230
Milkwort, 128
Mint, 207

Mitchella repens, 168
Monarda punctata, 212
Monocotyledonous or Endogenous Plants,

262
Monopetalous Exogenous Plants, 161
Monotropeas, 190
Moonseed, 75
Morns rubra, 244
Motherwort, 215
Mountain laurel, 194

mint, 210
Mulberry, 244
Mullein, 204
Musquash root, 153
Mustard, 95
Myricace^. 250
Myrica cerifera, 250

Nabalus albus, 187
Nasturtium, 93

Armoracia, 93

lacustre, 94

officinale, 93

palustre, 94
Nepeta, 212

Cataria, 213
19

Nepeta Glechoma, 213
Nettle, 244
New Jersey tea, 123
Nympii/Eace^, 82
Nymphaea odorata, 83

Oak, 249

Oenothera bienniR, 149
Ohio buckeye, 127
Old-aeld pine, 256
Oleace^, 231 "

Onagrace^, 148
Orchidace^, 266
Orobanchace^, 202
Osmund a regalis, 280
Oxalis, 114

Acetosella, 114

stricta, 114
Oxydendron arboreum, 194

Panax quinquefolium^ 156
Pap AVERAGES, 86
Papilionacejs, 130
Pappoose root, 79
Partridge -berry, 168, 193
Pasque-flower, 59
Pennyroyal, 211
Peppermint, 208
Persimmon, 199
Phagnogamous Plants, 57
Philadelphia fleabane, 174
Physalis, 217

Alkekengi, 217

Pennsylvanica, 217
Phytolaccace^, 234
Phytolacca decandra, 234
Pigeonberry, 234
Pigweed, 235
Pine, 256
Pink-root, 227
Pinus australis, 256

pali/stris. 256

Tseda, 256
Pipsissewa, 197
Pitcher-plant, 84
Pleurisy-root, 230
Plum, 135

Plumb AGIN ACEiE, 200
Podophyllum peltatum, 80
Poison elder, 120

hemlock, 154

ivy, 119

oak, 119

sumac, 120
Pokeweed, 234
Polygala, 127

polygama, 129

Senega. 128

POLYGALACE^, 128
POLYGONACE.^i:, 236

Polygonatum, 275

biflorum, 276

giganteum, 276
Polygonum, 236

acre, 236

290

INDEX.

Polygonum Bistorta, 236

Ilj'dropiper, 2:J(i

punctatum, 236
Polypetaloua Exogenous Plants, 57
Polypodium vulgare, 277
Polypody, 277
Poplar, 254
Populus, 254

balsamifera, 255

var. candicans, 255

tremuloides, 254
PotentUla Canadensis, 140
Prickly ash, 115
Prince's pine, 197
Prunus, 135

Canadensis, 136

serotina, 135

Virginiana, 136
Psoralea, 131

esculenta, 131

melilotoides, 131
Ptelea trifoliata, 116
Pteris aquilina, 278
Pycnanthemum, 210

incanum, 210

linifolium, 210
Pyrole^e, 190

Queen' s-root, 242
Quercus alba, 249

Rag-weed, 178
Ranunculace^, 57
Ranunculus, 61

acris, 02

bulbosus, 62

repens, 62

sceleratus, 62
Raspberry, 142
Rattlesnake-root, 187
Rattlesnake-weed, 186
Rattlesnake's master, 150
Bed baneberry, 69

buckeye, 127

cedar. 261

elm, 243

mulberry, 244

raspberry, 148
Red-root, 123
Rhamnace^, 122
Rhamnus, 122

cathartica, 122

Purshiana, 122
Rheumatism-root, 79
Rhus, 117

copallina, 118

diversiloba, 120

glabra, 117

pumila, 120

Toxicodendron, 119

typhina, 118

venenata, 120
Robinia Pseudacacia, 132
Rock rose, 100
Rosacea, 135

Round-leaved dogwood, 158
RUBIACE.E, 167
Rubus, 141

Canadensis, 141

occidentals, 142

strigosus, 142

trivialis, 142

villosus, 141
Rumex, 237

aguaticus, 238

crispus, 238

orbiculatus, 238
Running blackberry, 141
RUTACE^E, 115

Sabbatia angularis, 221
Sacred bark, 122
St. John's-wort, 102
Salicace^. 253
Salix, 253

alba, 254
Sambucus Canadensis, 163
Sanguinaria Canadensis, 86
Sanicle, 150

Sanicula Marilandica, 150
Sapindace^:, 126
Saponaria officinalis, 103
Sarracenia, 84

flava, 85

purpurea, 84

variola ris, 85
Sarraceniace.e, 84
Sassafras officinale, 239
Saxifragace^, 143
Saxifrages, 144
Scokeweed, 234
Scolopendrium vulgare, 279

SCKOPIIUI.ARIACE.^, 203

Scrophularia nodosa, 205
Scutellaria lateriflora, 213
Sea lavender, 200
Seneca snakeroot, 128
Senecio aureus, 184
Senega, 128
Serpentari.-i, 233
Sheep-laurel, 195
Sheep-sorrel, 114
Shepherd's purse, 96
Shield-fern, 279
Shrubby trefoil, 116
Shrub yellow-root, 66
Side-saddle flower, 84
Silene Virginica, 104
Silky cornel, 158
Sinajpis alba, 95

nigra, 95
Skullcap. 213
Skunk cabbage, 264
Slippery elm, 243
Smartweed, 236
Smooth sumac, 117
Sneeze-weed, 180
Soap wort. 103

SOLANACE/E, 216

Solanum Dulcamara, 216

INDEX.

291

Solidago odora, 175
Solomon's seal, 275
Sorrel- tree, 194
Sour-wood, 194
Spearmint, 208
Speedwell, 206
Spice-bush, 240
Spi2;elia Marilandica, 227
Spilcenard, 156
Spiudle-tree, 125
Spirtea toinentosa, 137
Spleeawort, 278
Spoon-wood, 194
Spotted cowbane, 153

geranium, 110

trumpet-leaf, 85

winterg^reen, 197
Spruce, 257
Spurge, 241
Squaw-berry, 168
Squaw-root, 68, 79, 203
Squaw-weed, 184
Squirrel corn, 89
Staff-tree, 124
Stagtrer-bush, 193
Staghoru sumac, 118
Stai -grass, 269
Starwort, 274
Statice Limoniura, 200
Steeplebush, 137
Stillingia sylvatica, 242
Stone-root, 211
Stramonium, 219
Strawberry tomato, 217
Succory, 186
Sumac, 117
Sundew, 101
Sunflower, 179
Swamp dogwood, 158

milkweed, 230

sassafras, 72
Sweet bay, 72
Sweet fern, 251
Sweet-flag, 264
Sweet-gum tree, 146
Sweet Scabious, 174
Symplocarpus foetidus, 264

Tacmabac, 255
Tag alder, 253
Tamarack, 259
Tanacetum vulgare, 182
Tansy, 182

Taraxacum Dens-leonis, 188
Taxus baccata, var. Canadensis,
Tea-berry, 192
Tephrosia Virginiana, 133
Teucrium Canadense, 207
Thimbleberry, 142
Thlaspi Bursa -pastoris, 96
Thorn-Apple, 219
Thorough wort. 172
Three-leaved nightshade, 272
Thuja occidentalis, 200
Toothache-tree, 115

Trailing arbutus, 192

TrUlium, 272
erectum, 272
grandiflorum, 272

Triosteum perfoliatum, 163

Trumpet-leaf, 85

Trumpet-weed, 172

Tulip-tree, 73

Turkey corn, 89
pea, 133

Turtle-head, 205

Tussilago Farfara, 173

Twin-leaf, 79

Ulmus fulva, 243
Umbelliper^, 149
Umbrella-tree, 72
Urtica, 244

dioica, 245

urens, 245
Urticace^, 243
Uva-ursi, 191

Vaccinieje, 190
Vanilla-plant. 170
Veratrum viride, 273
Verbascum Thapsus, 204
Veronica, 206

officinalis, 207

Virginica, 207
Viburnum, 163

Opulus, 104

prunifolium, 164
Viola, 98

cucullata, 98

pedata, 98

tricolor, 98
VlOLACE^J, 97

Violet, 98

Virginia snakeroot, 233

thyme, 210
Virgin's-bower, 58

Wahoo, 125
Wake-robin, 272
Walnut, 248
Watches, 85
Water avens, 140
Water-cress, 93
Water-dock. 238
Water-hemlock, 153
Water-horehound, 209
Water-lily, 83
Water-pepper, 236
Wax-myrtle, 250
White baneberry, 70

bay, 72

cedar, 260

lettuce, 187

melilot. 131

mustard, 95

oak, 249

willow. 254
Wild allspice. 240

cranesbill, 110

292

INDEX.

Wild chamomile, 180
cherry, 135
ginger, 232
hydrangea, 143
indigo, 133
ipecac, 162
potato-vine, 215
sarsaparilla, 156

Willow, 253

Willow-herb, 148

Wind-flower, 59

Winter cherry, 217

Wintergreen, 192

Witch-hazel, 145

Wood-sage, 207

Wood-sorrel, 114

Woody bittersweet, 124

Wormwood, 183

Xanthorhiza apiif oUa, 66

Xanthoxylum, 115
Americanum, 115
Caroliniamim^ 115
Clava-Herculis, 115
fraxineum, 115

Yarrow, 181
Yaupon, 198
Yellow cedar, 260

dock, 238

jessamine, 224

lady's slipper, 266

melilot, 130

parilla, 75

pine, 256

puccoon, 64
Yellow-root. 64, 66
Yellow sarsaparilla, 75

wood-sorrel, 114
Yew, 262

6f)4n