i lll ee een ee OO 7 ~ ,MEDICAL BOTANY: CONTAINING SYSTEMATIC AND. GENERAL DESCRIPTIONS, WITH Aslates of all the HKiedictnal Blants, COMPREHENDED IN THE CATALOGUES OF THE MATERIA MEDICA, AS PUBLISHED BY THE ROYAL COLLEGES OF PHYSICIANS OF LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND DUBLIN; TOGETHER WITH THE PRINCIPAL MEDICINAL PLANTS NOT INCLUDED IN THOSE PHARMACOPGIAS, ACCOMPANIED WiTH A CIRCUMSTANTIAL DETAIL OF THE MEDICINAL EFFECTS, AND OF THE DISEASES IN WHICH THEY HAVE BEEN MOST SUCCESSFULLY EMPLOYED. BY WILLIAM WOODVILLE, M.D. F.L.S, . TERED SR AALS SET NT OE: THIRD EDITION, IN WHICH THIRTY-NINE NEW PLANTS HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED. THE BOTANICAL DESCRIPTIONS ARRANGED AND CORRECTED BY __ DR. WILLIAM JACKSON HOOKER, F-.R.S. LS. &c. Who has added an Index following the Arrangement of Jussieu. THE NEW MEDICO-BOTANICAL PORTION SUPPLIED BY G. SPRATT, ESQ. auTHor oF THE FLORA MEDICA, Under whose immediate Inspection the whole of the Plates have been coloured. IN FIVE VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON : PUBLISHED BY JOHN BOHN, 17, HENRIETTA STREET. 1832. Dedication to the first edition. ae To Str GeorGe BAKER, Bart. PRESIDENT, THE ; ps Poh LL O FW S, ‘ Dies AND THR | £2 C0 # NP oF a eR 5. ‘OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS, LONDON: THIS FIRST VOLUME OF MEDICAL BOTANY, Bees 2 WITH THEIR PERMISSION, IS MOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, ee oS ay THE AUTHOR. | TO . WILLIAM LAWRENCE, ESQ. F.R.S. LATE PROFESSOR OF ANATOMY AND SURGERY TO THE COLLEGE, SURGEON TO ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S, BRIDEWELL, AND BETHLEM HOSPITALS, RTC. ETC. THIS NEW EDITION OF GHoodbille’s Medical Botany, IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, AS A TESTIMONIAL OF GRATITUDE AND RESPECT, BY THE PUBLISHER. ADVERTISEMENT TO THE PRESENT EDITION. in presenting the Medical Botany of the late Dr. Woodville in its improved form, the publisher cannot omit the opportunity of returning his thanks to Dr. Jackson HOOKER and Mr. Spratt, for the pains bestowed upon the Supplemental Volume. To the latter gentleman, in particular, he feels the work is greatly indebted, from his kindly undertaking to have THE WHULE OF THE PLATES COLOURED UNDER HIS IMMEDIATE INSPECTION, FROM ORIGINAL SPECIMENS. ‘This had become necessary from the very slovenly man- ner in which the greater portion of the former edition had been done, some of the plates exhibiting colours very different to those described in the text. The work will now be found to contain FIGURES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF ALL ‘THE PLANTS USED IN EnGLisa MEDIciNE, and itis hoped, that the present limited impression of two hundred copies will deserve the praise bestowed upon the edition of 1790:* « We feel a pleasure in saying that this book is finished with care, and in a neat and elegant manner. Among the plates, from the masterly hand of Mr. Sowerby, some represent plants of which no engraving had before been given; others of which engravings were only to be found in large and expensive works. The whole are, with very few exceptions, taken from fresh plants, or dried specimens. In giving an account of = medicinal pro- perties of the several articles, the author has followed tl d writers, and he has particularly availed himself of the works of the latest and tout intelligent travellers, in correcting numerous vague and erroneous opinions relative to the mode of procuring and preparing many curious foreign drugs.” Similar testimonies of its merit may be found in every contemporary journal ; but having been nearly half a century established in public favour, it would seem impertinent to quote more respecting a work which is “ of such authority with professional men, as to be almost as essential to them as the Pharmacopeia itself.” A few copies of the additional volume have been taken off separately, to accommodate the subscribers to the former editions, printed by the late Mr. William Phillips, from whose executors the copyright has passed into the hands of the present publisher. 17, Henrietia Street, June 1, 1832. * Dririsu Critic, vol. vu, p. 55. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. IN the catalogues of the Materia Medica, the productions of the animal and mineral kingdoms bear a small proportion to those of the vegetable. Though it must be acknowledged that for some time past the medicinal uses of vegetable simples. have been less regarded by physicians than they were formerly, which probably may be ascribed to the successive discoveries and improvements in chemistry; it would however be difficult to shew that this preference is supported by any conclusive reasoning drawn from a comparative superiority of Chemicals over Galenicals, or that the more general use of the former has actually led to a more successful practice, @ Although what may be called the herbaceous part of the Materia Medica, as now received in the British pharmacoperias, comprises but a very inconsiderable portion of the vegetable world ; yet limited as it now is, few medicinal practitioners have a distinct botanical knowledge of the individual plants of which it is com- posed, though generally well acquainted with their effects and pharmaceutical uses. But the practitioner, ‘who is unable to distinguish those plants which he prescribes, is not only subjected ~ to the impositions of the ignorant and fraudulent, but must feel a dissatisfaction which the inquisitive and philosophic mind will bé anxious to remove, and to such it is presumed Mepicat Botany, by collecting and supplying the information necessary on this subject, will be found an acceptable and useful work; the pro- Von. I PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. fessed design of which is not only to enable the reader to dis- tinguish with precision all those plants which are directed for medicinal use by the Colleges of London and Edinburgh, but to furnish him at the same time with a circumstantial detail of their respective virtues, and of the diseases in which they have been most successfully employed by different writers. A distinctive and characteristic knowledge of natural objects should certainly precede the consideration of their different roperties and qualities; and with respect to plants, this know- eee is seldom to be adequately attained by a mere verbal description : accurate delineations therefore become necessary, and this department is committed to Mr. Sowerby, an artist of established reputation, whose talents are not less conspicuous in the correctness than in the beauty of his designs. Tt is justly a matter of surprize, that notwithstanding the universal adoption of the Linnzan system of Botany, and the great advances made in natural science, the works of Blackwell and Sheldrake should still be the only books in this country in which copper-plate figures of the medicinal plants are professedFy given; while splendid foreign publications of them, by Regnault, Zorn, and Plenk, have appeared in the space of a very few years, These works however are far from superceding that now offered to the public; for without resorting to the inviduous task of pointing out their errors and imperfections, the author has the satisfaction of having exhibited Icons of several rare and valuable plants, which have never been completely figured in any preceding work whatever: and by subjoining some account of the botanical and medical history of each species, curiosity is more fully grati- fied, and a double interest is excited in the mind of the student. Duplex est dos libelli. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. Respecting the uses of Simples, the opinion of Oribasius will not be disputed, viz. “ Simplicitum medicamentorum, & facultatum * que in ets insunt, cognitio iia necessaria est, ut sine ea nemo rite “« medicari queat:” and it is a lamentable truth, that our experi- mental knowledge of many of the herbaceous simples is ex- tremely defective; for as writers on the Materia Medica have usually done little more than copy the accounts given by their predecessors, the virtues now ascribed to several plants are wholly referrible to the authority of Dioscorides. It is however hoped that the medical reader will find what relates to this part of the work as complete as the slow progressive state of experience in physic will admit: with this intention, facts and opinions have been industriously collected from various authorities; and those adduced by Professor Murray, and the works of the late Dr. Cullen, have furnished the largest contribution, The publication of this work in monthly numbers has afforded the author an opportunity of knowing already the sentiments entertained of it, by several Gentlemen of great medical and botanical authority ; from whose unsolicited communications he has derived considerable assistance, and for whose friendly sug- gestions he desires to make his most grateful acknowledgments, VVMAA yt tent? a 4A Li —eN ORD. I. CONIFERA, am ya? . From conus and fero, consisting of cone-bearing plants, all of which produce male and female flowers separately. The whole order is almost entirely composed of shrubs or trees abou with a resinous juice, of a pleasant odour, but bitter, and disagreeable to the taste. Coniferz sunt resiniferz et diuretice. Zin. RE PINUS SYLVESTRIS. SCOTCH FIR. Pix liquida. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. SYNONYMA. Pinus sylvestris. Bauh. Pin. p.491. Gerard. Emac. p. 1356. Raii Hist. p. 1399. Pinus rubra foliis geminis brevio- ribus glaucis, conis parvis mucronatis. Mill. Dia. Pinus sylvestris foliis brevibus glaucis, conis parvis albicantibus. Du Hamel. Arb. 2. p. 125. t. 30. Raii Synop. p. 442. See Huds. Flor. Ang. ed. 1.361. Lighifoot, Flor. Scot. p. 587. Wither. Bot. Arr. p. 1092. Ic. Miller’s Iilust. The Scotch Fir Tree. Hunter’s Evel. No, 1. : A “iy 2 . ORD. [, oe aie Bc PINUS SYLVESTRIS. Class Monoecia. Ord. Monadelphia Lin. Gen. Plant. 1077. Ess. Gen, Ch. Masc. Cal. 4-phyllus. Cor.0. Stam. plurima. : Anthere nude. — 2 Fem. Cal. strobili: squama_ o-fora! er ). << Nus ala membranatea excepta, ee Sp. Ch. P. foliis gethinis dite, conis. “@xato-conicis longitudine foliorum. subgeminis,. basi pores * Hort. phew THIS tree grows usually srraigius oe aty to a great height, so as to be made into good masts for ships: the heidhes e- “rous, divaricating, and like the stem covered with rough bark of a reddish brown colour: the leaves stand in pairs, and are united at the base with the sheath; they are two or three inches long, convex on one side, concave on the other, | very narrow, linear, striated, somewhat pointed, of a deep green glaucous colour, and surround the ends of the smaller branches: the flowers are male and female upon the same tree; the former stand in bunches without any calyx, unless the loose scales be considered as such: there is no corolla: the filaments are numerous, united at the bottom, forming an upright pillar, and furnished with erect anther: the latter consists of a calyx, or common cone, which is small, composed of scales, with two flowers in each; the cones are oblong, imbricated, permanent, in- flexible: there is no corolla: the germen is very small, producing a tapering style, terminated by a simple stigma: there is no capsule, but the scales of the cone, which before stood open, close upon = seed or nut, which is supplied with a membranous wing. itisa native of Scotland, especially among the highland mountains, and hence named Scotch Air. It flourishes best in.a poor sandy soil. In black, boggy or. chalky ground, or near stagnant waters, it does not thrive. The wood is used for various purposes, and the inner bark is, by the inhabitants of the north of Europe, made into a kind of bread. Though most species of Fir possess in common the same medicinal ” * a PINUS SYRVESTRISS ORD. I. Conjfere. ae properties, and all sites i Wording the ee products of the turpentine kind, yet as it has been found that some species produce these different articles of the Materia Medica in greater purity, or in more abundance than others, we have sccordiigly assigned to each, the respective article which it best supplies. This tree not only fur: nishes most abundantly the Pix liquida, or Tar, but-also from it may be obtained the common turpentine, and. the white aud idlar ” resins. The manner in which the Tar is procured i is ig Lote the. tree into pieces, which are inelosed in a large oven constructed. for the purpose, with a channel at the bottom. A sufficient degree of heat is then applied, by which the tar is forced. out of the wood, and runs off by the sda at the. mga a process termed astitiatie, per descensum. Tar, which is well known. from: its economical uses, i is. properly an empyreumatic oil of turpentine, and has been much used a8 a medicine both internally and externally, Tar ‘water,* or water im- pregnated with the more soluble parts of tar, was sometime ago a very popular remedy in various obstinate disorders, both acute and chronic ; especially in small-pox, scurvy, ulcers, fistulas, rheumatism, asthma, coughs, cutaneous complaints, &c. and though its medicinal. efficacy was greatly exaggerated by the publications of Bishop Berkeley, Prior, and others, yet Dr. Cullen acknowledges: that: he experienced this preparation in several cases to be a valuable medicine, and that it “ appeared to strengthen the tone of the stomach, to excite appetite, promote digestion, and to cure all symptoms of dyspepsia. At the same time it manifestly, promotes the. excretions, ey that of urine: and 1 the same may. be * The proportions that have heen commonly Gait are two pounds of tar to a gallon of water; which are to be well stirred together, then suffered to settle for two days, and the clear liquor poured off for use. Froma pint to a quart, according to circumstances, may be taken in the course of twenty-four hours. Dr. Cullen thinks with Mr. Reid, that the acid principle gives the virtue to tar — water; and hence the Bishop of Cloyne properly preferred the Norway tar to that of New England, as the former contaius more acid than the latter. ‘4 4 ORD. f,. pagere _ PINUS SYLVESTRIS. presumed to happen in that of others. “From all these operations it will be obvious, that in many disorders of the . rigs this ajedicine may be highly useful."> An ointment of tar is directed in both Pharmatopecias, which has been chiefly tonnes in cutaneous disorders. Dr. Cullen says, “I mM] ice With respect to tar of a singular » kind, A leg of Siatton. ila ‘to roast; and whilst it continues toasting, it is basted with tar ‘natal of butter. Whilst the roasting Poes"on, a sharp s skewer is frequently t thrust into the substance of the mutton, to give occasion to ‘the running out of the gravy; and with __ the mixture 0} of the tar and gravy to be found in the drippi ng-pan, the body is to’be anointed all over-for three or four nights successively ; whilst for the same time the same" body-linen i is to be worn. This is ~ alleged to be a remedy i in several cases of lepra; and Ivhave had one instance of its being employed in a lepra icthyosis with great success: but for reasons readily to be apprehended, I have not had opportu- nities of repeating the practice.” * 2 Mat. Med. vol. ii. p. 334. > Di os CT na er IRE IR a me PINUS ABIES. NORWAY SPRUCE FIR TREE, Pix burgundica. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. a a rete ence core ne Coe ‘ D pe peefrcrins - pe — (7 Published by Phillips & Fardeen F Jan? JUNIPERUS SABINA. ORD. I. > Conifer. : } pedicle: there is no corolla: the filaments in the terminating flower are three, tapering, united at the bottom into. one body, and furnished with simple antherz, but in the lateral flowers. the. fila- ments are scarcely perceptible, and the anther are fixed to the scale of the calyx: the calyx of the female flowers is composed of three small permanent scaly segments, growing to the germen: the petals are three, stiff, sharp, permanent: the germen supports three styles, supplied with simple stigmata: the fruit is a roundish fleshy berry, marked with tubercles, .which are the vestiges of the petals and calyx ; when ripe the berry is of a.blackish purple colour, and contains three small hard irregular shaped seeds, It flowers in May and June. Savin is a native of the South of Europe and they ‘Levant: it has been long cultivated in our gardens,’ and from producing male and female flowers on separate plants it was formerly distinguished inte the barren and berry. bearing Savin: the. latter of these our plate represents”. “The leaves and. tops of Savin have a moderately strong smell of the-disagreeable kind, and a hot, bitterish, acrid taste; they give out great part of their active matter to watery liquors, and the whole to rectified spirit. Distilled with water they yield a large quantity of essential oil." _Decoctions..of the leaves, freed from the volatile principle by inspissation to .the con- sistence of an extract, retain a considerable share of their pungency and warmth along with their bitterness, and have some degree. of smell, but not resembling that of the plant itself. On inspissating the spirituous tincture, there remains an extract, consisting of two distinct substances, of which one is yellow, unctuous or oily, bitterish, and very pungent; the other black resinous, tenacious, less pungent, and subastringent.” ® Cultivated in 1562. Turn. herb. part 2. fol. 194 <4iton’s Hort. Kew. » For the male inflorescence of this genus, see the next plate, viz. n. 6. * From thirty-two ounces Hoffman obtained five ounces of this essential oil, in which the whole virtue of the plant seems to reside. + Lewis Mat. Med. 12 : ORD. I. Conifere. JUNIPERUS SABINA. Savin is a powerful and active medicine, and has been long reputed the most efficacious in the Materia Medica, for producing a determi- nation to the uterus, and thereby proving emmenagogue;" it heats and stimulates the whole system very considerably, and is said to promote the fluid secretions. The power which this plant possesses in opening uterine obstruc- tions is considered to be so great, that we are told it has been fre- quently employed, and with too much success, for purposes the most infamous and unnatural. It’seems probable however that its effects in'this way have been somewhat over rated, as it is found very fre- quently to fail as an emmenagogue, though this, in some measure, may be ascribed to the cmelineon of the dose in which it has been usually prescribed by physicians; for Dr. Cullen observes, “ that ‘« Savin is a very acrid and heating substance, and I have been often “upon account of these ‘qualities, prevented from employing it in ‘“ the quantity perhaps necessary to render it emmenagogue. I must * own however that it shows a more powerful determination to the “uterus than any other plant I have employed; but I have been «frequently disappointed in this, and its heating qualities always * require a great deal of caution.” Dr. Home appears to have had very great success with this medicine, for in five cases of amenorrheea which occurred at the Royal infirmary at Edinburgh, four were ured by the Sabina,* which he gave in powder from a scruple to a dram twice a day. He says it is well suited to the debile, but impropet in plethoric habits, and therefore orders repeated bleedings before its exhibition. Externally Savin is recommended as an escharotic to foul ulcers, syphilitic warts, &c.* * Bergius states its virtus to be emmenagoga, abortiens, diuretica, sanguinem movens. Mat. Med. p. 814. © Hinc in uterino fluxu ciendo adeo potens, qua vi abuse subinde feruntur communi fere effato, a.Galeno inde tempore deducto, sceleste matres ad abortum excitandum, sed haud absque proprio vite periculo vel ante partum vel mox post istum. (Storch Hebammenb. p. 220.) Suspecte huic nature subscripsit judicium Facultatis medicz Lipsiensis. (Ammann. med. crit. p. 42. See Murray App. Med. vol. %. p.42. And Haller |. c. " M. M. vol. tt. p. 366. * Clinical Exper .p. 387. » Fabre, Mal. vener. T. i. p. 365. if . . neepeerttd COVINA Published by Phillips kFardon, Feb?2 422805. ¥ ORD. I. Conifere. 13 - JUNIPERUS COMMUNIS. COMMON JUNIPER. SYNON YMA. Juniperus. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Juniperus vulgaris fruticosa. Bauh. Pin. p. 488. Juniperus vulgaris. Park. Theat. p. 1028. Gerard. Emac. p. 1872. Raii Hist. p. 1411. Synop. p.44. Junrperus foliis convexo-concavis, aristatis, baccis alaribus, sessilibus. Hal. Stirp. Helv. n. 1661. Huds. Flor. Ang. p.4 A36. Wither. Bot. Arrang. p. 1129. Mill. illust. ic. & Juniperus foliis. ternis patentibus, acutioribus, ramis erectioribus, bacca longioribus. Mill. Did. Swedish Juniper. y Juniperus minor montana, folio Semen Bauh. Pin. 489. Procumbent Juniper. Sp. Ch. J. foliis ternis patentibus mucronatis bacca longioribus. THIS species usually rises much higher than the Sabina; it is covered with brownish bark, and divides into many branches: the leaves are very numerous, long, narrow, pointed, of a deep green colour, and stand in ternaries: the flowers are male and female on different plants, and answer to the description of those which we have given of juniperus Sabina:* the berries continue two years upon the tree before they become perfectly ripe, when they are of a blackish colour, round, filled with a brownish pulp, and each contain three irregular hard seeds. It grows in several heathy parts of England, and flowers in May. 2. Of the Sabina we ought to have remarked, that the essential oil and the watery extract, are kept in the shops, and that it is an ingredient in the pulv. e. myrrha compositus. No. 1. D 14 ORD. I. Conifere. JUNIPERUS COMMUNIS, Juniper is supposed to be the axes of the ancients,|| who distin- guished it into two kinds.’ Both the tops and berries of this plant are direéted for use in our Pharmacopeeias, but the latter are usually preferred, and are brought to us chiefly from Holland and Italy. “ They have a moderately strong not disagreeable smell, and a warm pungent sweetish taste, which if they are long chewed or previously well bruised, is followed by a considerable bitterness. The sweetness appears to reside in the juice or soft pulpy part of the berry; the bitterness, in the seeds; and the aromatic flavour, in oily vesicles, spread throughout the substance both of the pulp and the seeds, and distinguishable even by the eye. The fresh berries yield, on expression, a rich sweet honey-like aromatic juice; if previously powdered so as to thoroughly break the seeds, which is not done without great difficulty, the juice proves tart and bitter. The same differences are observable also in tinétures and infusions made from the dry berries, according as the berry is taken entire or thoroughly bruised. They give out nearly all their virtue both to water and reétified spirit. Distilled with water they yield a yellowish essential oil, very subtile and pungent, in smell greatly resembling the berries, in quantity (if they have been sufficiently bruised) about one ounce from forty: the decottion mspissated to the consistence of a rob or extract, has a pleasant, balsamic, ‘sweet taste, with a greater or less degree of bitterishness; A part of the flavour of the berries arises also in distillation with rectified spirit: the inspissated tméture consists of two distiné substances; one oily and sweet; the other tenacious, resinous, and aromatic.”’* oF ij The odour of the Tin tere, though extremely fragrant, was z: Virgil, thought to be noxious: Surgamus; solet esse gravis eantantibus umbra: Juniperi gravis Sabra : nocent & frugibus umbre. Ecx. £. v.75. * See Pliny. Lib. xvi. cap. 25. Gum Sandrach, known also by the name of pounce, is the product of this species of Juniper: it exudes through the crevices of the bark, or the perforations made by inseéts, © Lewis Mat. Med. p. 362. JUNIPERUS COMMUNIS, ORD, I. Conifere. 15 These berries are chiefly used for their diureticieffeGs; they are also considered to be stomachic, carminative, and diaphoretic.— Of the efficacy of Juniper berries in many hydropical affeétions, we have various relations by physicians of great authority, as Du Verney, Hoffman, Boerhaave, and his illustrious commentator, Baron Van Swieten, &c. Authors however seem not to be perfeétly agreed which preparation of the Juniper is most efficacious, many prefer the rob or inspissated deco€tion, but Dr. Cullen observes,* that this is an inert medicine, alleging that to the essential oil, which is much the same as that of turpentine, only of a more agreeable odour, he thinks all the virtues ascribed to the different parts of Juniper are to be referred. Hoffman, on the contrary, strongly recommends the rob, and declares it to be of great use in debility of the stomach and intestines; and he experienced it to be particu- larly serviceable to such old people as are subject to these disorders, or labour under a difficulty with regard to the urinary excretion; from hence it appears, that the ries stl retain medicinal powers, though deprived of the stimulating effets of the essential oil. But as the Juniper is now seldom if ever relied upon for the cure of dropsies, and only called to the aid of more powerful remedies, it is justly observed by a modern author, that “ perhaps one of the best forms under which the berries can be used is that of a simple infusion. This either by itself, or with the addition of a little gin, is a very useful drink for hydropic patients. © Medical writers have also spoken of the utility of Juniper in nephritic cases, uterine obstructions, scorbutic affeCtions, and-some cutaneous diseases, and in the ive last mentioned complaints, eg and tops of the . Ri, * M. M. vol. id. p. 187. * Van Swieten prescribed the following formula: Be Rob. Bace. Junip. ii. dilue in aque Junip. fii. add. spirit. bacc. Junip. Zii. Quandoque spiritus nitri dulcis ¥ss ad sitim sedandam additur. Comment. in Boerh. aph. T. 4. p. 258. this mixture one or two ounces were givin every three hours. * Dancan New Ed. Dispens. p. 214. Ni 16 ORD. I. Conifer. JUNIPERUS COMMUNIS. plant are said to have been employed with more advantage than the berries.‘ We are told by Linnzus,* that the Laplanders drink infusions of the Juniper berries as we do tea and coffee, and that the Swedes prepare a beer from them, in great estimation for its diuretic and antiscorbutic qualities. Our Pharmacopeeias dirett the essential oil and a spirituous distillation of the Juniper berries, to be kept in the shops: the former, in doses of two or three drops, is found to be an a€tive and stimulating medicine; the latter contains this oil, and that of some other aromatic seeds united to the spirit, and therefore differs not considerably from the genuine geneva imported from Holland; but there is great reason to believe, that the gin usually sold here is frequently nothing but the frumentaceous spirit, imbued with turpentine, or other materials to give it a flavour. = JUNIPERUS LYCIA. LYCIAN JUNIPER, or CEDAR. Olibanum. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. ee Se ee Ge SYNONYMA. Cedrus folio cupressi media majoribus baccis. Bauh. Pin. p. 487. Cedrus pheenicia altera Plinii & Theophrasti. Lob. Icon. 221. Du Hamel, Arbres, T.1. p. 140. V. Pallas Ross. Ls. oe ws ieee Sp. Ch. J. foliis ternis undique imbricatis ovatis obtusis. THIS species rises but to an inconsiderable height, sending off erect branches, covered with brown bark: the leaves are small, round, blunt, variously divided, and every where remarkably imbri- cated with small close scales: the flowers are male and female on different plants, and accord with the description which we have * Bergius says, “‘ Virtus: dignt & summitat diuretica, sudorifera, mundificans. Bacca diuretica, nutriens, diaphoretica.” M. M. p. 810. ® Flor. Lapp. p. 301. They are likewise known to afford a pleasant wine. See Du Hamel, Arbres, T. i. p. 325. ; as Dee | Bat Yeats Published by Phillips & Pardon, Feb? 1t*1305. JUNIPERUS LYCIA. ORD. I. Conifer, 17 already given of the Juniperus Sabina: the berries are large, and when ripe of a dark brown colour. It is a native of the South of Enrope, and very scarce in this country ; for that species called Lycia by the gardeners here, has not the scaly appearance represented in the plate before us, which was drawn from a specimen in the Herbarium of Sir Joseph Banks. The officinal gummy resinous substance, known by the name of . ibanum, is said to ouze spontaneously from the bark of this tree, appearing in drops or tears, of a pale yellowish, and sometimes of a reddish colour.* ‘‘ Olibanum has a moderately strong and not very agreeable smell, and a bitterish somewhat pungent taste: in chewing it sticks to the teeth, becomes white, and renders the saliva milky. Laid on a red-hot iron, it readily catches flame, and burns with a strong diffusive and not unpleasant smell. On trituration with water, the greatest part of it dissolves into a 2 milky liquor, which on standing deposits a portion of resinous matter.”* The gummy and resinous parts are nearly in equal proportions; and though rectified spirit dissolves less of the Olibanum than water, it extracts nearly all its active matter. It is brought from Turkey, and from the East Indies ;. but that which comes from India is less esteemed. In ancient times Olibanum seems to have been in great repute," and was chiefly used in affections of the head and breast, coughs, hemoptysis, and in various fluxes both ut terine and intestinal: it was also much employed externally. in pleurisies, which were said to be epidemic; and Geoffroy“ likewise experienced its success in these diseases, especially after venesection ; at present, however, recourse is seldom had to this medicine, which is now superseded by myrrh, and other articles of a less stimulating kind. * This drug has received different appellations according to its different appear-. ances: the single tears are called simply olibanum, or thus: when two are joined together, thus masculum; and when two are very large, thus femininum: if several adhere to the bark, thus corticosum: the fine powder, which rubs off from the tears, mica thuris; and the coarser manna thuris. * Lewis, M. M. p. 460. > It is the ABas of Theophrastus & Djoscorides, es of Hippocrates. © Mat. Med. Traité. T. 4. p. 71. 0. 2. E ORD. Il. AMENTACEZ. ae Prom mentum (ab aupas vinculum, a bond jor. thong) i in English. Catkin; a term used by Linnzeus to denote a species of calyx which is confined to certain trees and shrubs. SALIX FRAGILIS. CRACK WILLOW. SYNONYMA, Salix. ..Pharm, Edinb. Salix folio longo latoque - splendente, fragilis. Rati Synop. p.448. Salix Fragilis.. Bauh. Pin. p. 474. Hall. Stirp. Helo. n..1638.. Huds. Flor. Ang. p. A26.. Wither. Bot. Arr. p. 1102. Relh. Flor; Cant. p, 365. Flor. Lap. t. 8. f.6. Hunter's oan s ‘¥ yloa, p. QA5. Class Dioecia. Ord. Diandria. ars Gen. Plant 1098. Ess. Gen. Ch. Masc. Amenti squamz. Cor. 0. Glandula baseos nectarifera. Fem. Amenti squamz. Cor. 0. Stylus 2-fidus. Caps. 1-locularis, 2-valvis. Sem. papposa. Sp. Ch. S. foliis serratis glabris ovato-lanceolatis, petiolis dentato- | glandulosis. ee” pe te ee f ZF : s . . - Fadia Fee de td. —\, 4 y Published thy Phillips & Farden, Feb S14! 13048 « SALIX FPRAGILIS, ORD. II. Amentaceer, i9 THIS species grows to a considerable height, sending off large branches, and is covered: with wrinkled bark of a grey colour: the leaves are long, narrow, ovate, or lance-shaped, serrated, and placed upon foofstalks, which are furnished with glandular teeth: _ the flowers are male and female upon different trees, and produced i in catkins: the calyx, or common catkin of the male flower, is oblong, imbricated, inclosed by an involucrum formed of a bud, and con- sisting of scales, which are oblong, flat, expanding, and unifloral: there is no corolla: the neta is a small cylindrical truncated gland, containing honey, and placed in the centre of the flower: the filaments are two, straight, filiform, longer than the calyx, and furnished with double anthere of four cells: in the female flower the scaly catkin resembles that of the male: the germen is egg- shaped; tapering, so as to leave no distinct style, and is longer than the scales: the stigmata are two, bifid and ereét: ‘the capsule is evate, one-celled, and furnished with two valves, which roll back: the seeds are numerous, egg-shaped, very small, and crowned with a Simple hairy pappus. The flowers appear in April and May. - This tree, which grows in hedges and about the banks of rivers in several parts of England, is easily to be distinguished from the other species of willow, by the readiness with which it breaks at the year’s shoot last made upon being slightly struck with the finger ; and hence the name fragilis. The bark of the branches of this tree manifests a considerable degree of bitterness to the taste; and is also astringent; hence it has been thought a good substitute for the Peruvian bark, and upon trial was found to stop the paroxysms of intermittents:* it is like- wise recommended in other cases requiring tonic or astringent * See Gerhard. Mat. Med. p. 301. Phil. Trans. vol. 53. p. 195. And Medical Comment. vol. 5. p- 298. Instances of the efficacy of Willow bark are also related by Clossius (nov. variol, Med. om p- 128.) And Gunz. Dire bine de cortice salicis. Lips. 1772. ‘ With Bergins however this bark did not succeed. “He says, Ego hunc corticem in febribus intermittentibus iterum iterumgue exhibui, sed/irrito conatu. 30 ORD. II. Amentacee. SALIX FRAGILIS. remedies, Not only the bark of this species of Salix, but that of several others, possess similar qualities, particularly of the Salix alba and S, pentandria, both of which are recommended in the foreign pharmacopeeias. But in our opinion the bark of the S. triandria is more effe€tual than that of any other of this genus; at least its sensible qualities give it a decided preference. JUGLANS REGIA. COMMON WALNUT-TREE. ®YNONYMA. Juglans. Pharm. Lond. Nux Juglans sive regia vulgaris. Bauh. Pin. p. 417. Tourn. Inst. p. 501. Nux Jug- lans. Gerard: Emac. p. 1440. Raii Hist. p. 1376. J. Bauh, Hist. vol. i. p. 241. Nux Juglans vulgaris. Park. Theat. p. 1413. Juglans foliis septenis, ovato-lanceolatis, integerrimis. Hal. Stirp. Helv. n. 1624. Juglans Regia. Ic: Mill. Ilust. Cramer Forstwesen. tab. 22, Du Ham. Arb. 2. p. 50. t. 13, Hunt, Evel, Class Monoecia. - Ord. Polyandria, Lin, Gen, Plant. p. 1071, Ess. Gen. Ch.. Mase. Cal. 1-phyllus, squamiformis. Cor. 6-partita. Filamenta, 18. Fem. Cal. 4-fidus, superus. Cor. 4-partita. Styli 2, Drupa, nucleo sulcato. Sp. Ch. J. foliolis ovalibus glabris subserratis subaequalibus. THIS is a large tree, and usually sends off many strong spreading branches, covered with a greyish bark: the leaves are large, pinnated, composed. of several pairs of opposite pinnz, with an odd one at the end; they are oval, ‘entire, nerved, veined, pointed, of a pale green pris 1803. Feb Published. by Phillips & Farden. ‘ SUGLANS REGIA. — ORD. Il) Amentacee. @ colour, and stand upon short footstalks: the flowefs are male and female upon >the same tree, appearing in April and May, .and the fruit ripens about the end:of September: the male flowers are placed in a'close cylindrical catkin : the calyx is hy llous and the corolla isdivided into six oval petals: the filaments are humerous, (about eighteen) short, and furnished) with erect’ pointed’ anthera:: the female flowers are generally three together: the calyx is divided into four segments, which are erett, short, éVvanescent, :and «stand upon the germen: the corolla is separated into: four segments, which are pointed, erect, and longer than the calyx: the germen is oval, and placed below the corolla: the two styles,are very short: the stigmata are large, expanding, reflexed,' and indented: the fruit 1s of the drupous kind, large, unilocular, containing a large roundish nut, which is'too well known to require a description here, This tree, which is a native of Persia, has been long cultivated in this country, and bears our winters very well. Linneus deseribes its leaves as somewhat serrated; but this we have never observed, and: therefore with Haller would rather substitute the word integerrimis for subserratis. The wood is of a dark colour, and beautifully varie- gated, especially that of the root, and by being hard enough to admit of polishing, was mach used by Cabinets before the introduction of mahogany The unripe fruit,* which has an astringent bitterish taste, and has been long used as a pickle, is the part directed for medicinal use by the London College, on account of its anthelmintic virtues. Its effects in destroying worms seem confirmed by the testimony of several authors:> and in proof of its possessing this vermifuge power, we are told that water, in which the green shells of Walnuts have @ We may notice for curiosity a notion which formerly prevailed: Ut nuces im proximum annum copiosiis proveniant, mos est hodie apud rusticos quosdam, ut nuces perticis decutiantur. Hinc non inconcinné quidam alludendo cecinit, Nux, asinus, mulier simili sunt lege ligata ; Hee tria nil fructtis faciunt, si verbera cessant. Vide Ray, Lc. > Plater, Fischer, Andry, and others. r . 1) ORD. Il. Aniéntacee. _JUGLANS REGIA. been macerated, on being poured in a garden, was found. to drive all the earth worms together as far as the water extended,‘ ;and that ‘the worms by being immersed in’ a strong infusion of -these shells were immediately seized with spasms, and died in’ two. minutes afterwards." » Am extract of the green: fruit; is the most convenient preparation; \asit/may be kept for:a sifficient length of time, and made agreeable» to ‘the ‘stomach of the patient: bys mixing it with ‘cinnamon-water. « This ‘fruit, im its immature state,..1s abs said: to ‘be laxatives sand of use: in-apthous affections and sore: throats.*,.. To answer these: purposes, = Sirventbag Pharm. directs jay sins inte “prepared: of its juice. . © The kernel ‘of the Walnut! is poairagiad in waslihees to. a 5 the 3 almond and hazel=nut,' and affords an oil which amounts to half. the weight of the kernel: according to De la Hire,’ this: oil does not ‘congeal by cold, and answers, the medicinal purposes of the’ oil of almonds, ' af -g ss vite f © Car. Stephan. Agricult. lib. 3. c. 13. ares Generation des vers. p. 142. J. G, Fischer, Comm. de vermibus in C. H. et. anthelmintico, Stade. 1751. p. 14, He Fischer; ics os $oBergius, M. M. Pe Tbe * Vinegar, =" Wainats have beén pose ‘we have found: to be a —_ useful gargle. - é la Glace. p.499.' & According to the Salernitaf maxim, nuts, ee after fish, promote digestion, ** Post pisces nux sit, post caries caseus esto,” See : oS Published by Phillips & Pardon Peb¥ 1 28c8 ORD: Il. ‘Aniéntacéé. 98 QUERCUS" ROBUR. = ——s “COMMON OAK. — SYNONYMA. | Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Quercus cum longo pediculo. Bauh, Pin. p. 420. Quercus. vulgaris. Gerard Emac. p. 1340. Quercus latifolia. , Park, Theat. p. 1386. Quercus a vulgaris longis pediculis. J. Bauh. Hist. vol.i. p.70. Raii Hist. “?. 1385. S; yynop. p. 440. Quercus Robur. Evel. Sylo. by Hunter, ed. 2. p.67.. Du Roy, Baumz. t. ii. p. 236. Huds. Ang. p. 421. Withering, Bot. Arr. p. 1083. Hall. Stirp. Helv. n, 1626. « Arborea, pedunculis elongatis ( pedunculata) Aiton, Hort. Kew. _, «Female Oak Tree. £ Arborea, fructibus subsessilibus (sessilis) a Hort. Kew. Common Oak Tree. y Frutescens, ramis virgatis, fructibussessilibus (humilis ) Azton. ‘ e. Dwarf Common Oak Tree. : Class Monoecia. Ord. Polyandtia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 1070. ae Gen. Ch. Mase. Cal. 5-fidus fere.. Cor..0. Stam..5-10. Fem. Cal. 1-phyllus, integerrimus, scaber. Cor. 0. Styli 2-5. Sem, 1, ovatum. Sp. Ch. Q.. foliis oblongis glabris sinuatis: lobis rotundatis, glan- ; _ dibus oblongis.,.;.4iton. Hort. Kew. THIS! tree niet ti Be rises to a very considerable were sends off. ers ‘An Oak. tree, is . the parish of Little Shelsley, Worcestershire, measured in circumference, at about two yards from the ground, 22 feet 4 inches, and close to the ground nearly 48 feet, (Hollefear). —Of one growing i in 1764, in Broom- field Wood, ' near Ludlow, Shropshire, the trunk measured 68 feet in girth, and 23 in length: this tree, allowing 90 square feet for the larger branches, contained 1455 feet of thick timber. (Lightfoot).—The girth of the Green Dale Oak, near Welbeck, at eleven feet from the ground,, was'S3 feet; and soue ‘growing at Cowthorpe, near Wetherby, Yorkshire, measured 78, feet in circumference 2 to the ae (Hent. Kyel.) See Withering; 4... i _ This reminds-us of the Oak alluded toby Vine ere £5 & qQuantin vertice ad auras” /Etherias, tahttm radice in Tartara tenastl =" Lara’ 2 ae ads. a a4 ORD. Il. Ameéntacer. QUERCUS ROBUR. strong branches, and is covered with rough brown bark: ‘the leaves are oblong, broader towards the end, deeply.cut or sinuated at the edges, forming obtuse lobes, and stand upon short, footstalks: the flowers are very small, and are male and female upon the same tree: the calyx of the male flowers i is divided into five, Six, or seven, seg- ments, which are pointed, and often cloven: there is no corolla; the filaments are from five to ten, and supplied with large double anthere : the calyx of the female flower is membranous, hemi- spherical, and composed of numerous imbricated pointed segments: there is no corolla: the germen is oval: the styles from two to five, and furnished with simple permanent stigmata:. its fruit is a-nut, which is oblong, fixed to a short cup, and ripens in October, but the flowers appear in April. This valuable tree is well known to be a native of Britain, where it has in some instances acquired an extraordinary magnitude: its wood is of general use in carpentry, and by uniting hardness with such a degree of toughness as not easily to splinter, has been long justly preferred { a8 pe Barponc of building ships.” ancients, by whom different parts of + ised ;-but it is the bark which is now directed for medial use by our pharmacopezias. To this tree we may also refer the Gallz, or Galls, which are pro- duced from its leaves by means of a certain insect. _ Oak bark manifests to the taste a strong astringency, accompanied with a moderate bitterness, qualities which are extracted both by water and by rectified spirit. Its universal use and preference in the tanning of leather is a proof of its great astringency, and like other astringents it has been recommended in agues, and for restraining hemorrhagies, alvine fluxes, and other immoderate evacuations. A * Oak saw-dust is the principal indigenous vegetable used i in dying fustain. All the ¢ varieties of drabs, and different shades of brown, are made with oak saw-dust, — variously managed and compounded. Oak apples are likewise used in dying, asa substitute for galls. _ An infusion of the bark, with a small quantity of copperas, is used by the common people to dye woollen of a purplish blue, which is sufliciv ently durable... Withering, . c. the Oak were sufficiently Eaawit to the (egg, QUERCUS ROBUR. ORD. II. Amentacee. 25 decoction of it has likewise been advantageously employed as a gargle, and as a fomentation or lotion in procidentia recti et uteri. Dr. Cullen tells us, that he has frequently employed the decoction with success in slight tumefactions of the mucous membrane of the fauces; and in many prolapsus uvulz, and cynanche tonsillaris, to which some people are liable upon the least exposure to cold: and in many cases this decoction, early applied, has appeared useful in preventing these disorders. It must be remarked however, that the Dr. almost constantly added a portion of alum to these decoc- tions.* Some have supposed that this bark is not less efficacious than that of the Cinchona, especially in the form of extract; but this opinion now obtains little credit, though there be no doubt that Oak bark may have the power of curing intermittents.’ Galls, which in the warm climate of the East are found upon the leaves of this tree, are occasioned by a small insect, with four wings, called Cynips querci folii, which deposits an egg in the substance of the leaf, by making a small perforation through the under surface. The ball presently begins to grow, and the egg in the centre of it changes to a worm; this worm again changes to a nymph, and the, nymph to the flying insect above mentioned,* which by eating its passage out leaves a round hole: and those galls which have no holes, — are found to have the dead msect remaining in them. * Dr. Cullen tried also a solution of the alum alone, ‘‘ but it did not prove so effectual.” See Mat. Med. vol. ii. p. 45. 4 ¢¢ T have employed the Oak bark in powder, giving it to the quantity of half a dram every two or three hours during the intermissions of a fever; and, both by itself, and joined with camomile flowers, have prevented the return of the paroxysms of intermittents.” Cullen, 4. ¢. * Many other excrescences are produced on this tree, and the insects which inhabit it are very numerous. For an enumeration of these, see Withering, é. ¢. The Oak in some parts of the East distils a speciee of manwa, so that the words of Virgil seem literally verified: — 66 Et dure quercus sudabunt roscida mella.” Ecl. iz.-30. : G No.3, 96 ORD. II. Amentacee. QUERCUS ROBURs Two sorts of galls are distinguished in the shops, one said to be brought from Aleppo, the other from the southern parts of Europe. The former are generally of a bluish colour, or of a greyish, or black, verging to blueness, unequal and warty on the surface, hard to break, and of a close compact texture: the others are of a light brownish or whitish colour, smooth, round, easily broken, less com- pact, and of a much larger size. The two sorts differ: only in strength, two of the blue galls being supposed equivalent in this respect to three of the others.° Galls appear to be the most powerful of the vegetable astringents, striking a deep black when mixed with a solution of ferrum vitrio- latara; : and therefore preferred to every other substance for the purpose of making ink. As a medicine, they are to be considered as applicable to the same indications as the Oak -bark, and by possessing a: greater degree of astringent and styptic power, seem to have an advantage over it and to be better suited for external use. Reduced to Gite. powder, and made into an ointment, wid have been found of Great. service in Ee ettidat affections." Their efficacy in intermittent fevers was-tri Mr»Poupart; by order of the Academy of Sciences, and from his report it appears, that the Galls succeeded in many cases; and also that they failed in many other cases, which were afterwards cured by the Peruvian bark.’ © Lewis, M. M. f See Cullen, lc. | & See Mem. pour Van. 1762. ——— ae _PISTACIA LENTISCUS. .- MASTICH “TREE. Ex qua fluit Mastiche. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. SYNON YMA. Lentiscus vulgaris. Bauwh. Pin. p. 399. Tournf. Inst. p. 580. Lentiscus. Clus. Hist. i. p. 14. Dod. Pempt.p. 871. Du Hamel. Arb. t. i. tab, 136. Conf. Tournef. Voyage du Levant. p. 144. oe ; ie iris : Niglitcta _Sentiacius —s Published by Phillips k Parden, Mardy.i F BC3, PISTACIA LENTISCUS. ORD. Il. Amentacee. 97 6 Pistacia massiliensis, foliis abrupte pinnatis: foliolis lineari-lan- ceolatis. Mill. Dict. Narrow-leaved Mastich Tree. Aiton. Hort. Kew: Class Dicecia. Ord. Pentandria. Zin. Gen. Plant. 1108. Ess. Gen. Ch. Masc. Amenti. Cal. 5-fidus. Cor. 0 Fem. distincta. Cal. 3-fidus. Cor. 0. Styli 2. Drupa monosperma. Sp. Ch. P. foliis abrupte pinnatis: foliolis lanceolatis. THIS tree, which seldom exceeds a foot in diameter, rises ten or twelve feet in height; it is covered with a smooth brown bark, and towards the top soods off numerous branches: the Jeaves are regularly pinnated, and consist of several pairs of narrow ovate opposite pinnz, closely attached to the common footstalk, which is winged or supplied with a narrow foliaceous expansion: the male flowers are placed in an amentum.or open catkin: the calyx (proper) is divided into five minute ovate segments: the filaments are five, sometimes four, very shert: the antherz are large, brown, erect, and of a quadrangular form: the female flowers, like those of the male, have no corolla, and are placed upon the common peduncle in alternate order: the calyx consists of three small squamous segments: the germen is egg-shaped, larger than the calyx, and: supports two or three styles, terminated by reflexed clubbed stigmata: the fruit is of the drupous kind, con- taining an egg-shaped smooth nut. The flowers appear in May, and the fruit ripens in August. This tree, which is a native of the South of Europe and _ the Levant, appears by Evelyn's Kalendarium Hortense td have been ~ cultivated in Britain in 1664;* but in this country it is of slow vege- tation, and seldom healthy enough to give us a competent idea of the plant in its natural situation, so that we have been enabled to publish *See Aiion’s Hort. Kew. 28 ORD. IL. Amentacee. PISTACIA LENTISCUS. ‘a more correct figure of the Lentiscus, from a dried specimen of it in the Linnean Herbarium, than could have been done from the living plant as found in any of the gardens in the vicinity of London.” In the island of Chio, the officinal Mastich is obtained most abundantly, and, according to Tournefort,“ by making transverse incisions in the bark of the tree; from whence the Mastich exudes in drops, which are suffered to run down to the ground, when, after sufficient time is allowed for their concretion, they are collected for use. The time chosen for making these incisions is the first of August, when the weather is very dry; on the following day the Mastich begins to appear in drops, which continue to exude till the latter end of September.* Mastich is a resinous substance, brought to us in small yellowish transparent brittle grains or tears: “ it has a light agreeable smell, especially when rubbed or heated: on being chewed, it first crumbles, soon after sticks together, and becomes soft and white, like wax, without impressing any considerable taste. It totally dissolves, except the earthly impurities, which are commonly in no great quantity, in rectified spirit of wine, and then discovers a degree of warmth and bitterness, and a stronger smell than that of the resin in substance. - Boiled in water, it impregnates the liquor with its smell, but gives out little or nothing of its substance; distilled with water, it yields a small proportion of a limpid essential oil, in smell very fragrant, and in taste moderately pungent. Rectified spirit brings over also in distillation, the more volatile odorous matter of the Mastich.’* » The only tree of this species which we have observed to flower in England, is @male plant in the Apothecaries garden at Chelsea, where many rare and valuable plants have been long successfully cultivated. * Voyage du Levant. t. i. p. 44. See also Du Hamel, 2. c. Dela Motraye, Voyage &c. t.#. p. 190. Thevenot’s Levant, p. 180. Hasselquist Resa. p. 532. rs Je fin de Septembre les mémes incisions fournissent encore du Mastic, indre quantité. Tourn. 1. c. = Lewis, M. M, Pp 413, ons ay: — ath ‘ ? 4G > . oe nail . ( \ odin Beh ere , Published oy PAlllivs & Kardon, March.it* Wes, ele ap yore hae Prindpeinns PISTACIA LENTISCUS, ORD. Il. Amentacee: 29 It is a common practice with the Turkish women to chew. this resin, especially in the morning, not only to render their breath more agreeable, but to whiten the teeth, and strehgthen the gums;‘ they also mix it with their fragrant waters, and burn it with other odoriferous substances in the way of fumigation. As a medicine, Mastich is considered to be a mild corroborant and astringent; and as possessing a balsamic power, it has been re- commended in hemoptysis, proceeding from ulceration, fluor albus, debility of the stomach, and in diarrhoeas and internal ulcers.‘ Chewing this drug has likewise been said to have been of use in pains of the teeth and gums, and in some catarrhal complaints; it is now however seldom used either externally or internally. The Lentisci lignum, or wood of this tree, is received into the Materia Medica of some of the Foreign Pharmacopezias, and is ‘na! extolled in dyspeptic, gouty, hiemierhagic, and dysenteric affections, . © Lib. cit, = Degner (de dysenteria. p. 201.) gave it successfully in these complaints, in doses of ten grains to a scruple, both in substance and in the way of emulsion. ® See Ephem. Nat. Cur. Dec. 3. A. 9. 10. Obs. 135. where it is dignified with the title of vegetable aurum potabile. $n CHIAN or CYPRUS PISTACIA TEREBINTHUS, ) TURPENTINE TREE, Ex qua fluit Terebinthina chia, Pharm. Lond. fg ______} SYNONYMA. Terebinthus vulgaris. Bauh. Pin. p. 400. Tournef. Inst. p. 579. Terebinthus. Clus. Hist. p. 15. Dod. Pempt. p. 871. Gerard. Emac. p. 1433. Rati Hist. p, 1577 Terebinthus angustiore folio vulgatior. Park. Theat. p. 1526. Ic. Du Hamel Arbres, t. 2. tab. 87. H ,* $0 ORD. II. Amentacee. PISTACIA TEREBINTHUS Class Dioecia. Ord. Pentandria. Zin. Gen. Plant. 1108. Ess. Gen. Ch, Mase. Amenti. Cal. 5-fidus. Cor. 0. = } Fem. Distincta. Cal. 3-fidus. Cor. 0. Styli 2. Drupa monosperma. A ? . Sp. Ch. P. foliis impari-pinnatis: foliolis ovato lanceolatis. THIS is a much larger tree than the preceding species; it sends off many long spreading branches,* and is covered with smooth bark: the leaves are pinnated, ‘consisting of ovate lance-shaped, veined, entire, opposite pinne, with an odd one at the end: the flowers are male and female on different trees, and in their essential parts ‘correspond with the description given of those of the P.. Lentiscus. : It is a native of Barbary and the South of Europe, and has been cultivated in Britain more than sixty years.t It is more hardy than the P. 7 and if Lona against a wall, it bears our winters very well. Cyprus, or “Chian “Turpentine which this tree furnishes, is pro- | cured by wounding the bark of the trunk of the tree, in several places, in the month of July, leaving a space of about three inches a, between each wound; from these the Turpentine issues, and is re- ceived upon stones, which are placed at the bottom of the tree for this purpose, and upon which it becomes so much condensed by oe the coldness of the night, as to admit of being scraped off with a = knife in the morning, which is always to be done before the sun rises: after this, in order to free it of all extraneous admixture, it is again liquified by the sun’s heat, and passed through a strainer, when it is aed eenggertbainnnlreyet annie oid. * Le Brun tells us that it was “‘Je Terebinthe qui se courba pour donner plus ; Wombre a la S. Vierge, lors qu’allant de Bethlehem a Jerusalem pour porter son Fils au Temple, elle se voulut reposer sous cet arbre.” See Voyage au Levant. p. 284. Fs : ’ A + See a Catalogue of Trees, Shrubs, &c. which are propagated for sale in the gar- dens near London, published in 1730, p. 78, Tercbinthus i, diton’s. Hort. Kew. \ Frets tes ip co sinner nme ine none at» Siac feet cr, PISTACIA TEREBINTHUS, ORD. II. Amentacee. 31 fit for use." The quantity of this Turpentine produced from each tree, is very inconsiderable, in so much that it has been observed that four large trees, sixty years old, whose trunks measured five feet in circumference, only yielded two pounds nine ounces and six drams; . but in the eastern parts of the islands, the names of which this Tur- ta £7 pentine bears, the trees afford somewhat more, though still so little 3 as to render it very costly, and on this account it is commonly adul- terated, especially with other Turpentines. The best Chio Turpen- s tine is generally about the consistence of thick honey, very tenacious, ‘ “ clear, and almost transparent; of a white colour, inclining to yellow, and a fragrant smell, moderately warm to the taste, but free from acrimony atid bitterness. The medicinal and other qualities of the Turpentines will be considered together under the os of Pinus. See Index. a ois ms eee. * See Du Hamel, Z. c. p. 308. and Tournefort, Voyage du Levant. t.i.p. 145, ORD. Ill. COMPOSITE. This Order comprehends Wide plaisi which bear compound flowers, or a number of florets formed into one’ head, within a common calyx, and placed upon the same receptacle. ; eee ARCTIUM LAPPA. BURDOCK. SYNONYMA. Bardana. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Lappa. Hal. Stirp. Helo. n. 161. Lappa sew Personata. Raii Hist. p. 332. Lappa Major, Arctium Dioscoridis. Bauh. Pin. 198. Personata. Camerar Epit. 887. Bardana major. Ger. emac. 809. Arctium Lappa. Huds. 348. Withering. 694. Smith. 844. Curt. Flor. Lond. Relhan Cant. 302. Withering. B. A. 163. Agnew, Agutior Grecor. Varietates sic se habent. Hort. Kew. vol. 3. p. 136. -# Lappa major capitulo glabro maximo. Raii Syn. 196. Smooth-headed Common Burdock. & Lappa major montana, capitulis tomentosis. Bauh. Pin. 198. — : Woolly-headed Burdock. Class : Syngenesia. Ord. Polygamia Equalis. L. Gen. Pl. 923. Ess Gen. Ch. Cal. globosus: squamis apice hamis inflexis. Sp. Ch. A, foliis cordatis inermibus petiolatis. . sg - ‘re . 4 ~ 4 4 en | ¥ - + ARCTIOM LAPPA, ORD. III. Composite. 33 THE root is biennial, subcylindrical, long, simple, externally of a dark brown colour, internally white, and sends off many slender fibres: the stalk is erect, roundish, grooved, villous, purplish, above an inch in diameter, three feet high, and alternately branched: the leaves are alternate, patent, heart-shaped, veiny, above of a dark green colour, underneath whitish; the lower leaves are very large, and stand upon long footstalks, which are grooved like the stem: the calyx is common to all the florets, imbricated, globular, the exterior scales are entangled in fine woolly threads, firm, elastic, and their extremities are polished and hooked; the flowers are numerous, disposed in heads, and stand alternately upon. footstalks on the branches; the corolla is compound, the florets purple, tubular, each having the limb divided into five pointed segments; the stamina are five, white, and filiform; the antherze unite into a tube, are - of a bluish colour, and project beyond the corolla; the germen is somewhat triangular, the styles white, and longer than the stamina, and the stigma bifid: the seeds are oblong, brown, and have irregular rough surfaces. This plant is common in waste grounds and road sides; it flowers in July and August, and is well known by the burs, or scaly heads, which stick to the clothes, a circumstance from whence the word Lappa is supposed to be derived.t The Pharmacopcoeias direct the root for medicinal use: it has nosmell, but tastes sweetish, and | mixed ‘as it were with a slight bitterishness and roughness, Its virtue, according to Bergius, is mundificans, diuretica, diaphoretica;* and many instances are upon record in which it has been successfully employed in a great variety of chronic diseases, as scurvy, rheuma- tism, gout, Iues venerea, and pulmonic complaints.” We have never had an opportunity of observing the effects of this root, except as a + Lappa dici potest vel awo re Awew prehendere vel Aanrew lambere. Ray, 1. c. 2 Mat. Med. 653. » Henricus III. Galliarum Rex, a Petro Pena decocto radi- eum Lappe ab hac Iue sanatus fuit. Vide Reverius, Obs. 41. The young stems of this plant, stripped of their rind, are boiled and eat like asparagus. When raw, they are good with oil and vinegar. Withering, 864. I, c. No. 3. I 34 ORD. III. Composites ARCTIUM LAPPAy diuretic, and, in this way we have known it succeed in two dropsical cases, where other powerful medicines had been ineffectually used: 2nd as it neither excites nausea nor increases irritation, it may occa- sionally deserve a trial where more active remedies are improper. The seeds also p ; a diuretic quality, and have been given with advan- tage in the dose of a.dram in calculous and nephritic complaints, and in the form of emulsion as a pectoral. The root is generally used. in decoction, which may be made by boiling two ounces of the fresh root in three pints of water to two, which, when intended as a - diuretic; should be taken in the course of two days, or if possible in twenty-four hours. ——— ee CENTAUREA BENEDICTA. BLESSED, or HOLY THISTLE. g ‘ SYNONYMA. Carduus benediétus. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Gerard Emac. p. 1171. J. Bauh. iii.77. Park. Parad. p. 530. Raii Hist. 1303... Dodon Pempt.725. Camer. Epit. 562. Cnicus sylvestris hirsutior sive Carduus benedictus. Bauh. Pin, 378, Class ele sie Ord. Polygamia frustranea. Lin. Gen. Plant. 984. Ess. Gen: Ch. Recept. setosum. Pappus simplex. Cor. radii infun- dibuliformes, longiores, irregulares. Sp. Ch. C. calycibus duplicato-spinosis lanatis involucratis, fog semidecurrentibus denticulato-spinosis. THE root is annual, cylindrical, whitish, branched, and furnished with several slender fibres: the stalk is erect, roundish, channelled, rough, from one to, two feet high, and often branched towards the top: the leaves are long, elliptical, rough, runcinated, or variously . serrated, and barbed with sharp points; above of a bright green colour, underneath whitish, and reticulated: the upper leaves are Pronadeitie CLAUACEE Pad x? by Phillies & I ees Ges we Lei CENTAUREA BENEDICTA, ORD. I. Composite. 35 sessile, and on one side extend along the stalk, but the lower leaves — stand upon footstalks: the flowers are enclosed by an involucrum of ten leaves, of these the five external ones are the largest: the calyx is oval, imbricated, smooth, woolly, and consists of several squamous eoverings, terminated by rigid, pinnated, spinous points: the flowers are compound, or composed of several yellow florets; those at the circumference want the parts necessary to fructification, but those at — the centre are hermaphrodite, tubular, unequally divided at the limb, and dentated at their upper extremities: the filaments are five, tapering, white, downy, and inserted in the base of the corolla: the antherz are cylindrical, tubulous, brownish, striated, and somewhat longer than the corolla: the style is filiform, and of the same length as the stamina: the stigma is yellow and cloven: the seedsare oblong, brown, striated, bent, and crowned with a hairy wing or feather, similar to that of the receptacle. It is a native of Spain and the Levant, and flowers in June and September. The first account of the cultivation of this plant in England i is given by Gerard, in 1597, and it is now usually cultivated with other exotic medicinal simples. It has an intensely bitter taste, accompanied with an unpleasant smell, which it loses upon being well dried. “ Cold water, poured on the dry leaves, extracts in an hour or two a light grateful bitterness: by standing long upon the plant the liquor becomes disagreeable. Rectified spirit in a short time extracts the lighter bitter of the ig but does not take up the nauseous so easily as water.’*.. The watery extract, PY keeping, produces a salt upon its surface, which.resembles nitre.” This plant obtained the appellation of Benedictus, from its being supposed to possess extraordinary medicinal virtues; for exclusive of those qualities which are usually attributed to bitters, it was thought to be a very powerful alexipharmic, and capable of curing the plague, and other fevers of the most malignant kind ;* but its * Lewis Mat. Med. p. 195. » Sal commune continere albi. Hist. de ’Acad. des Sc. de Berlin, 1747, P- 79. © Matthiol. in Dioscor. p. 597. 36 ORD. ITV. . Composite. CENTAUREA BENEDICTA, good effects in this way have now as little credit as those of its external'use, by which cancers and carious bones are said to have been healed‘ Bergius reports, that it is antacida, corroborans, stomachica, sudorifera, diuretica, eccoprotica; and that it ts useful in Anorexia, Cachexia, Cephalalgia sympatica, Arthritis, Febres intermittentes. We might however, with equal propriety, attribute these virtues to many other simple bitters, from which the Carduus does not seem to be peculiarly different. In loss of appetite, where the stomach was injured by irregularities, the good effects of the Carduus have been frequently experienced* | Formerly it was a common practice to assist the operation of emetics, by drinking an infusion of the Carduus;~-but the flowers of chamomile have since been substituted for this purpose, and probably may be advanta- geously done for several others in which the Carduus is recommend- ed. The seeds have also been employed in emulsion with the same intention as the leaves. 4 J. Bauh. hist. tom. 3, p. 79. Arnold de Villa Nova pract. c. 44. * Duncan Edinb. New Dispens. Toeemmeneiimmmemieiens sn eee ACHILLEA MILLEFOLIUM. COMMON YARROW; Or, MILFOIL. SYNONYMA. Millefolium. Pharm. Edinb. Millefolium vul- gare album. Bauh. Pin. p. 140. Millefolium terrestre vulgare. Gerard. Emac. p. 1072. Millefolium vulgare. Park. Theat. p. 693. Rati Hist. p.345. Synop. p. 183. Achillea foliis pinnatis, pinnis longe zqualibus, pinnatis, pinnulis trifidis et quinquefidis. Hal. Stirp. Helv. n. 107. A. M. Wither. Bot. Arrang. p. 941, Curtis Flor. Lond. 6. t. 61, Huds, 374. Smith. Fl. Brit. 908. Class Syngenesia. Ord. Polygamia Superflua. Lin. Gen. Plant. 971. PaeBosep thse iblished by Phillips & Farden, Nariel 17S ‘ ACHILLEA MILLEFOLIUM. — ORD. UI. Compositiv. 87 iss. Gen. Ch. — Recept. paleacteum.” Pappus nullus. Cal. ovatus imbricatus. #osculi radii circiter quinque. Sp. Ch. A. foliis bipinnatis nudis ; \ laciniis linearibus dentatis ; caulibus superne sulcatis. THE root is perennial, creeping, round, and furnished with many whitish fibres :* the stalk is upright, round, towards the bottom smooth and downy, but near the top it is slightly grooved, woolly, branched, and rises above a foot in height: the leaves stand alternately upon the stem, which they partly embrace, and are bipinnated: or sub- divided into a double series of pinnz: the pinnule are numerous, narrow, and somewhat pointed: the flowers are white, or tinged with purple, and terminate the stem in a Close’ corymbus: the bractez are small, pinnatifid, and placed at the peduncles: the calyx is ovate, downy, imbricated with concave oval scales, which are membranous, and fringed at the margins: the corolla is compound, and radiated ; at the disc the florets are about twelve, hermaphrodite, funnel-shaped, of the length of the calyx, consisting of a long yellowish tube, divided at the limb into five short segments: at the radius the florets are female, usually five, flat, spreading, roundish, eut at the apex into three teeth, and furnished with a cylindrical, greenish, striated tube, which is about the length of the calyx: the Ariens are five, short, and slender: the antherz are yellow, and unite into ‘a cylindrical tube: the germen is oblong, compressed, and supports filiform style, divided into two reflexed stigmata. It is common in dry pastures, and flowers from July till October. The leaves and flowers of this plant have an agreeable weak aromatic smell, and a bitterish, rough, and somewhat pungent taste, The virtue of both is extracted by watery and spirituous menstrua ; the astringency most perfectly by the former ; their aromatic warmth = Dr. Grew observes, that the fresh young roots have a glowing warm taste, approaching to that of Contrayerva, and thinks they might in some measure sup- ply its place. —On Tastes, chap. 5. §. 2 No. ‘4. K 38 ORD. Ill. Composite. acaruzna MILLEFoLIUM: and pungency by the latter; and both of them equally by a mixture of the two. The flowers, distilled with water, yield a penetrating essential ell, possessing the flavour of the Milfoil in perfection, though rather less agreeable than the flowers themselves,”* This plant appears to be the Srgahwrns xiduograros || of the Greek writers, by whom it was esteemed an excellent vulnerary + and styptic, and was generally employed internally as an useful astringent in all hemorrhagic complaints. | Instances of its good effects in this way* are likewise mentioned by several of the German physicians, particu- larly, by Stahl and Hoffman,‘ who also recommend it. as an effi- cacious remedy in various other diseases: the former found it not only an astringent, but also a powerful tonic, antispasmodic, and sedative. In took of the last mentioned quality, we may remark, that in some parts of Sweden it is used-in.making beer, in order to render it more intoxicating’; and Sparrman has observed, that it is employed for this purpose in some parts of Africa. The leaves and flowers of Milfoil are» both directed, for medicinal use in the Edinburgh Pharm. In the present pracge however this plant, we believe, is wholly setssign: * Vide Lewis’s M. M. | p- 424. | Vide Stratiotes, Matthiol. in Dioscorid. + Vulneraria insuper habetur sub externo usu, jam ab Achille, ut ferunt, ‘sana. tione yulnerum, subjectorum sibi militum, auctorato. Murray App. Med. vol. 1. p- 167. > Hemoptysis,: Epistaxis, Menorrhagia, et Hemorrhois. © Stahl Diss. de Therap. pass:'hypoc. Hoffman, De prest. rem. §. 18. * ¢ Vide Linn, Flor. Suec. p. 299. Published by fi hillips ORG es by , TARAXACUM. : COMMON DANDELION. SYNONYMA ‘Taraxacum. Pharm. Lond. & Edin. Dens ~Leonis, Raii Syn. 170. Ger. em. 290. LL. Officinalis Wither. 679. 43 Taraxacum. Huds.339. Smith Flor. Ang. 822. Curt. 1 1.58. Class Syngenesia. Order Polygamia Equalis. L. Gen. Plant. 919. * Semiflosculost Tourn. corollis ligulatis omnibus. Ess. Gen. Char. Recept. nudum. Cal, imbricatus, squamis laxi- usculis, Pappus plumosus. Spe. Char. L. T. calyce squamis inferne reflexis, foliis runci- natis denticulatis leevibus. DANDELION is so very common, that~a plot of ground can scarcely be seen where it does not present its yellow flowers*. It is easily distinguished from the hawkweeds and other ligulated plants, by the outer calyces being bent downwards, and by the flower stalk, which is simple, coloured, shining, and unifloral: the leaves are all radical and cut in a peculiar way, forming a good example of what botanists call runcinata. The seeds, in approaching to ma- turity, become crowned with a fine downy féather, disposed in a spherical shape. The root is perennial and au which with the whole plant abounds with a milky juice. The young leaves of this plant in a blanched state have the taste of endive, and make an excellent ‘addition to those plants eaten early in the spring as sallads*. At Gottingen the roots are roasted and substituted for coffee by the poorer inhabitants; who find that an infusion prepared in this way can hardly be distinguished from that of the coffee ° berry. * It has been observed that these flowers possess a certain degree of sensibility, for when under the powerfal influence of the sun in a summer’s morning, an evi- dent motion of the flowerets may be discovered. MS Lect. of the late Dr. Hope. * Withering’s Bot. Arrang. p. 839. > Murray. App. Med. p. 107. = 39 40 ORD. IIL. Composite. LEONTODON TABATA, Dandelion is generally considered by medical writers as the most active and efficacious. of the lactescent plants; the expressed juice is* bitter and somewhat acrid, the root however is still bitterer‘, and possesses more medicinal power than any other part; of the plant. Taraxacum has been long i in repute as a mild detergent and aperient, and its diuretic effects may be inferred from the vulgar name it bears in most of the European languages, quasi lectinings et urina- ria herba dicitur’.. Murray says, Viscidos nimirum tenacesque hu- mores stirps solvit, et obstructa vasa reserat, eruptionem variam sanat*: and Bergius recommends its use in obstructions of the liver, hypochondriasis, and jaundice. Its successful use in the first of these diseases is confirmed by his own experience’. De Haen also gives us another instance of the same complaint cured by the same means; and we have various proofs of the good effects of the Taraxacum related by different authors, in jaundice*, dropsy *, pul- monic tubercles', and some cutaneous disorders". . Haller’s Stirp. Hel. n. 58. plus lotii derivat in vesicam quam pueruli retinendo sunt, presertim inter oy ae edgue tunc impradentes et inviti stragula permingunt. Ray’s Hist. Pl. p. 2 © Murray, }. c. * In hepatis morbis, prestantissima est radix hee recens, sero lactis, jusculis et apozematibus incocta. Praclara identidem inde vidi, ubi alia fefellerunt. Sepe mihi successit resolvere duritiem hepatis cum jusculo parato e radice recenti. Ta- raxaci et fol. rec. acetosa, in sero lactis coctis, vel in aqua, addito vitello ovi, quod jusculum quotidie per plures septimanas, immo memses, sumpserunt egroti, pro- pinato simul cremore tartari. Hoc regimen exoptata prestitit etiam in calcule felleo et in ascitide. Mat, Med. tom 2. p. 649, ® Van Swieten’s Com. tom 3. p. 102. and Boerhaave apud Boretium. = Bergius loc. cit. Bonafas in Hautesierckii Recucil d’Observ. tom. 2. p- 360. Frank. Samml. t. 1. p. 226. J + Zimmerman, vide Murray, 1. ¢. Haller, 1. e. Park. 780; k Leidenfrost Dissert. de Succis. Herb. rec. p- 27. Frank. Samm. L. c. p. 126, Delius’s Diss. de Tarax. aq. taraxaci per fermentationem parata; et in allis morbis utitur. Febure Chemie. 2. p. 408. , \} \ enon tina lvdblished by Phillips & Pardon off ‘i FRILL COLA = April 7 7¢ 1806 -— are Sri The leaves, roots, flower. stalks, ind} juice ‘BP Dandelion, face (ees separately employed for medical purposes, and seem to differ rather. in degree of strength than i in any € essential property: therefore the expressed juice, or a strong decoction. of the roots have most commonly been prescribed, from. ‘one. once. to four, two or three times a day. The plant should be always used fresh ; even extracts prepared from it appear to lose much: o their power by keeping’. Ingreditur cum radice graminis regiam illani pian, cujus formulam Ludovicus. XIV. magno pretio redemit. Haller’s Stirp. Hel. No: 56. wit: 1 Lewis's M. M, 972." >. ? ARNICA MONTANA. ~ _- MOUNTAIN ARNICA. wed SYNONYMA. Arnica, Pharm. Lon. & Edinb. Doronicum Austri- acum Quartum, Clus, Pann. p. 520. Amgenrxn Reneaulme, p. 118. Doronicum Plantaginis folio alterum, C. B. 185. Tourn. Insti- tut. 487. Doronicum Germanicum Park. & Ray. Doronicum Germanicum foliis semper ex adverso nascentibus villosis, J. B. II. 19. Calendula Alpina, Gerard. 740... Arnica foliis conjugatis, ovatis, integerrimis, Hal. Stirp. Helo. . A. Montana. Flor. Dan. 63. Garin, Fruct. f. 451, Villars. Dauph. 207. Class Syngenesia. Ord. Polygamia siete, LZ. Gen-Pl: 958. Ess. Gen. Char. Recept. nuda. ew — Corollule radis filamentis 5 absque antheris.. Sp Ch. A. foliis ovatis integris: caulinis geminis OPPO His THIS plant is very common upon the northern mountains of Germany and Switzerland, and was first cultivated in this peace No, 4, h ; % 42 Poe ORD. Ill. Composite. - ARNICA MONTANA, { Mr. Pp Miller in 1759. * The stalk grows above one foot high, ' erect, roundish, striated, rough, hairy. The radical leaves are oval, narrow at their bases, and more obtusely lanceolated than the cauline leaves. On the stalk they are sessil, entire, oval, obtusely lance-shaped, and stand in pairs: the flowers are large, yellow, radiated, solitary, terminal, appearing in July: the calyx is imbricated, and consists of a single row of narrow, pointed, rough leaflets: the root is perennial, thick, fleshy, and spreading. The odour of the fresh plant is rather unpleasant, and the taste acrid, herbaceous, and astringent; a watery infusion of it strikes a black colour by the addition of sal martis’, and the powdered leaves act as a strong sternutatory. That the Arnica is a medicine of considerable activity there cannot be a doubt; but how far it deserves the extravagant praises it has received at Vienna, is not for us to determine; either the facts stated by Dr. Collin are not admitted by the physicians of this country, or we are disregardful* of a remedy of the first importance in the aes Medica. But as our iness is to adduce whatever is recorded of each plant by authors of respectability, (whether of Arnica or Hemlock) still the medical reader must form his own judgment of the eyi- | dence. The virtues of this plnt®, according to Bergius, are emetica, errhina, diuretica, diaphoretica, emmenagoga, and from its supposed power of attenuating the blood, it has been esteemed so peculiarly efficacious in obviating the bad consequences occasioned by falls and * Hortus Kewensis, vol. 3. p. 226. Ag Bergius, M. M. 683. — has not been able to procure this plant from any of the London druggists, ‘wThereina a variety of this species with narrower leaves, which is more powerfully a Gmelin ‘lor. Sibir t. 2. p. 153. = titi ar oe is ARNICA MONTANA. ORD. III. Composite. 43 bruises, that it obtained the appellation of panacea lapsorum‘; and by this resolvent power its success in sundry diseases has been ac- counted for, particularly pulmonic complaints, suppressio mensium, and visceral obstructions. Of the advantages derived from its use in paralytic and other affections depending upon an interruption or diminution of nervous energy, we have several proofs‘; and it is observed in these cases, that the recovery is generally preceded by great uneasiness, or acute pain in the parts affected: But it is the extraordinary febrifuge and antiseptic virtue of the Arnica, which have been so highly extolled by Dr. Collin ®. _ It had long been a desideratum of his to find an European plant oe ‘equal medicinal powers with the Peruvian bark in fevers of the _ intermitting and putrid kind; and after several fruitless trials of dif- ferent simples, at last he. had the satisfaction to find them in the Arnica; for by the flowers of this plant, made into an electuary* with honey, he cured more than one thousand patients labouring under the different species of intermittent fevers in the Pazman hospital, ‘from December 1771, to July 1774; and during the following winter the Doctor made trial of a watery extract of the 4 Fehrius Eph. N. C. Dec. 1. ann. 9 & 10. Obs. 2. Acta Med. Berolin, Dec. 1. vol. 1. n. 4. vol. 10. p. 80. Dec. 2. vol. t. p. 66. Buchner, Diss. de genuinis principiis et effectibus Arnice. Schulzius, M. M. De La Marche Diss. de Arnice | vere usu, Rosenstein. Apot. p. 21. Scopol. Fl, carn. p. 377. ¢ Fehr; loc. cit. Brickner, in Sel, Med. Francof. vol. 3. p» 190. Act. Berol. Dec. 1. vol. 9. p. 24. Quarin, Meth. Med. inflam. p. 80. Ad. Berol. Dec. 1. _ vol. 10. p. 82. I, c. Dec. 2. vol. 4. p- 92 & 94. Nebel in Act, nat. cur. vol. 8, Obs. 113, Vater, Diss. -de Iétero, * Bergius m. m. Junker Therap. gen. p. 173. Eschenbach Obs. p. 353. & Dr. Collin, Flor. Arnice Vires, mentions twenty-eight cases ng paralysis, ie? nine of amaurosis, Aaskow Societ. Med. Havan. vol, 2. p. 16 & Hen. Jos. Collin, physician to the Pazman hospital, De arnice in febribus, & aliis morbis putridis viribus. ’ » R. Pauly. Flor. Arnice drach, ix. mellis q- s. bidui spatio absumendum. 2 ~ ORD. IN. Composite. ARNICA MONTANA: ewer: by which he cured thirty quotidians ad dyes tertians, and fifty-eight quartans.* In putrid fevers the Doctor ‘experienced equal success with: the flowers employed in the way of infusion’, with which many hundreds of patients were snatched from the very jaws of death. “ However, there are some cases where the Doctor recommends the root‘ in preference to. the flowers, believing the former to possess more cordial, tonic, and antiseptic qualities; and it is accordingly directed in those cases where putridity and debility are more prevalent than fever; also in a malignant dysentery Dr. Collin could relate many hundred instances of the superior efficacy of Arnica root, and his practice in this disease was imitated and confirmed by Dr. Dietl'> Dr. Collm farther ascertains the medicinal powers which he at- tributes to this root in thirteen cases of gangrenes, where its anti- septic effects admitted of more evident proof. As the Arnica, when first administered, often excites vomiting, Orwneéasiness-at—the sto- mach, it will be necessary to begin with small doses; but by repeat- ing the medigine two or three times, this uneasiness Lae off. * Dr. Collin is, we believe, the only author who has experienced the good effests of Arnica in imtermitting fevers, if we except the two cases stated by Aaskow (1. c.) where it acted as a powerful evacuant. Bergius employed it in quartan intermittents, which were aggravated, rather than bettered, by the use of this medicine, m. m. i R. Flor. arnice unc. j. infunde in s. q. aque fervide per I horam, deinde vase clauso per medium 1 hore ebulliant; colat. lib, ij. add. syr. capill. vener. q. s. ad gratiam ; et omni bihorio diei sumat une. ij. * R. Pulv. Rad. Arnice unc. ij. digere in phiala alta balneo arena adaptata, exacte clausa, per 12 horas cum ag. gq. s. colatur unc. xxx. adde syr. alth. une. iij, m, Sumat eger omni bihorio unc. ij. vel iij. And to make this medicine more palatable to the patient, he occasionally added lemon juice, spt. vitriol, or wines » +.) Physician to the military hospital of invalids, at Vienna, ‘= > ( ™“s pf. . \ —~ , f \ Luprtlage \ { \ Arr CLEC? é “ : Lublished by Phillips & Par bon tpi 4? hee —— nes, 2S a1 ee i ws * ie Ree * sce | , ae TUSSILAGO FARFARA. COLTSFOOT. Mats id SYNONYMA. Petasites scapo unifloro, flore radiato, Hal. Stirp. Helo. n. 143. Bechium, Dodon. Pempt. 586. Tussilago vulgaris Bawh. Pin. 197. Zannich. Venez. t. 266. Tussilago. Clus. Hist. f ¥40. Camer. Epit. 590. Gerard, 811. Parkinson, 1220. Raii Hist. Plant, 259. Tussilago Farfara. Curtis Flor. Lond. Relhan. Flor. Cantab. Withering.719 Huds. 364. Smith. 878. En. Be - 429. Bax * Dioscorid. Hippoc. &c. “Cla s Syngenesia. Ord. Polygamia Superflua. Z. Gen? Pl. 952... P : ’ ‘Ess. Gen. Ch. Recept. nudum. Pappus simplex. Cal. squame zequales, discum zquantes, submembranacee. Sp. Char. T. scapo unifloro imbricato, foliis subcordatis angulatis denticulatis. THE root is long, round, tapering, creepin small short fibres; the stalks are furrowed, eight inches high, beset with several scaly leav Tink colour, and closely embracing the stem; ‘the leaves are obtuse- ly heart-shaped, angular, irregularly indented, above of a bright -green colour, beneath white, downy, and stand upon Jong roundish radical footstalks; the flowers are compound, large, and yellow; the florets in the disc are hermaphrodite, tubular, the limb is cut into five acute segments, which curl outwardly ; the anthere, by uniting, form a tube, but their apices are separate and pointed; the germen is short, the style filiform, longer than the anthere, and the florets at the circumference are female Oa ae PZ the stigma is round: * Supposed to be derived from nk, tussis, hence Tussilago. No. A. M * AG = ORD. HL Composite. TUSSILAGO FARFARA, ubliey. at the base, and the limb is. long and linear; the germen is oblong; the stigma bifid; the seed is oblong, and of a pale-brown colour, quownied with simple down; the calyx is cylindrical, and the leaflets or squamz are oblong, pointed, and alternately narrower. It is common in moist clayey places, and the flowers appear some- time before the leaves, in March or April, The sensible qualities of Tussilago are very inconsiderable; it has a rough mucilaginous taste, but no remarkable smell. The leaves have always been of great fame, as possessing demulcent and pectoral virtues; of course, it is esteemed useful in pulmonary consumptions, coughs, asthmas, and in various catarrhal symptoms.* Fuller, in his Medicina Gymnastica,’ recommends Coltsfoot as a valuable medicine in scrophula; and Dr. Cullen, who does not allow it any powers as a demulcent and expectorant, found it serviceable in some strumous affections.“ It may be used as tea, or given in the way of infusion, to which liquorice-root or honey, may be a useful addition. _* We might, withect exception, cite every writer upon the Materia Medica. Percival found it also useful in hectic diarheas. Essays Med. and Exper. vol. 2. p. 224. Cartheuser advises it to be given with the roots of Dandelion. Mat. Med. 416. The juice, liberally drunk, has been beneficial in calculous complaints. Comm. Lit. Nor. 173 6, p- 1 194, »p. 84. © Every part rie plant has been medicinally employed for the same purpose, but more usually the leaves, and these are the principal ingredient in the British herb tobacco. It is remarkable, that the smoking of this plant has the recommen. dation of Dioscorides, Galen, Pliny, Boyle, &c. Et adhuc hodie plebs in suecia instar tabaci contra tussim sugit. Lin. Flor. Suec. p. 289, and under the direction of Pliny it is certainly an efficacious — singulos haustus, passum ioral dum est. lib. 26. c. 6. p. 651 2 i ; ; H} \ 4 Published by Philips & Farden, April 1** 1806. — aw — ORD. III. Composite, at ANTHEMIS NOBILIS. COMMON CAMOMILE. = SYNONYMA. Chamemelum. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Gerard Emac. p.755. Park. Parad. p. 289. Chamemelum nobile seu Leucanthemum odoratius. Bauh. Pin. p. 135. Chamemelum odoratissimum repens, flore simplici. J. Bauh. Hist. v. iii. p.118. Raii Hist. p. 353. Synop. p. 185. Chamzmelum foliis subhirsutis, nervo duro, pinnis pinnatis, pinnulis lanceolatis incisis. Hal. Stirp. Helv. n. 102. Anthemis nobilis. Hudson, Flor. Ang. With. Bot. Arr. Smith Flor, Lond. 904. Class Syngenesia. Ord. Polygamia Superflua. Lin. Gen. Plant. 970, Ess. Gen. Ch. Recept. paleaceum. Pappus nullus. Cal. hemis- phericus, subaqualis. Flosculi radii plures quam 5. Sp. Ch. A. foliis pinnato-compositis linearibus acutis subvillosis. THE roots are perennial, fibrous, spreading : the stems are slender, round, trailing, hairy, branched, of a pale green colour, and about a foot in length: the leaves are doubly pinnated; the pinnz are linear, pointed, a little hairy, and divided into th terminal seg- ments: the flowers are compound, radiated, white, at the centre yellow, and stand singly: the calyx is common to all the florets, of an hemispherical form, and composed of several small imbricated scales: the flowers of the radius are female, and usually about eighteen, narrow, white, and terminated with three small teeth: the tubular part of the floret encloses the whole of the style, but does not conceal the bifid reflexed stigma: the flowers of the disc are numerous, hermaphrodite, tubular, and cut at the brim into five segments: the filaments are five, very short, and have their anther united, forming a hollow cylinder: the germen is oblong: the style. is short, _ Sones and furnished with a bifid reflexed stigma: the amt * 4g ~ ORD. III. Compositix. ANTHEMIS NOBILIS. seeds are small, and of an irregular shape: the receptacle is supplied with rigid bristle-like pale. It =o most pastures, and flowers in July - and August. The mame Camomile j is supposed to be expressive of the smell of the plant xauemeror, quoniam odorem mali habeat.* It is referred to the «Sus of Dioscorides, and to the 2» of Theophrastus. Matricaria Chamomilla, or Corn Feverfew, is similar.in its general appearance to the Anthemis nobilis, and is directed for. officinal use by most of the foreign pharmacopeeias; but the plant which we have here figured has a more fragrant and a more powerful odour, yields more’essential oil, and of course is the more efficacious. _ A double-flowered variety of Camomile is very common, and usually kept at the shops, but as the odorous and sapid matter chiefly resides in the disc, or tubular part of the florets, the London College therefore lars prefer the — flowers, in which this matter is most abundant. ° Both the leaves and flowers of this plant have a strong though not ungrateful smell; and a very bitter nauseous taste, but the latter are the bitterer, and considerably more aromatic. ‘“ Camomile flowers give out their virtues both to water and rectified spirit: when the flowers have been dried so_as to be pulverable, the infu- sions prove more grateful than when they are fresh or but mode- rately dried. Distilled with water, they impregnate the aqueous fluid pretty str -ongly with their flavour: if the quantity of camomile submitted to the operation is large, a little essential oil‘ separates ~ and riseg to the surface of the water, in colour yellow, with a cast of greenish or brown, of a pungent taste, and a strong smell, exactly resembling that of the camomile. Rectified spirit, drawn © fis £.,.%. c Zi. : The tubes of the florets appear beset with minute nie stg ceslaie secrete the essential vil. © Baumé obtained from $2 Ib, of the flowers 13 drams, vs once. 18 drams of essential oil. But from a like quantity of the herb, without the flowers, only half a dram of this oit was procured. See. Berg. M. M. p, 695. © * am oa s ee # 8 ANTHEMIS NOBILIS, ORD. IH, Composite. 49 off ftom the sildeaiine tincture, brings over likewise a part of the flavour of the camomile, but leaves a considerable part behind in the extract. The smell is in great measure covered or suppressed by the spirit, in all the spirituous preparations; but the taste both in the spirituous tincture and extract, is considerable stronger than in the watery.’”’* These flowers possess the tonic and stomachic qualities usually ascribed to simple bitters, having very little astringency, but a strong odour of the aromatic and penetrating kind, from which they are also judged to be carminative, emmenagogue, and in some mea- sure antispasmodic and anodyne. They have been long successfully employed for the cure of intermittents;* as well as of fevers of the irregular nervous kind, accompanied with visceral obstructions, for which we have the authority of Sir John Pringle.‘ That camomile flowers may be effectually substituted for Peruvian bark in the cure of intermittent fevers, appears from the testimony of several respectable physicians, to which we have referred; and to which we may add that of Dr. Cullen, who says, “I have em- ployed these flowers, and agreeable to the method of Hoffman, by giving several times during the intermission, from half a dram to a dram of the flowers in powder, have cured intermittent fevers. ' } have found however that the flowers were attended with this inconvenience, that, given in a large quantity, ‘they readily run off by stool, defeating thereby the purpose of preventing the return of paroxysms; and I have found, indeed, that without joining with sapock an opiate, or an astringent, I could not common- ly employ them.” 4 Lewis, M. M. p. 221. © Morton, (Exercit. 1.de febr. interm. cap, 6.) Hoflman, (Diss. de prestan .. rem. dom. p. 29. Zag — (Diss. de Medic. Germ. indig. p. 13.) found these flowers more €! in-the cure of intermittents than the peruy. bark: and Dr Cullen observes, that -his celebrated countryman, Dr. Pitcairn, was of onining' that the powers of Cam. flowers were in this respect equal to the bark. ® Dis. of the Army, p. 216. tM M., vol. ii. p. 79 No. 5, N 50 ) ORD. Il. Composite. — ANTHEMIS NOBILIS. T.eése flowers have been found useful in hysterical affections, flatulent and spasmodic colics, and dysentery, but from their lax- ative quality, Dr. Cullen tells us, they proved hurtful in diarrhceas. A simple watery infusion of them is frequently taken, in a tepid state, for the purpose of exciting vomiting or for promoting the operation of emetics. Externally the flowers are used in the decoctum pro fomento, and they are an ingredient in the decoctum pro enemate. en + ee ANTHEMIS PYRETHRUM. SPANISH CAMOMILE, Or, PELLITORY of SPAIN. SYNONYMA. Pyrethrum. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Pyrethrum flore bellidis. Bauh. Pin, p. 148. Pyrethrum officinarum. Zob. AAT. Gerard. Emac. p.758. Park. Theat. p. 858. Raii Hist. p. 353. Chamemelum specioso flore, radice longa fervida. Shaw, Afr. p. 138. Anthemis caulibus simplicibus unifloris decumbentibus. Mill. Fig. t. 38. M"ze3e" Dioscorid. Lib. 3. c. 85.* Class Syngenesia. Ord. Polygamia Superflua, Lin. Gen. Plant. 970. Ess.Gen. Ch. Recept. paleaceum. Pappus nullus. Cal. hemispheri- cus, subzqualis Flosculi radii plures quam 5. | Sp. Ch. A. caulibus simplicibus unifloris decumbentibus, foliis pinnato-multifidis. THE root is perennial, tapering, long, externally whitish, and sends off several small fibres: the stems are usually simple, round, trailing, bearing one flower, and scarcely a foot in height; but the specimen here figured was extremely luxuriant, and has in some — departed from its more common and simple appearance: * Ab igne nomen habet, ob redicls ejus fervorem igneum. V. Bauh. l. c, eee A > Wa | mi a! Fi i | uy : eee : MA A YUANIUAACIIE” é » Riblished: by Phillips & Bardon, April 17° 2606 iiriiniierntnneeeensee at orn m8 ——_nitiaeeeseniediiih eee ANTHEMIS PYRETHRUM. ORD. III. Composite. 51 the leaves are doubly pinnated, segments narrow, nearly linear, and of a pale green colour: the flowers are large, at the disc of a yellow colour, at the radius white on the upper side, on the under side of a purple colour: the different florets answer to the descrip- tion given of the Anthemis nobilis. It flowers in June and July. This plant is a native of the Levant and the southern parts of Europe; it was cultivated in England by Lobel in 1570,* but it does not ripen its seeds here unless the season proves very warm and dry.”. The root of Pyrethram has a very hot pungent taste, without any sensible smell.’”’ Its pungency resides in a resinous matter, of the more fixed kiud; being extracted completely by rectified spirit, and only in small part by water; and not being carried off, in — evaporation or distillation by either menstruum.” The ancient Romans, we are told, employed this root as a pickle,’ and indeed it seems less acrid than many ofher substances now used for this purpose. In its recent state this root is not so pungent | as when dried, yet if applied to the skin it is said to act like the bark of mezereon, and in four days produces inflammation of the part. From the aromatic and stimulating qualities of Pyrethrum there can be no doubt but that it might be found an efficacious remedy, and equally fitted for an internal medicine, as many others of this class now constantly prescribed. Its use however has been long confined to that of a masticatory,‘ for on being chewed, or long. retained in the mouth, it excites a glowing heat, stimulates the excretories of saliva, and thereby produces a discharge, which has been found to relieve toothachs, and rheumatic affections of the face; in this way too, it is recommended in lethargic complaints, and paralyses of the tongue. = Adver. p. 346. Vide Hort. Kew. > Miller Dict. © Lewis M. M. p. 527. 4 See Berg. M. M. p. 698. sgh © Bergius, Vik ‘Tis use in this way is mentioned by Serenus Samonicus. «+ Purgatur cerebrum mansa radjce pyrethri.” 52 ORD. III. Composite. ARTEMISIA ABROTANUM. | COMMON SOUTHERNWOOD. a “2 em SYNONYMA. Abrotanum. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Abrota- num masangustifolium majus. Bauh. Pin. p.136. Touwin. Inst. p. 459. Duhamel, Arb. i. p. 20. t. 4. Abrotanum mas vulgare. Park. Theat. p. 92. Abrotanum mas. Gerard. Emac. p. 1105, Raii Hist. p. 371. Dodon. Pempt. p.21. Vide Allion. Ped. 605. Krock. Siles.. n. ¥364. "w A. caule erecto. 6 A. humilis foliis setaceis pinnatifidis, caule decumbente suf- fruticoso. Mill. Dict. Class Syngenesia. Ord. Polygamia Superflua. Lin. Gen. Plant. 945. Ess, Gen. Ch. Recept. subvillosum vel nudiusculum. Pappus nullus. Cal. imbricatus, squamis rotundatis, conniventibus, Cor. ‘radii nulle. Sp. Ch, A. fruticosa, foliis setaceis-ramosissimis. THE root is perennial, woody, and. fibrous: the stalk is shrubby, round, covered with smooth brown bark, sends off vertical branches, and rises two or three feet in height: the leaves are numerous, somewhat hoary, doubly and irregularly pinnated ; .pinne linear, long, narrow, entire, concave on the upper side, convex beneath, and stand upon long footstalks, which are also of this shape: the flowers are small, of a greenish yellow colour, and placed. in close ‘terminal spikes upon the branches: the calyx is imbricated, con- sisting. of several membranous scales: the flowers are compound, composed of numerous florets; those in the centre, or disc, are hermaphrodite ; but in the margin they are female: the corolla is tubular, and extremely minute: the filaments are five, short, and slender: the anthers are united, and form a hollow cylinder: the ee a FER ————— i ee V : <4 5 ” APR = Oe —* Published by Phillips & Fardon, May 2£*i8o6. he — ; : - eet BE 2 : 3 : x c ARTEMISIA ABROTANUM. ORD. III. Composite. 53 style is longer than the stamina, and furnished with a cleft reflected stigma: the seeds are naked and solitary. Southernwood is a native of France, Spain, and Italy: it was cultivated here by Gerard, and its odour renders it so generally acceptable, that there are few gardens in which this plant is not to be found. Although it bears the cold of our winters very well, it so rarely flowers in Britain, that a specimen proper for delineation cannot without difficulty be obtained. The leaves and tops of Southernwood, have a strong, and to most people an agreeable smell: its taste is pungent, bitter, and some- what nauseous. These qualities are completely extracted by spirit- uous menstrua, the herb communicating to the spirit a beautiful green colour. Water extracts its virtues less perfectly, and the infusion is of alight brown colour. In distillation with water this plant affords but a small quantity of essential oil; for from sixteen pounds of the fresh leaves scarcely three drams of this oil could be obtained.* : The Abrotanum mas & femina were regarded by the ancients” as medicines of considerable efficacy; the latter is referred to Santolina Chamz-Cyparissus, Zin. (Common Lavender Cotton); the former is the species now under consideration, and has been esteemed to be stomachic, carminative, and deobstruent; it is supposed to stimulate the whole system, more particularly that of the uterus. But though it still retains a place both in the London and Edinburgh pharmacopceias, it is now rarely used, unless in the way of fomentation. * Lewis, M. M. p. 4. * » See Theophrast. [ist. L.1. ¢. 15..p. 44. Dioscor. L. 3. c.. 29. p. 184. Gelen, Simpl. L. 6. p. 40. Pliny, L. 21. ¢. 21. No. 5.. ae = ee ORD. III. Composite. ARTEMISIA ABSINTHIUM. COMMON WORMWOOD. SYNONYMA. Absinthium vulgare. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Absinthium ponticum seu Romanum officinarum, seu Dioscoridis. Bauh. Pin. p. 138. Absinthium latifolium sive Ponticum. Gerard. Emac. p. 1096. Absinthium vulgare majus. J. Bauh. Hist. iit. p. 168. Absinthium vulgare. Park. Theat. p. 98. Raii Hist. p. 366. Synop. p. 188. Hal. Stirp. Helv. n. 124. Artemisia Absinthium. Huds. Ang. p. 358. Withering. Bot. Arrang. p. 891. Smith. 864. Sp. Ch. A. foliis compositis multifidis, floribus subglobosis pendulis: receptaculo villoso. THE root is perennial, long, and fibrous: the stalks are round, channelled, somewhat downy, ligneous, rising two or three feet in height, and sending off several round branches: the leaves are compound, divided into many bluntish segments in a pinnated order, on the under side downy, of a whitish or pale green colour, and silky softness: the flowers are-of a brownish yellow colour, pendent, and placed in numerous spikes, which stand alternately upon the branches: the calyx is composed of many oval scales: the florets are hermaphrodite and male, placed upon a villous recep- tacle, and in the structure of their different parts nearly resembling those described of the preceding species of Artemisia. This plant is a native of Britain, and grows about rubbish, rocks, and sides of roads. * The leaves of Wormwood have a strong disagreeable smell ; their taste is nauseous, and so intensely bitter as to be proverbial, The flowers are more aromatic and less bitter than the leaves, and the roots discover an aromatic warmth without any bitterness.* * This plant communicates a bitter taste to the flesh and milk of cows and sheep which feed on it. Lin. Flor. Suec. n. 735. The milk of a woman, who took the extract, became extremely bitter, Act. Hafn. vol. 2. p. 165. i —— seen amr eee a ite REISE ET eee ewe | LOE OG DEE - Cho ey, ee Fee eee Published by Phillips & Fardon May 14 2806: ARTEMISIA ABSINTHIUM. ORD. III. Composite. 55 ** The leaves give out nearly the whole of their smell and taste both to aqueous and spirituous menstrua. Rectified spirit elevates little from this plant in distillation: water brings over almost the. whole of its smell and flavour. Along with the aqueous fluid there arises an essential oil, which smells strongly and tastes nauseously of the Wormwood, though not bitter. The quantity of oil varies greatly, according to the soil and season in which the herb is produced. * «* The watery extract loses the distinguishing smell and ill flavour of the plant, but retains its bitterness almost entire. An extract, made with rectified spirit, contains, along with the bitter, nearly the whole of the nauseous part ;” water carrying off, in the evapo- ration, all the oil in which the offensive flavour resides, while pure spirit elevates very little of it.”’* This species of Wormwood, which is thought by Professor Murray to be the Absinthium ponticum of Dioscorides and Pliny,* may be considered the principal of the herbaceous bitters. Its Virtus, in the words of Bergius, is antiputredinosa, antacida, anthelminthica, re- solvens, tonica, stomachica.” And although it is now chiefly em- ployed with a view to the two last mentioned qualities, yet we are told of its good effects in a great variety of diseases, as intermittent fevers,’ hypochondriasis,*? obstructions" of the liver and spleen, * Baumé from twenty-five pounds of the berb obtained six to ten drams of the oil. » The extract, triturated with salt of tartar, emits a volatile odour; and hence appears to contain sal ammoniacum. Sulzer. Diss. An in plantis sal essentiale ammoniacum? Gott. 1769. * Lewis, M. M. p. 6. 4“ Absinthium bathypicron herba est yulgo cognita. Prestantius in Ponto & Cappadocia in monte Tauro appellato nascitur.” Dioscor. L. 3. c. 26. p. 183. © Mat. Med. p. 670. f Boerhaave, Elem. Chem. Processus. 39. Comm. Nor. 1734, p. 225. * Haller, Z. ¢. » Lange, Brunov. p. 111. 56 ORD. III. Composite. == ARTEMISIA ABSINTHIUM, gout,’ calculi,“ scurvy,’ dropsy," worms, &c. Lindestolphe ™ has asserted, that by a continued use of this herb, great: injury is done to the nervous system, from its narcotic and debilitating effects, which he experienced upon himself; observing also, that he could never taste the extract or essence of wormwood without being immediately affected with head-ach and inflammation of the eyés: and it is noticed both by him and his commentator, Stenzelius, that Absinthium produced similar effects upon many others: These narcotic effects of Wormwood have however been attributed to a peculiar idiosyncrasy, as numerous instances have occurred: ‘in - which this plant produced a contrary, effect, though taken daily for the space of six months. Dr. Cullen, speaking on this subject, says, “ | have not had an opportunity of making proper: experi- ments; but to me, with Bergius and Gleditsch, the odour of Wormwood seems temulentans, that is, giving some confusion of head: and formerly, when it was a fashion with some people in this country to drink Purl, that is, ale, in which wormwood is infused, it was commonly alleged to_be-—more intoxicating than’ other ales. This effect is improperly supposed to be owing to. its volatile parts: but Iam more ready to admit the general dootring of a narcotic power; and I believe, from several considerations, particularly from.the history: of the Portland powder, that there is in every bitter, when largely employed, a ee = destroying the sensibility and irritability of the nervous power.” Externally Wormwood is used in discutient and antiseptic fomen- tations. This plant may be taken in powder, but it is more com- monly preferred in infusion. The Edinburgh pharmacopeeia directs a tincture of the flowers, which is, in the opinion of Dr. Cullen, a light and agreeable bitter, and at the same time a strong mapregnan tion of the Wormwood. ' Haller, 2. c. Bomare, Dict. * Linneus, Am. Acad. T. 3. p. 160. * Eugal. De Scorb. p. 83. ™ Fehr, Hiera. picra, vel de Absinth. analecta. p, it7. Heister in Hall. Disput. anat. vol. 6. p. 713. Misc. Nat. Cur. Dec. 1, Ann, 3. Obs. 322, ._” De venenis, p. 547. ° Mat med. vol. 2. p. 81. ‘ SOA Se i = Published by Fhillips & Fardon. May + °* :808 — et ee nee Se at Bee = We reticcn in ernest aaaaee mm pees : ‘ # } rset fe sakes) oe ee i Spe ) ie ORD. III. Composite. . 57 ARTEMISIA VULGARIS. MUG-WORT. —S eS ee SYNONYMA. Artemisia.t Pharm. Edinb. Artemisia vulgaris major. Bauh. Pin. p. 137. Artemisia mater herbarum. Gerard. Emac. p. 1103. Artemisia foliis pinnatis inferne tomentosis, pinnis acute dentatis, spica paniculata erecta. Hal. Stirp. Helv. mn. 130. Artemisia vulgaris. J. Bauh. Hist. iii. p. 184. Park. heat, p. 90. Raii. Hist. p. 372. Synop. p. 190. Huds. Flor. Ang. p. 359. Withering Bot. Arrang. p. 891. Smith Flor. Brit. 865. : Sp. Ch. A. foliis pinnatifidis planis incisis subtus tomentosis, racemis simplicibus recurvatis, floribus radio quinquefloro. THE root is perennial, composed of numerous strong fibres: the stalk is erect, branched, angular, striated, reddish, and usually rises two or three feet in height: the leaves are irregularly and deeply divided into several lacinie or lobes, which are oval, pointed, on the upper side of a deep green colour, on the under downy, or covered with a cotton-like substance: the flowers are small, purplish, and-produced in spikes, which stand alternately, and rise from the bottom of the leaves: the calyx is composed of several narrow scales, which are purplish, woolly, and placed in an imbricated order: the florets are longer than the calyx, stand upon a naked receptacle, and appear in August: the five florets of the circumference are female ; those of the centre are hermaphrodite, and both agree in their structure with those of the other species already described. Muewort is a native of Britain, and is commonly found growing in waste grounds, and the borders of fields. It is divided into red + “ Artemisia dicta, ab Artemisia Mausoli Carie regis uxore, que hanc sibi, ut loquitur Plinius 7. 25. c. 7. p. 636. adoptavit, cum antea wagbes 1. e. virginalis, quod virgo dea illi nomen dederit, vocaretur. Sunt qui ab Artemide Iithia cog- nominatam putent; quoniam privatim feminarum malis, quibus Agrsus i.e. Diana preest, medeatur.” C. Bauh. 1. c. No. 5. P & 58 ORD. III. Composite. ARTEMISIA VULGARIS. and whité Varieties; the former is distinguished by a reddish tinge of the stalk and flowers; in those of the latter they are of a pale green. “The leaves have a light agreeable smell, especially when rubbed a little ; but scarcely any tothien: than an herbaceous taste. An extract’ ‘made from them’ by water is likewise’ almost insipid ; and an extra¢t made by spirit has only a weak aromatic: bitterness. Baicrasinforms us, in a dissertation on this plant, that by fermenting a large quantity of it, and afterwards distilling, and cohchating the distilled ‘v water, a fragrant sapid liquor was sinined; with a thin fragrant ‘oil on the ‘buethoe: The flowery tops are considerably stronger than the leaves, and hence should seem to be preferable for medicinal use.” . This plant, though rarely used at present, was by the ancients held in great estimation. Hippocrates’ very frequently mentions Arte- misia: he thought it of great use in promoting uterine evacuations: with this intention it was also employed by Dioscorides;* and Galen for-this purpose used it in the way of fomentation; a practice which seems in some measure conformable to that of the Chinese women, who, as we are told,* make a. poultice of the leaves of this plant, mixed with rice and sugar, which in cases of amenorrheea, and hysteria, instar bellarii ingerunt. If this herb however possesses any powers as an antihysteric or uterine, they are very weak; the London College has therefore properly expunged it from the ma- teria medica. Moxa is a substance prepared in Japan from the dryed tops and leaves of Mugwort,° by beating and rubbing them between the hands till only the fine internal lanuginous fibres remain, which are * Lewis, M, M. p. 117. > De Morb. Mul. lib. 1. - Mat. Med. lib. 3. cap. 10. 4 Ten. Rhyne de Arthr. p. 133. * This however is not the species of Artemisia from which the eastern Moxa is made, but that prepared from this plant in Germany was found to answer very well.. See: igh Nat. Cur. Dec. 3. 4.7.8. App. 141. It has also been made from the down of Verbascum. * Git ASN oe ARTEMIsIA VuLcaris. © ORD. III. Composite. 59 <* then combed and formed into little cones. These, used as cauteries, are greatly celebrated in eastern countries for preventing and curing many disorders;' but chronic rheumatisms, gouty, and some other painful affections of the joints, seem to be the chief complaints for which, they ean be rationally employed. The manner of applying the Moxa is very simple: the part affected being previously moist- ened, a cone of the Moxa is laid, which being set on fire at the apex, gradually burns down to the skin, where it produces a darle coloured spot: by repeating the process several times, an eschar is formed of any desired extent, and this on separation leaves an ulcer, which is kept open or healed up as circumstances may require. « Itas said that the use of the Moxa was originally introduced by the Jesuits;* but it is probably of greater antiquity.. From remote times it has been the practice to cauterize the affected parts by - various means. Hippocrates for this purpose not only used:iron but flax, also a species of Fungus;" and the Laplanders still prefer the Agaric, (Boletus igniarius) which they prepare and use in a similar way, ‘as the Japanese do their Moxa,’ The Egyptians pro- duced the same effects by me of cotton or linen cloth; and in Spain a Moxa is prepared from a species of the Echinops. ~f Fora full account of these see Kempfer Team exot. p. 502, &c. Also Abbé Grosier CHist. of China) from whom it appears, that mirrors of ice or metal were used for the purpose of igniting the moxa; and that the aariegt Chinese made paper, and a kind of cleth, of the down of artemisia. & See Recueil d observations curteuses, tom, ii. p- 114. & Tb. de affect. §. 30, i Harmens and Fiellstrom Diss. Med. Lapp. in Hall. Collect. diss. pract. tom. vi. Pp. 728, * Prosper Alpinus, Lib, iti, c. 12, p. 209. 6@ ORD. Ill: Composite. » ARTEMISIA MARITIMA. SEA WORMWOOD. SYNONYMA. Absinthium maritimum. Pharm. Lond. Absin- thium seriphium Belgicum. Bauh. Pin. p. 139. J. Bauh. Hist. iii. p. 188. Absinthium seriphium sive marinum Anglicum. Park. Theat. p. 102. Absinthium marinum album. Gerard. Emac.p. 1099. Raii Hist. p. 370. Synop. p.189. Huds. Flor. Ang. p. 359, . Withering Bot. Arrang. p. 890.. Smith. Flor. Brit. 864. Sp. Ch. A. foliis multipartitis tomentosis racemis cernuis flosculis femineis ternis. THE root is perennial, spreading, and fibrous: the stems are procumbent, branched, about a foot in height, and covered with a white down or cotton: the leaves are numerous, irregularly divided. into many segments, which are narrow, linear, and covered both above and below with a fine cotton-like substance, giving the whole plant a whitish appearance: the flowers are of a brownish yellow colour, and placed in pendent spikes: the calyx is composed of many réundish scales: three florets at the circumference are female, the others are hermaphrodite, and both in their structure resemble those of absinthium. It is a native of Britain, growing plentifully on the sea shore, and about salt marshes, and flowers in August and September. ‘ This plant seems to have been formerly confounded with the A. pontica, or Roman Wormwood, as appears by Ray* and Dale 3° their specific differences however are very evident: Its taste and smell *** Absinthii speciem Londini & alibi in Anglia coli solitam nomine Absinthii Romani, non aliter ab hoc differre putamus quam cultura & loco natali.” &c. Hist. p, 370. * Speaking of this plant, he says, ‘ Muliercule Botanopole Londinenses Absinthium romanum vocant.” Pharm. p. 99, 3 garter aati a pig meeee — any * i ee ise: ARATCA 20 —_— - Published by Phillips & Farden, ¥x, A ies ie i ‘ CLE UAL tts loviion jinn: Published by Phiilins © Fardom, May 2 06 ARTEMISIA SANTONICA: ORD. IT. Composite, ; 61 are considerably less unpleasant* than those of the common Worm- wood; and even the essential oil, which contains the whole of its flavour concentrated, is somewhat less ungrateful, and the watery extract somewhat less bitter, than those of the common wormwood. Hence it is preferred by the London College in those cases where the A. Absinthium is supposed to be too offensive to the stomach.t But as the efficacy of these plants depends upon their sensible qualities, this species, though its virtues approach to those of com- mon wormwood, yet from being less powerfully bitter, must be considered in a proportionate degree a.less powerful medicine. A conserve of the tops of this plant is directed by the London Pharmacopeeia. © € In its wild state it smells like Marum or Camphor, but in our gardens it is less grateful.” Withering, ?. c. The salt of Wormwood, which is obtained from the ashes of the A. Absinthium, differs not from other vegetable fixed alkali, provided they be equally pure. . ¢ It appears by Dioscorides, that the ancients believed it to disorder the stomach : “ Absinthium marinum, quidam cepidiey -vocant, est herba pratenuibus surculis abrotoni parvi similitudine, minutulis referta seminibus, subamara sfomacho inimica graveolens, & cum quadam calefactione astringens.” ¢. 3. c. 27 I ARTEMISIA SANTONICA. TARTARIAN SOUTHERNWOOD. _—_— ee eee * SYNONYMA. Santonicum. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Absin- thium Santonicum Alexandrinum. Bauh. Pin. p. 139. Rati Hist. p. 368. Sementina. Gerard Emac. p. 1100. Semen sanctum. Lob. ic.758. Absinthium Seriphium A-gyptium & semen sanctum, Scheba Arabum. Camer. Epit.p.457. Absinthium Santonicum alexandrinum, sive sementina & semen sanctum. Park. p. 102. Artemisia fruticosa incana ramosissima, corymbis sessi- libus spicatis subrotundis, foliis superioribus linearibus brevissimis obtusiusculis. Gel. Lib. 11. p. ez t.4I- No, 6. 62 ORD. Ill. Composite. ARTEMISIA SANTONICA. Sp. Ch. A. foliis caulinis linearibus pinnato-multifidis, ramis indivisis, spicis secundis reflexis, floribus quinquefioris. THE root is perennial: the stem is round, smooth, branched, somewhat hoary, and rises about two feet in height: the lower leaves are divided into many narrow linear segments, standing in a pinnated order; those of the branches are sessile, narrow, and undivided ; they are all of a pale green on the upper side, and whitish beneath: the flawers are roundish, brown, and placed in spikes upon short slender alternate peduncles: the calyx is composed of numerous narrow scales: the florets are male and female, placed upon a naked receptacle, and in their situation and structure agree with the other species-of Artemisia already described. It is a native of Siberia, and flowers in September. This species, which was first cultivated in England by Mr. P. Miller,* we obtained at the Royal Garden at Kew; but whether it is the officinal Santonicum, or not, seems very doubtful.* It appears by the species plantarum, that though Linnzus first considered this plant to be the Santonicum, afterwards however he changed his opinion, and referred it to another species, named Artemisia Judaica; and in this he has been followed by Murray and Bergius; but as the evidence upon which this determination is founded, is admitted by Linnzus himself to be still inconclusive,* we have in conformity to the London College adopted the Arte- misia originally referred to. * See Aitan’s Hort. Kew. _ ¥ The following ebservation of Geoffroy on this subject is still, im some mea- sure, applicable:—-‘* Nulia quidem res in officinis magis usitata & cujus origo minus cognita sit. Num in Gallia proveniat, in Palestina, in Aigypto, vel in Persia, aut in solo regno, Bowtan, in India orientali remotissima.” M, M, vol. di. p. 466, * Mantissa, p. 111. & p. 281. And Mat. Med. sécond Edition. ’ © He enumerates the seeds of this plan among those of the other plants hitherto not sufficiently ascertained. See his Preface to the Materia Medica. ARTEMISIA SANTONICA. - ORD. III. Composite. 63 The seed of Santonicum or Wormseed is small, light, oval, com- posed as it were of a number of thin membranous coats, of a yellowish green colour, with a cast of brown; easily friable on being rubbed between the fingers, into a fine chaffy kind of substance. These seeds are brought from the Levant ;* they have a mode-. rately strong and not agreeable smell, somewhat of the wormwood kind; and a very bitter subacrid taste, Their virtues are extracted both by watery and spirituous menstrua. These seeds, in common with the other Artemisias, are esteemed to be stomachic, emmenagogue,* and anthelmintic; but it is espe- cially for the last mentioned powers that they have been generally administered; and from their efficacy in this way they obtained the name of Wormseed. Their quality of destroying worms has been ascribed solely to their bitterness; but it appears from Baglivi, that worms (lumbrici) immersed in a strong infusion of these seeds, were killed in five, and according to Redi, in seven or eight hours,‘ while in the infusion of Wormwood, and in that of Agaric the worms continued to live more than thirty hours; and hence it has been inferred that their vermifuge effects could not wholly depend upon the bitterness of this seed. To adults the dose in substance is from one to two drams twice a day. Lewis thinks that the spirituous extract is the most eligible ie ae of the Santonicum fer the purposes of an anthelmintic. * « Lewis, M. M. p. 580. * Remarkable effects of the Santonicum in this way are related by Bergius:— *« Puella cuidem decenni, vermibus conflictanti, semina Santonici exhibui, sed per illud tempus quo iis utebatur, menses fluxerunt, qua re cognita, usum eorun- éem dissuasi, unde etiam fluxus sponte cessavit.” M, 47. p. 668. ! Bagliv. Oper. p. 60.. Redi de animal. viv. p. 159. - 64 ORD. Ill. Composite. INULA HELENIUM, COMMON INULA, Or, ELECAMPANE. SYNONYMA. Enula Campana. Pharm. Lond.. Helenium. Gerard Emac. p.793. Raii Hist. p. 273. Synop. p.176. Hele- nium vulgare. Bauh Pin. p.276. Helenium sive Enula campana. - J. Bauh. Hist. iti. p. 108. Park. Theat. p. 654. Aster foliis ovato- lanceolatis, serratis, subtus tomentosis, calycinis ovato-lanceolatis, maximis. Hal. Stirp. Helv. n. 72. Inula Helenium. Hudson Flor. Ang. p. 368. With. Bot. Arr. p. 922. Flor. Dan. 728. Smith Flor. Brit. 890. Flor. Dan. 728. Class. Syngenesia. Ord. Polygamia Superflua. Lin. Gen. Plant. 956. iss. Gen. Ch. Recept. nudum. Pappus simplex. Anthere basi in setas duas desinentes. Sp. Ch. T. foliis amplexicaulibus ovatis rugosis subtus tomentosis, calycum squamis ovatis. THE root is perennial, large, thick, branched, externally brown or grey, internally whitish: the stalk is upright, strong, round, striated, branched, beset with soft hairs, and rises three or four feet in height: the leaves are large, ovate, serrated, crouded with reti- cular veins, supplied with a strong fleshy midrib, on the upper pagina smooth, on the under downy: the leaves, which are placed on the upper part of the stem are sessile, and surround the branches, but those towards the bottom stand upon footstalks: the flowers . are large, yellow, of the compound kind, and terminate the stem and branches: the calyx is composed of several rows of strong imbricated ovate segments: the corolla consists of numerous florets, which are of two kinds; those occupying the centre are of a regular tubular form, divided at the brim into five small segments, and are hermaphrodite, each containing five short filaments, which have their a “ff? - e Jn coder Ftlen ttt #72 eaten ‘ublished by Phillipe & Farden, June 17 2806, INULA HELENTIUM.” ORD. Ill. Composite. : 65 anther united so as to form a hollow cylindér and. a long germen, which supports a slender ‘style, about the length of the tube, and furnished with a bifid stigma: the florets at the circumference are female, and at the lower part tubular, but at the upper ligulated or strap-shaped, and cut at the extremity into three narrow pointed. teeth; the female part is similar to that in the hermaphrodite florets: the seeds are solitary, striated, quadrangular, and furnished with a simple feather or pappus: the receptacle is naked and flat. It is a native of England, growing in moist meadows, and flowers in July and August. It is probable, that Elecampane is the Helenium foliis verbasci of Dioscorides,* and the Inula of Pliny,” who also mentions Helenium but as a very different plant. * Elecampane is seldom to be met with in its wild state, but it is commonly cultivated in gardens, from . whence the shops are supplied with the root, which is the part directed for medicinal use. “ This root, in its recent state, has a weaker and less grateful smell than when thoroughly dried and kept for a length of time, by which it is greatly improved, its odour then approaching to that of Florence orris. Its taste, on first being chewed, is glutinous and somewhat rancid, quickly succeeded by an aromatic bitterness and pungency. ‘Spirituous liquors extract its virtues in greater perfection than watery; the former scarce elevate any thing in distillation; with the latter an essential oi] arises, which concretes into white flakes: this possesses at first the flavour of the Elecampane, but generally loses it on keeping. An extract, made . Lidia cap. 27. > Lib. wiv. cap. 5 © <6 Helenium e lacrymis Helene natum, & ideo in Helena insula laudatissimum. Est autem frutex humi se spargens dodrantalibus ramulis, folio simili serpyllo.” Ei, tie. ¢. G. The Inula is noticed by Horace: ‘¢ Erucas yirides, inulas ego primus amaras Monstravi incoquere.” —_———. quum rapula plenus Atgue acidas mavult inulas No. 6. R Sat. 8. ¥. 51. bét.'2. v0, 2 66 ORD. II. Composite. INULA HELENIUM, with water, possesses the bitterness and pungency of the root, but in a less degree than that made with spirit.” The high opinion entertained by the ancients of the virtues of Elecampane may be collected from the words of Schréder, who says, “ Abstergit, discutit, aperit, pulmonica est. Stomachica, alexi- pharmaca, sudorifera, &c. Usus precip. in tartaro pulmonum renumque attenuando, ac educendo, & hinc in tussi, asthmate, in cruditatibus ventriculi emendandis, ureteribus reserandis, in pesie, contagiosisque morbis arcendis, in scabie.” Bergius also ascribes many Virtues to this root, and from its sensible and chemical qualities it promises to be a medicine of some efficacy; but in the diseases in which it is principally recommended, as dyspepsia, pul- monary affections, and uterine obstructions, we have no satisfactory evidence of its medicinal powers.* One dram of this root in infusion, and from two drams to half an ounce in decoction, is said to be the dose usually given. 4 P, 602. See Alston's M. M. voli. p. 454. © See Cullen’s Mf. M. vol. i, p. 459. rr TANACETUM VULGARE. COMMON TANSY. SYNONYMA.. Tanacetum. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Raii Hist. p. 365. Synop. p. 188. Gerard Emac. p. 659. Tanacetum vulgare luteum. Bauh. Pin. p. 132. Tanacetum vulgare. Park. Theat. p. 80. Hudson Fl. Ang. p. 357. Withering. Bot. Arrang: p. 887. Flor. Dan. p. 871. Smith. 862. Tanacetum foliis pin- natis, pinnis semipinnatis, acute dentatis. Hal. Stirp. Helv. n. 132. Class Syngenesia. Ord. Polygamia Superflua. Lin. Gen. Plant. 944. Ess, Gen. Ch. Recept. nudum Pappus submarginatus. Cal. im~ bricatus, hemisphericus. Cor. radii obsoletie, 3-fidx. Sp. Ch. TT. foltis bipinnatis incisis serratis, Sy: e Litieciviillie wae ee ar fe... TANACETUM VULGARR, ORD. IE. Composite. 67 THE root is perennial, long, creeping, and fibrous: the stem is strong, erect, often reddish, branched towards the top, smooth, beset with leaves, and rises two or three feet in height: the leaves are doubly pinnated; lesser pinnae, numerous, notched, or deeply | serrated; principal ribs edged with leafy clefts: the flowers are yellow, compound, and produced in a corymbus: the calyx consists of numerous small imbricated squamz, forming a common perian- thum of an hemispherical shape: the florets at the disc are herma- phrodite, tubular, divided at the mouth into five pointed segments: the florets at the border are female, and cut at the brim into three teeth: the filaments are five, very short, slender, and furnished with antherz, which unite and form a hollow cylinder: the germen in both the hermaphrodite and female florets is oblong, small, and supports a filiform style, furnished with a cloven refiexed stigma: the seeds are naked, solitary, and of an oblong shape: the receptacle is convex and naked. It is a native of England, growing in moist pastures, borders of corn fields, roads, and rivers, and flowering in July and August. This species, of which there is a variety, foliis crispis, the curled Tansy, which is said to be more grateful to the stomach than the common Tansy, and has therefore been preferred by some for medical purposes; but as the sensible qualities of the latter seem most powerful, we judge it to be most efficacious. * The leaves and flowers of Tansy have a strong, not very dis- agreeable smell, and a bitter somewhat aromatic taste: the flowers are stronger though rather less unpleasant than the leaves. They give out their virtue both to water and spirit, most perfectly to the latter: the tincture made from the leaves is of a fine green; from the flowers of a bright pale yellow colour. Distilled with water they yield a greenish-yellow essential oil, smelling strongly of the herb: the remaining decoction, inspissated, affords a strong bitter subsaline extract. The spirituous tinctures give over also, in distillation, a considerable part of their flavour; a part of it re- ae along with the bitter matter, in the extract.” * Lewis, M. M. p, 633. 68 ORD. I. Composite. TANACETUS VULGARE, According to Bergius, the virtues of Tansy are tonic, stomachie, anthelmintic, emmenagogue, and resolvent;* qualities usually attributed to bitters of the warm or aromatic kind; many of which we have had occasion to notice under the genus Artemisia, which is closely allied to that of Tanacetum in its botanical character. Tansy has been much used as a vermifuge, and testimonies of its efficacy are given by many respectable physicians :* not only the leaves but the seeds have been employed with this intention, and substituted for those of Santonicum. * We are told by Dr. Clark, that in Scotland Tansy was found to be of great service in various cases of gout; and Dr. Cullen, who afterwards was informed of the effects it produced upon those who had used the herb for this purpose, says, “I have known several who have taken it without any advantage, and some others who we sei that they had been relieved from the eatiency of “sig — a aay is also recommended in the yatirta: especially when this disease is supposed to proceed from menstrual obstructions. - This plant may be given in powder to the quantity of a dram, er more, for a dose; but it has been more commonly taken in infusion, or drunk as tea. * Mat. Med. p. 664, 4 Hoffman speaks highly of its efficacy. See Med, Syst. T. 4. P. 2. p. 333. See also Supp. p. 87. Rosenstein, Bskd. cap. de vermibus. © The latter however are much more bitter and aromatic. See Lewis, /. c. ‘ Vide, Essays and Obs. physical and lit. vol. tit. p. 438. & Mat. Med. vol. ti. p. 80. ————— =) Sr rr eee gn err ctr Ae oe Se

See Sebizius de Aliment. facult. p. 346. é Vide Journal etranger. and Aaskow in Act. Soc. Med. Havniens. vol. i. p. 201. a CICHORIUM INTYBUS. WILD, or BLUE SUCCORY. SYNONYMA. Cichoreum. Pharm. Geoff. iii. 319. Dale. 84. Alston: i. 412. Lewis. 227. Edinb. New Disp. 171.. Murray.i 100. Bergius. 650. Cichorium sylvestre, sive officinarum. Bauh. Pin. 126. Gerard. Emac: 284. Park. Theat. 776. Ray. Hist. 255. C.Intybus. Hudson Flor. Ang. 348. Withering. Bot. Arr. 862. Curt. Flor. Lond. 241, Smith. Flor. Brit. 843. Flor. - Dan. 150, : = CICHORIUM INTYBUS ORD. III. Composite. | 71 Class Syngenesia Polygamia Aqualis. Lin, Gen. Plant. 921. Gen. Ch. Receptaculum subpaleaceum. Cal. calyculatus. Pappus sub-5-dentatus, obsolete pitosus. Sp. Ch. C. floribus geminis sessilibus, foliis runcinatis. ROOT perennial, long, tapering, branched, or spindle-shaped ; externally yellowish, internally white, lactescent. Stalk erect, rough, branched, angular, from one to two or even three feet in height. Leaves at the root numerous, pinnatifid, or cut into irregular segments like those of dandelion: on the stalk they are alternate, sessile, somewhat spear-shaped, but indented and rough at the base. Flowers compound, large, blue, commonly in pairs. Calyx comaron to all the florets, composed of a double set of leaves, ofWhich the outer are in- number five, ovate, spreading, and fringed with glandular hairs; the inner set consists of about eight. Corolla composed of hermaphrodite florets, which are regular, blue, and about twenty in number, each consisting of a short white tube, from which arises a long flat ribbed limb, divided at the extremity into five teeth. Filaments white, slender, unconnected. Antherz blue, forming a hollow angular cylinder. Germen conical, crowned with short hairs. Style filiform. Stigmata two, rolled back, blue. Seeds numerous, naked, angular, lodged at the bottom of the calyx. It commonly grows about the borders. of corn fields, and flowers in July and August. This plant belongs to the same family with the garden endive, and by some botanists has been supposed to be the same plant in its uncultivated state; but the endive commonly used as sallad is an annual, or at most a biennial plant, and its parent is now known to be the Cichorium Endivia. It appears from Horace and others," that the Cichorea was com- a —__——_— ——— Me pascunt olive Me cithorea, levesque malve. Hor. Od. 31. ‘¢ Cichorea, & teneris frondens lactucula fibris.” Juvenal. 7? * ORD, II. Composite. CICHORIUM INTYBUS, monly eaten bythe Romans; and according to Pliny® this name signified the wild species of the plant. The Intybus and Seris are also mentioned as itS congeners, the latter implying the cultivated species. Wild Succory, or Cichory, as it has heen called, “ abounds with a milky juice, of a penetrating bitterish taste, and of no remarkable smell, or particular flavour: the roots are bitterer than the leaves or stalks, and these much more so than the flowers.” By culture in gardens, and blanching, it loses its bitterness, and may be eaten early in the spring in sallads. The roots, if gathered before the stems shoot up, are also eatable, and when dried may be made into bread.‘ The roots and leaves of this plant are stated by Lewis to be “very useful aperients, acting mildly and without irritation, tending rather to abate than to increase heat, and which may therefore be given with safety in hectic and inflammatory cases. Taken freely, they keep the belly open, or produce a gentle diarrhea; and when - thus continued for some time, they have often proved salutary in _ beginning obstructions of the viscera, in jaundices, cachexies, hypochondriacal and other chronical disorders.’”* A decoction of this herb, with others of the like kind, in whey, and rendered purgative by a suitable addition of polychrest salt, was found an useful remedy in cases of biliary calculi,* and promises advantage in many complaints requiring what have been termed attenuants and resolvents. The virtues of Succory, like those of dandelion, reside in its milky juice; and in most of the plants of the order Semiflosculose, a juice of a similar nature is to be found; therefore what has been before observed of the effects of taraxacum, will, in a great measure, apply to the Cichorium; and we are warranted in saying, that the expressed juice of both these plants, ae Se ee ° Withering. 1, ¢ a Lewis d. Ce * Van Swieten. Cemment. T. itt. p. 137. 4 2 7 4 2 ; ; 2 Fe é VA, ites veers Sarthernttum — Published hy Phillivs, & Fardon, June 1t*1b06. CICHORIUM INTYBUS. ORD. III. Composite. 73 taken in large doses, frequently repeated, has been found an efficacious remedy in phthisis pulmonalis, as well as in the various other affections above mentioned. The seeds of the Cichorium, which are small, angular, and of a brown colour, are reckoned among the four smaller cooling seeds. i MATRICARIA PARTHENIUM. COMMON FEVERFEW. SYNONYMA. Matricaria. Pharm. Geoff. iii. 825. Dale. 97. Alston. 41.175. Lewis. 414. Ed. New. Dispens. 227. Murray. 7. 148. Bergius. 687. Cullen. ii. 364. Matricaria vulgaris sive sativa. Bauh. Pin. 133. Gerard. Emac. 652. Park. Theat. 83. Ray. Hist. 357. Synop. 187. Hall. Hist. Stirp. Helv. n. 100. M. Parthenium. Huds. Flor. Ang. 371. Withering. Bot. Arr. 931. Ic. Flor. Dan. 192. Pyrethrum Parthenium. Smith Flor. Brit. 900. Syngenesia. Polygamia Superflua. Lin. Gen. Plant. 967. Gen. Ch. Recept. nudum. Pappus nullus. Cal. hemisphzricus, imbricatus: marginalibus solidis, acutiusculis. Sp. Ch. M. foliis compositis planis: foliolis ovatis incisis, pedun- culis ramosis. ROOT perennial, composed of numerous long fibres. Stalk erect, firm, much branched, striated, round, smooth, rising above two - feet in height. Leaves alternate, hairy, pinnated; lobes irregular, Micothea, blunt; terminal lobe bifid. Flowers large, compound, at the centre yellow, at the radius white, upon long peduncles, forming a kind of umbel. Calyx common to all the florets, hemi- spherical, and composed of numerous ovate squame, which are membranous at the border. Florets at the radius, female, oblong, about two lines in breadth, terminated by three small teeth. Stigma No. 7. T a ue. ¢ Naatt) ‘if ¥ Se ve The ORD. IIL. Composite. MATRICARTA PARTHENIUM? bifid, turned in opposite directions, Florets of the disk numerous, tubular, hermaphrodite, five-toothed. Filaments five, capillary, very short. Antherz forming a hollow cylinder. Seeds egg-shaped, truncated at the base, farsowed, whitish, without pappus. It is common about hedges, walls, and waste grounds, flowering in June and July. L flowers of Feverfew have a strong not agreeable 1tely bitter taste, both which ‘hay communicate, by warm infusion, to water and rectified spirit. The watery in- fusions, inspissated, leave an extract of considerable bitterness, and which discovers also a saline matter both to the taste and in a more sensible manner by throwing up to the surface small crystal- line efflorescences in keeping: the peculiar flavour of the Matricaria exhales in the evaporation, and impregnates the distilled water, on which also a quantity of essential oil is found floating. The quantity of spirituous extract, according to Cartheuser’s experiments, is only about one-sixth the weight of the dry leaves, whereas the watery extract amounts to near one-half.” This. plant is evidently the Parthenium of Dioscorides, since whose time it has been very generally employed for medical pur- poses. In natural affinity it ranks with camomile and tansy, and its sensible qualities show it to be nearly allied to them in its medi- cinal character. Bergius states its virtues to be tonic, stomachic, resolvent, and emmenagogue. It has been given successfully as a vermifuge, and for the cure of intermittents; but its use is most celebrated in female disorders, especially in hysteria;* and hence it is supposed to have derived the name Matricaria.° Its smell, taste, ‘and analysis prove it to be a medicine of consi- erable activity ; we may therefore say with Murray, “ Rartus “« hedie prescribitur, quam debetur.’ * According to Sim. Paulli, its efficacy in this diserder was very remarkable. Muadrip. p. 432 > SC. Thepbesoy, quasi Saas quod morbis mulierum uterinis medeatur, hine cul, go matricaria.” &c.—C. B. * aoa A LT or $$$ er i CLEAODO i fetuca : 4 Published by Phillips, & Fardorv, July 2**2808. ORD. Ti. Composite, — 73 LACTUCA VIROSA. 'STRONG-SCENTED WILD LETTUCE. SYNONYMA. Lactuca virosa. Pharm. Edinb. nov.. New: Ed Dispens. 217. Murray. App. Med. vol. 6. 13. Lactuea sylvestris, odore viroso. Bauh. Pin. 123. Lactuca sylvestris major, odore ‘opi. Gerard. Emac. 309. Lactuca Endivia foliis, odore viroso. Park. 818. Ray. Hist. 219. Synop. 161. . Haller: Hist. 15. L. virosa. Hudson, Flor. Ang. 337. Vi ‘ithevthe. Bot. Arr. $35. Ic. Collin. Obs. vi. pref. Smith Flor. Brit. 819)... .* Syngenesia. Polygamia Equalis. Zin. Gen. Plant. 909. Gen. Ch. Recept. nudum. Cal. imbricatus, cylindricus, margine membranaceo. Pappus simplex, stipitatus. Sem, leevia. Sp..Ch. - L. foliis horizontalibus carina aculeatis dentatis. ROOT biennial, tapering, branched, firm, furnished with long fibres. Stalk from-two to four feet high, slender, erect, round, prickly near the base, above smooth, branched. Branches spread- ing. Leaves at the root oblong, wedge-shaped, entire, or cut into winged clefts, toothed, commonly prickly at the underside of the midrib, sessile, horizontal: leaves on the stem arrow-shaped, embracing the stalk, either entire or cut into pinnated lobes: upper and floral leaves arrow-shaped, entire, pointed, embracing the branches at which they are placed. Flowers composed of numerous equal yellow florets. Calyx oblong, consisting of several small spear-Shaped unequal scales. Florets numerous, uniform, herma- phrodite, each composed of narrow ‘petals, cut at the extremity into four or five minute teeth. Filaments five, very short, hair- like. Anthere forming a cylindrical tube. Germen egg-shaped. Style filiform. Stigmata two, reflexed. Seeds ovate, compressed, Jodged upon the naked receptacle, and furnished with a simple hairy feather placed upon a footstalk. It grows about ditch banks, borders of fields, and old walls, flowering in July and August. 7e | ORD. III. Composite. “LACTUCA VIROSA. This plant has a strong ungrateful smell, resembling that of opium, and a bitterish acrid taste; it abounds with a milky juice, in which its sensible qualities seem to reside, and which appears to have been noticed by Dioscorides, who describes the odour and taste of this juice as nearly agreeing with that of the white poppy; its effects are also said, according to Haller, to be powerfully narcotic. : Dr. Collin, at Vienna, (whose name has been frequently men- tioned in the course of this work) first brought the Lactuca virosa into medical repute,* and its character has lately induced the College of Physicians at Edinburgh to insert it in the catalogue of the Materia Medica. More than twenty-four cases of dropsy are said by Collin to have been successfully treated, by employing an extract prepared from the expressed juice of this plant; which is stated not only to be powerfully diuretic, but by attenuating the viscid humours to promote all the secretions, and to remove visceral obstructions. In the more simple cases, proceeding from debility, the extract, in doses of eighteen to thirty grains a day, proved sufficient to accomplish a cure: but when the disease was inveterate, and accompanied with visceral obstructions, the quantity of extract was increased to three drams: nor did larger doses, though they excited nausea, ever produce any other bad effect; and the patients continued so strong under the use of this remedy, that it was seldom necessary to employ any tonic medicines. Though Dr. Collin began his experiments with the Lactuca at the Pazman hospital, at the time he was trying the arnica in 1771, yet very few physicians, even at Vienna, have since adopted the use of this plant. Plenciz indeed has published a solitary instance” of its efficacy, while Quarin‘ informs us that he never experienced any good effect * Observ. circa Morb. P. vi. » Joseph de Plenciz. Act. & Obs. Med. p. 107. * Animady. Pract, p. 188. o a ee ae eS ae : Fa ACOWALP AY offen wie C Published by Phillips, Fig aay Pm #. VALERIANA OFFICINALIS. ORD. I. Composite. GF ‘from its use, alledging that those, who were desirous of supporting ‘its character, mixed with it a quantity of extractum scillz. Under these circumstances we shall only say, that the recommendation of ‘this medicine by: Dr. Collin, will be scarcely thought sufficient to -establish its use in England. ORD. IV. AGGREGATE. | (From aggregare to assemble), comprehending those plants which have aggregate flowers or a number of florets, each of which has a proper and common calyx. ‘VALERIANA OFFICINALIS. OFFICINAL VALERIAN. SYNON YMA. Valeriana sylvestris. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Valeriana sylvestris major. Bauh. Pin. p. 164. Gerard. Emac. p. ‘1075. Park. Theat. p. 122. Raiit Hist. p. 388. Synop. p. 200. Valeriana foliis pinnatis, pinnis dentatis. Hal. Hist. Stirp. Helv. n. ‘210. Valeriana officinalis. Hudson. Flor. Ang. p.12. Withering. ‘Bot. Arr. p. 66. ‘Smith Flor. Brit. 36. Curt. Lond. fase. 6. t. 3. Eng. Bot. 698. a Folis-angustioribus. Class Triandria. Ord. Monogynia, Lin. Gen. Plant. 44. Ess. Gen. Ch. Cal. 0. Cor. 1-petala, basi hinc gibba, supera. Sem. 1. Sp. Ch. 'V. floribus triandris, foliis omnibus» pimnatis. No. 7. : U 78 ORD. IV. Aggregate. VALERIANA OFFICINALIS. ‘THE root is perennial, consisting of a great number of simple fibres, which unite at their origin: the stalk is upright, smooth, channelled, round, branched, and rises from two to four feet in height: the leaves on the stem are placed in pairs upon short broad sheathes; they are composed of several lance-shaped, partially den- tated, veined, smooth pinnz, with an odd one at the end, which is the largest: the radical leaves are larger, stand upon long footstalks, _and the pinne are elliptical, and deeply serrated: the floral leaves are spear-shaped and pointed: the flowers are small, of a white or purplish colour, and terminate the stem and branches in large bunches: there is no calyx, or only a small narrow rim: the corolla consists of a narrow tube, somewhat swelled on the under side, and divided at the limb into five obtuse segments: the three filaments are tapering, longer than the corolla, and furnished with round anthere: the germen is placed beneath the corolla, and supports a slender style, shorter than the filaments, and terminated by a thick ‘bearded stigma: the capsule is crowned with a radiated feather, and contains one seed of an oblong shape. It flowers in June, and commonly grows about hedges and woods. The narrower-leaved variety of this species of Valerian, which does not exceed two feet in height, and affects dry heaths and high pastures, is justly in more repute than the other; its roots manifest stronger sensible qualities, and consequently possess more medici- nal power; their smell is strong, and has been compared to that of a mixture of aromatics with fetids; their taste unpleasantly warm, bitterish, and subacrid. ‘“ The powdered root, infused in water or digested in rectified spirit, impregnates both menstrua strongly with its smell and taste. Water distilled from it smells considerably of the root, but no essential oil separates, though several pounds be submitted to the operation at once.’”’+ Valerian i is — to be the ge of Dioscorides and Galen,* by + Lewis, M.M. * Gentts ge esse credo, a o» abominantis: olet enim radix felinum quid, non ‘tamen siue grato odore nardi Hoff. ‘¢ This smell is highly delightfal to cats; rats are also said to be equally fond of these Ges and that rat-catchers employ them to draw the sats together.” Withering, 1. ¢ eS fe VALERIANA OFFICINALIS. ORD. IV. Aggregate 79 whom it is mentioned as an aromatic and diuretic: it was first brought into estimation in convulsive affections by Fabius Columna,* who relates that he cured himself of an epilepsy by the root of this plant; we are told however, that Columna suffered a relapse of the disorder, and no further accounts of the efficacy of Valerian in epilepsy followed till those published by Dominicus Panarolus‘ fifty years afterwards, in which three cases of its success are given. To these may be added many other instances of the good effects of Valerian Root in this disease, since published by Cruger,? Schuch- mann,° Riverius,’ Sylvius,* Marchant," Chomel,' Sauvages,* Tissot,' and others. The advantages said to be derived from this root in epilepsy caused it to be tried in several other complaints termed nervous, particularly those produced by increased mobility and irritability of the nervous system, in which it has been found highly service- able." Bergius® states its virtus to be antispasmodic, diaphoretic, emmenagogue, diuretic, anthelminthic.* Under the head usus he ® Phytobasamos Neapol. 1592. p. 97. © Jatrologism. s. medicin. hist. pentac. quinque Rom. 1643. Pentec. i, Obs. 33. p. 20. « Eph. Nat. Cur. Dec. 2. A. 7. Obs. 78. * Eph. Nat. Cur. Dec. 2. A. 4. Obs. 44. p.116. §& App. ad Dec. 3. A. 3. p. 86: © Pras. Med. Lib. ¢. p. 62. © Opera, p. 427. " Mem. de L’ Acad. d. Sc. de Paris, 1706. p- 333. i Pl. Usuelles. T. i. p. 228. * Nosol. Method. T. iti. P. 2. p. 231. Ed. 8v0. } Traité de Vepilepsie, p. 310. m Haller says, ‘* Ego certe ad hystericos morbos, nimiamque nervorum sensi- bilitatem, frequenter cum bono eventu hac radice usus sum; et in ipsa epilepsia, non malo successu. Séirp. Helv, n. 210. » Mat, Med. p. 30. * He says, ‘‘ Emeticam illam nunquam vidi, nec laxantem.” The latter quality is however very generally ascribed to it by ‘nedietl writers, go ORD.1V. Aggrégate. -WavtRYANA OFFICINALIS. ‘enumerates ° Epilepsia, ' Convulsiones, Hyatéria, ‘Hemicrania, °Visus ‘hebetudo. Dr.'Cullen‘says, “ its antispasmodic powers are ‘very well established, and!J trust to many of the reports that have been “given of its efficacy ; and if it'has sometimes failed, I'have’just now ‘accounted for it,’ adding only’ this, that it seems to me, im almost all cases, it should be given in‘larger doses than is commonly done On this footing, I have frequently ‘found it’ useful'in epileptic, -hysteric, and other spasmodic affections.”' It is saidhowever,’ that ‘in'some cases of epilepsy’ at' the’ Edinburgh Dispensary,’ ft was'given tothe extent of two ounces a day without effect;' ‘and our own experience warrants us in saying, that it will be seldom found ‘to ‘answer the expectations of the'prescriber. The root, ‘in substance, ‘ais most effectual, and'is usually given’ in powder froma scruple‘to ‘a dram: its unpleasant flavour may be concealed by a small addition of mace. A tincture of Valerian in proof spirit, and‘in volatile spirit, are ordered in the’ London Pharmacopozia. ° Fordyce commends it highly in this disease, De Hemicrania, p. 91. Whytt, who joined it with manna, experienced its utility in epilepsy, On Nerv. Dis. p. 513. Joined with guaiacum, Morgan found it useful in resolving glandular or strumous “humours. Phil. princ. p. 424. P From the disease depending upon different ‘causes, and from the root being frequently employed in an improper condition. & Mat. Med. vol. ii. p- 372. * New Ed. Dispens. by Dr. Duncan, p. 300. res meet hg Oe EN == as at ese ae Ke Se SS ee os ei lantigo UY Or ~~ ao y, a Published by Philips, & Pardo. July 1° 1806. ORD. V. CONGLOMERATA. (From con and glomus a clew), comprehending those plants in which the flowers stand on the branches of the footstalk and are thus closely but irregularly connected. _ ——E— PLANTAGO MAJOR.. COMMON GREAT PLANTANE, Or, WAY-BREAD. SYNONYMA. Plantago. Pharm. Edin. Plantago foliis petio- latis, ovatis, glabris; spica cylindrica. Hal. Stirp. Helv. n. 660.. Plantago latifolia sinuata. Bauh. Pin. 189. Plantago simpliciter dicta. Raii Hist. Plant. 876. Plantago latifolia vulgaris. Park- inson, 493. Plantago vulgaris. Gerard. 419. Plantago Major. Curtis, Flor. Lond. Relhan. Flor. Cantab. p. 61. Smith Flor. Br.. _ 182. Withering, Bot. Arrang. 142. apwyaucou Dioscorid.* (lin-. gua agnina) Cl]. Aiton pro varietatibus habet, «. Plantago latifolia vulgaris. Park. Theat. 493. € Plantago major, panicula sparsa. Bauh. Hist. 3. p. 503; y Plantago latifolia rosea, floribus quasi in spica dispositis. Bauh.. Pin. 189. vide Hort. Kew. * (Plantago Media) It has also been named from the number of. ribs, or: nerves of the leaf, as aoAvysvpos, iwramAsvpos. No. 7._ x wee 82 ORD. V. Conglomerate. PLANTAGO MAJOR. Class Tetrandria. Ord. Monogynia. L. Gen. Plant 142. Ess. Gen. Ch. Cal. 4-fidus. Cor. A-fida: limbo reflexo. Staména longissima. Caps. 2-locularis, circumscissa. Sp. Ch. P. foliis ovatis glabris, scapo tereti, spica flosculis imbricatis. THE root is perennial, short, thick, and puts forth several long whitish fibres, which strike down in a perpendicular direction: the leaves are oval, procumbent, irregularly subdentated, of a pale green colour, ribbed ; ribs, commonly seven, often five, and sometimes nine: the footstalks are long, concave above, and proceed from the root; the flower-stems are generally three or four, about a span high, downy, round, smooth below the spike, and somewhat _ incurvated; the calyx is of four leaves, somewhat erect, oval, obtuse, smooth, and persistent; the flowers are small, produced on a long cylindrical imbricated spike, which occupies more than half the stem; each flower consists of a roundish tube, narrow at the mouth, and the four segments are heart shaped, pale, withered, and bent downwards; the bractea is oval, fleshy, and larger than the calyx; the stamina are whitish, longer than the corolla, and the anthere are purple: the germen is oval, the style short and filiform, and the stigma simple; the capsule divides horizontally in the middle; and, according to Mr. Curtis, contains about twenty unequal brown seeds. It grows commonly in pastures and way- | sides, and flowers in June. The name Plantago, is omitted in the London Pharmacopeeia, but it is still retained in the Materia Medica of the Edinburgh college, in which the leaves are mentioned as the pharmaceutical part of the plant: these have a weak herbaceous smell, and an austere bitterish subsaline taste; and their qualities are said to be refrigerant, attenuating, substyptic, and diuretic. Plantago was formerly reckoned amongst the most efficacious of vulnerary herbs; and by the peasants the leaves are now commonly applied. to fresh wounds, and cutaneous sores. Inwardly, they @ 8? F otaaal Published by Phillips, & Fardor, July 2** iho 6. PLANTAGO MAJOR. ORD. V. Conglomerate. 83 have been used in phthisical* complaints,” spitting of blood, and in various fluxes, both ° alvine and hemorrhagic. The seeds, however, seem to us better adapted to relieve pulmonary diseases than the leaves, as they are extremely mucilaginous. The roots have also been recommended for the cure of tertian intermittents; and from the experience of Bergius, not undeservedly: “ Plurime sunt narrationes de utilitate radicis plantaginis in Tertianis. Peri- culum ipse feci, dosi largiori, scil. a drachmis 3 ad 6, quovis die, sub apyrexia; sed contra febres autumnales nihil valuit Plantago; in vernalibus autem febribus subinde opem tulit.’” An ounce or two of the expressed juice, or the like quantity of a strong infusion of Plantane, may be given for a dose; in agues the dose should be double this quantity, and taken at the commencement of the fit. * Celsus, lib, 3. c. 22. Schulz, Mat. Med p. 412. Pliny, lib. 26. c. 2. Pet. zoldt. Eph. Nat. Cur. cent. 2. Obs. 10. p. 25. © Boyle de util. Phil. Nat, p. 2. p- 150. ‘ Rosenst. Baskd. p. 81, ¢ Mat. Med. p. 70. *¢ Plantane has been alledged to be a cure for the bite of the rattle-snake: but for this there is probably but little foundation, although it is one of the principal ingredients in the remedy of the Negro Cesar, for the discovery of which he re- ceived a considerable reward from the Assembly of South Carolina.”? Duncan’s New Edinb. Dispes. en eR Ie VISCUM ALBUM. MISSLETOE., SYNONYMA.. Viscus. Pharm, Dale. 313, Alston. ti. 53. Lewis. 666. Edinb. New Dispens. 302, Cullen. ii. 47, Murray. 4.199. Bergius. 788. Ger Emac. 153. Ray. Syn. 464. Hist. 1583. Viscum baccis albis. Bauh. Pin. 423. Viscum vulgare. Park. Theat. 1392. Hall. n. 1609. V. album. Hudson, Flor. Ang. 431, Withering. Bot, Arr. 1112., Ic. Mill. Ilust. — | ) ORD. V. Conglomerate: "= VISCUM: ALBUM Dioecia Tetrandria. Zin. Gen. Plant. 1105. Gen. Ch.. Masc. Cal. 4-partitus. Cor.0. Filamenta0. Anthere calyci adnate. Fem. Cal. 4-phyllus, superus. Cor. 9. Stylus 0. Bacca 1-sperma, Sem. cordatum. Sp. Ch. V. foliis lanceolatis obtusis, caule dichotomo, spicis axillaribus. A PARASITICAL evergreen shrub, insinuating its radical fibres into the wood of the trees on which it grows. Branches numerous, regularly dichotomous, covered with smooth bark, of a yellowish green colour. Leaves spear-shaped, blunt, entire, striated, standing in pairs upon short footstalks. Flowers male and female in different plants, small, axillary, in close spikes. Calyx of the male flower divided into four ovate equal segments. Corolla none. Filaments. none, Antherz four, oblong, attached to the calyx. Calyx of the female flower divided into four leaves, which are small, ovate, deci- duous, placed on the-common-germen. Corolla-none._Germen beneath, oblong, three-edged, indistinctly crowned with a border with four clefts. Style none. Stigma blunt, and somewhat notched. Fruit a globular white smooth one-celled berry, containing a fleshy. seed, which is inversely heart-shaped, blunt, compressed. {t grows on various kinds of trees, producing its flowers in May; but its berries remain throughout the winter. This singular parasitical plant most commonly grows on apple trees, also on the pear, hawthorn, service, oak, hasel, maple, ash, lime-tree, willow, elm, hornbeam, &c. It is supposed to be propagated by birds, especially by the fieldfare and thrush, which feed upon its berries, the seeds of which pass through the bowels unchanged, and along with the excrements watthere to the branches of trees where they vegetate.* * Or if the berries, when fully ripe, be rubbed on the smooth bark of almost any tree, they will adhere closely and produce plants the following Winter. | _ } ' t VISCUM ALBUM. ORD. V. Conglomerate. 8h. ‘The Misseltoe of the oak, has, from. the times of the ancient druids been always preferred to that produced on other trees; but it is now well known that the viscus quernus differs in no —— from others. This plant is. ihe é of the Greeks, and was in former times thought to possess many medicinal virtues; however, we learn but little concerning its. efficacy from the ancient writers on the Materia Medica; nor will it be deemed necessary to state the: extraordinary powers ascribed, to the Misseltoe by the crafty: designs of duidical knavery. “ Both the leaves and branches of the plant have very little smell, and a very weak taste of the*nauseous kind. In distillation they impregnate water with their faint unpleasant smell, but yield no essential oil. Extracts, made from them by water, are bitterish, roughish and subsaline.. The spirituous extract of the wood has. the greatest austerity, and that of the leaves the greatest. bitterness.. The berries abound with an extremely tenacious most ungrateful’ | sweet mucilage.” The Viscus Quernus obtained great reputation for the cure of epilepsy; and a case of this disease, of a woman of quality, in which it proved: remarkably successful, is mentioned by Boyle.* Some years afterwards its use was strongly recommended in various. convulsive disorders by Colbach, who has related several instances of its good effects,” He administered.it in substance in doses of fialfa dram, or a dram, of the wood or leaves, or an. infusion. of anounce.. This author was followed by others, who have not only: given testimony of the efficacy of the Misseltoe in different - convulsive - affections, but also in those complaints denominated nervous, in: § Lewis. dc. ® See Usefulness of Nat. & Exper. Philos. 174. > Dissertation concerning ‘the Misseltoe, a most wonderful specifick remedy for: the cure of conoulstve distempers. No. 8. | Y: te 86 ORD. V. Conglomerate. VISCUM ALEUM. which it was supposed to act in the character of a tonic. But all that has been written in favour of this remedy, which is certainly well deserving of notice, has not prevented it from falling into general neglect; and the Colleges of London and Edinburgh have expunged it from their catalogues of the Materia Medica. ORD. VI. UMBELLAT. The umbelliferous plants form a numerous and natural association: those that grow in dry situations are commonly warm and aro- matic, but those that are aquatic are narcotic and poisonous. PRR SRI MO eae i c = EN ANGELICA. ee ANGELICA ARCHANGELICA. GAR SYNONYMA. Angelica. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Angelica ‘sativa. Bauh. Pin. p. 155. J. Bauh. Hist. vol. iii. p. 140. Gerard. Emac. p. 999. Park. Theat. p. 939. Raii Hist. p. 434. Synop. p. 208. Angelica foliis duplicato-pinnatis, ovato-lanceo- fatis serratis. Hal. Stirp. Helv. n. 807. Flor. Dan. t. 206. With. 297. ‘Smith. $1. Class Pentandria. Ord. Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 138. Ess, Gen. Ch. . Fructus subrotundus, angulatus, solidus, stylis te- flexis. Corolle zquales: petalis incurvatis. Sp. Ch, A, foliorum impari lobato. ate $ EG Se o 4) , 4 ( y - phate - Sicha of 7 ee “ C7 Published by Phillips, & Pardon, July 1%" 2806. ANGELICA ARCHANGELICA. “ORD. V. Conglomerate. 87 THE root is biennial, long, thick, fleshy, and furnished with numerous fibres: the stalk is thick, strong, jointed, channelled, wound, of a purplish colour, rises to the height of six or eight feet, and sends off several branches, which terminate in large umbels: - ithe leaves are pinnated, large, numerous, consisting of several pairs of oval, serrated, pointed, veined, irregular shaped lobes or pinne, ‘terminated by an odd one: the flowers grow in large terminal umbels, which are round, and composed of many radii: the corolla is small, white, and divided into five petals, which have their points turned inwards: the general involucrum consists of three or five narrow pointed leaves, the partial involucrum of five, and the calyx is cut into five minute segments; the five stamina are longer than the petals, spreading, and furnished with roundish anthere; the germen is placed below the corolla, and supports two refiected styles, crowned with obtuse stigmata: the seeds are two, oval, flat on one side, convex on the other, and marked with three furrows.—It is a native_of Lapland, * and flowers an June and August. Angelica, as a native of a northern climate, seems ‘ have been unknown to the ancients. It has been cultivated in Britain more than two centuries,” and its medical character * has rendered it of sufficient importance to be very generally propagated by the English gardener.—The roots of Angelica have a fragrant agreeable smell, and a bitterish pungent taste: on being chewed they are first sweetish, afterwards acrid, and leave a glowing heat in the mouth and fauces, which continues for some time. The stalk, leaves, and seeds, which are also directed in the Pharmacopezias, appear to possess the same qualities, though in an inferior degree. It is said that “on wounding the fresh root early in the spring, it a << Ubique per omnes alpes Lapponia juxta rivulos vulgaris est.” Lin. Flor. Lap. p. 67 * Cultivated in 1568. Turn. herb. part. 3. p. 5. Vide Hort. Kew. © We may also add its use in confectionary. 88 ORD. V. Conglomerate. ANGELICA ARCHANGELICA,. yields from the inner part of the bark an unctuous: yellowish odo-- rous juice, which gently exsiccated retains its fragrance, and proves an elegant aromatic gummy resin. On cutting the dry root longitudinally, the resinous matter, in which the virtue and flavour of Angelica resides, appears concreted in little veins.”“ Rectified spirit extracts the whole of the virtues of the root;. water. but very little; and in distillation with the latter, a.small portion of very pungent essential oil may be obtained. We are told by Linnzus, that the Laplanders entertain a: high opinion of the utility of Angelica, and employ it both as feed and as a medicine®; and since Aromatic plants are rarely inhabitants of the Polar regions, their; partiality for Angelica is: extremely natural: and from the enumeration of. the virtues. of this plant by Bergius,‘ we should also suspect him of being influenced by the same physical cause. Angelica must however be allowed to possess. aromatic, and what are called carminative, powers, and is used accordingly in the tinctura aromatica of the Edinb. Pharm. but as many other simples surpass it in these qualities, it is seldom employed in the present practice. : ¢ Lewis Mat. Med. p. 59. © Flor. Lap. a. c. _ Virtus: alexiteria, stomachica, Se ee carminativa. It may be uae ‘ed that he says nothing of its wsws. Mat. Med. p. 205. It was formerly recom- mended in female diseases. Mensibus lochiisque obstructis, partu difficili, suffo~ catione uteri; contra venena, & febres malignas. Minin ™ 4 ia aca a a we oF a? ae =S Seite mel Ya 34 a KA ae ae". ae \e -—/, \] \ MS SS st 2%" Bob. “ + BibBshed by Phil ORD. VI. Umbeliate. » $9 ° ANGELICA SYLVESTRIS. ©" ° WILD ANGELICA” SYNONYMA. Angelica sylvestris. Pharm. Edinb. Ger. Emac.. 999. Raii. Hist. 437. Synop. 208. Park. Theat. 940. Ange-- lica sylvestris major. Bauh. Pin. 155. A. sylvestris. Huds. Flor.. Ang. 118. Withering. Bot. Arr. 290. Haller. Stirp. Helv. n. 806. Smith Flor. Brit. 311. Sp. Ch. A. foliolis equalibus ovato-lanceolatis serratis. ROOT perennial, long, thick, tapering, branched,. externally brown, internally white. Stalk thick, hollow, jointed, scored, branched, round, smooth, several feet in height. Leaves pinnated, composed of ovate serrated equal pinna, with an odd one at the: end. Leaf-stalks channelled on the upper surface, standing upon a large membranous sheath inclosing the stem. Flowers white, in large umbels, which are convex, and placed on long stalks arising from the sheaths of the leaf-stalks. General involucrum most commonly wanting, or sometimes composed of small slender leaves. Partial involucrum, consisting of from five to twelve permanent narrow pointed unequal leaves. Corolla of five petals, which are ‘nearly equal, ovate, pointed, bent inwards. Filaments five, spread- ing, longer than the petals. Anthere.roundish. Germen beneath. Styles two, bent downwards. Stigmata blunt. Fruit furnished with four winged appendages, and on each side three strie: Seeds two, egg-shaped, plano-convex, with a membranaceous ‘border, convex side, marked with three ridges. It grows in marshy woods and hedges, flowering in June and July. As the root of this species of Angelica is still retained in the: catalogue of the Materia Medica of the Edinburgh Pharmacopeeia, we have judged it expedient to present a figure of the plant; and it is only in compliance with this authority that we have been induced to do so: for the garden Angelica, of which a oe is given in the No. 8. Zz 90 ORD. VI. Umbellate. °° —_anonnica svivestris. preceding article, not ‘only possesses all the medicinal properties of this species in a superior degree, but may always be more readily procured. eR I PHELLANDRIUM AQUATICUM. FINE LEAVED WATER-HEMLOCK. SYNONYMA. Feeniculum aquaticum. Pharm. Murray. App. Med. i. p. 267. Rivin. Pent. tab. 65. Ernstingii Phellandrolo- gia. Lange, vom Wasserfenchel. 1771. Cicutaria palustris tenui- folia. .Bauh. Pin. 161. Park. 933. Cicutaria palustris. Ger. Emac. 1063. Raii. Hist. 452. _Synop. 215. Petiv, t. 28. f. 4. Hall. n. 757. P.aquaticum. Hudson, Flor. Ang. 122. Lighif. Flor. Scot. 163. Withering. Bot. Arr. 298. Smith. Flor.’ Brit. $21. Eng. Bot. 684. ‘<3 os | Pentandria Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 353. * Gen. Ch. Flosculi disci minores. Fructus ovatus levis coronatus perianthio et pistillo. : Sp. Ch. P. foliorum ramificationibus divaricatis, ROOT biennial, thick, tapering, jointed, sending off numerous long slender fibres. Stalk thick, hollow, smooth, jointed, branched, scored, usually about two feet in height. Leaves large, triply pin- nated, ramifying at right angles, or divaricating; leafits irregularly pinnatifid; leaves under the water filiform. Flowers small, white, in terminal umbels. General involucrum none. Partial involucrum of seven leaves, which are pointed, and about the length of the proper umbel. Calyx five-toothed, permanent. Flowers all fertile, eee enn I SSNS XY Published by Phillips, & Pardon, August 22806. PHELLANDRIUM AQUATICUM. ~ ORD. VI. Umbellate. 91 and forming a flat uniform surface. Individual florets unequal, smaller at the centre. Petals five, heart-shaped, bent inwards, Filaments five, capillary, longer than the petals. Anthea roundish, Germen ovate. Styles two, tapering, upright, permanent. Stig-' mata blunt. Fruit ovate, smooth, divisible into two parts or seeds, It grows in rivers, ditches, and pools, flowering in June and July. This plant is generally supposed to possess deleterious qualities. Horses, on eating it, are said to become paralytic; but this effect . should not be ascribed to the Phellandrium, but to an insect which resides within its stalks, viz: the Curculio paraplecticus. The seeds of the plant, however, according to Dr. Lange,* when taken in large doses, produce a remarkable sensation of weight in the head, accompanied with giddiness, intoxication, &c. and there- fore may be deemed capable of proving an active medicine. . They | are oblong, striated, of a greenish yellow, about the size of those of dill, and manifesting an aromatic acrid taste, approaching nearly to that of the seeds of fov age. Distilled with water they yield an essential oil, of a pale yellow colour, and of a strong penetrating smell. One pound of the seeds affords an ounce of watery extract, but nearly double this quantity of spirituous extract, of which more than three drams consists of resin.” Pliny ‘* states the seeds of Phellandrium to be an efficacious medicine in calculous complaints, and disorders of the bladder; and — in this opinion he is followed by Dodonzus,* who mentions them also as possessing diuretic and emmenagogue powers. But on these authorities little reliance is to be placed; so that the efficacy of this plant rests chiefly on the testimonies of Ernstingius and Lange, by whom various cases of its successful use are published, especially in wounds and inveterate ulcers of different kinds, and * See Rem. Bruns, 235. ne > Ernstingius, lc. $- f60-47. 212 4 Pempt. 591. 993 ORD. VI.. Umbellate. PHELLANDRIUM AQUATICUM. even in cancers;* also in phthisis pulmonalis, pacha, dyspepsia, intermittent fevers, &c. About two scruples of the seed, two or three times a day, was the ordinary dose given. Though the disorders here catiged, are so multifarious and. dissi- milar as to afford no satisfactory evidence of the medicinal qualities of these seeds, yet they appear to us well deserving of further in- vestigation, according to the maxim ‘ Ubi virus ibi virtus.’ © Boerhaave also speaks highly of its discutient power in all kinds of tumours. Hist. Plant. Hort. Ludg. Bat. 1. p. 9 » OENANTHE CROCATA. HEMLOCK WATER-DROPWORT. SYNONYMA. Ocnanthe Cherophylli foliis. Bauwh. Pin. 162. ! - Filipendula. cicutz facie. Ger. £mac. 1057. Ocenanthe, succo ‘viroso, cicute facie Lobelii. Bauh. Hist. iii. 193. Park. 894. Raii. Synop. 210. Morris. Sect. 9. tab. 9. Watson. tia Trans. v. 44. n. 480. tab. 3. Oenanthe crocata. Huds. Flor. Ang. 121. Withering. Bot. Arr. 297. Lightfoot. Flor. Scot. 162. Smith. Flor. Brit. 317. Flor. Dan. 846. Eng. Bot. 363. Pentandria Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 352. Gen. Ch. Filosculi ditformes: in disco sessiles, steriles. Fructus calyce et pistillo coronatus. -: Ch, . foliis omnibus multifidis obtusis subzqualibus. , ~ ROOT perennial, divided into numerous parts, or oblong tuber- cles, furnished with long slender fibres. Stalks erect, channelled, round, smooth, branched,’ of :. Sila red colour, two or three Rwy : 36. Sy 5 Re 2? s hss ee 9 v 4S ww) RES tee . ANS ASE eeye asia BASES" Ait es ASO ij IA) fe bl cp MEPRAMPURL? chorale \ ; ~~ ) gee Fubhshed by Phillips, & Bardon, August + 7 nesta ileeiaaeaaaeeaenmen .t ee eR a OENANTHE crocaTa. = ORD.Vi Unbellate:. weer feet in height. Leaves simply and doubly pinnated; smaller pine: wedge-shaped, smooth, streaked, jagged at the edges: larger pinne three-lobed, indented, resembling those of smallage.. Flowers in: umbels, which are terminal, spreading, and almost globular. Gene- ral involucrum none. Partiai involucrum composed of many small. leaves.. Calyx permanent, five-toothed. Florets unequal, those at the circumference often sterile. Petals five, heart-shaped, broad, bent inwards, emarginated. Filaments five, slender, tapering, twice the length of the petals. Anthera oblong, brown. Germen beneath the corolla. Styles two, awl-shaped, reddish, permanent. Stigmata pointed. Fruit oblong, striated, divisible into two parts or seeds, which are convex on one side, and flat on the other. It grows on the banks of rivers, and in ditches, flowering in June- and July. We have selected this plant, to record it as a powerful poison, _ rather than as a medicine. Its root, which is not unpleasant to the taste, is, by Dr. Poultney, esteemed to be the most deleterious of all the vegetables which this country produces. Mr. Howell, surgeon at Haverfordwest, relates, that “ eleven « French prisoners had the liberty of walking in and about the “ town of Pembroke; three-of them, being in the fields a little “ before noon, dug up a large quantity of this plant, which they * took to be wild celery, to eat with their bread and butter for “dinner. After washing it, they all three ate or rather tasted of the * roots. As they were entering the town, without any previous * notice of sickness at the stomach, or disorder in the head, one cf « them was seized with convulsions. The other two ran home, and “ sent asurgeon to him. The surgeon endeavoured first to bleed, « and then to vomit him: but those endeavours were fruitless; and. ‘« he died presently. Ignorant of the cause of their comrade’s death, . « and of their own danger, they gave of these roots to the other “eight prisoners, who all ate some of them with their dinner.. « A few minutes afterwards the remaining two, who gathered the: “ plants, were seized in the same manner.as the firsi; of which one No. 8. "2. jh ORD. VI. Umbellate. OENANTHE CROCATA. “ died; the other was bled, and a vomit, with great difficulty ** forced down, on account of his jaws being as it were locked to- * gether. This operated, and he recovered, but was sometime “ affected with dizziness in his head, though not sick or the least, * disordered in his stomach. The other eight being bled and * vomited immediately, were soon well.’* At Clonmel, in Ireland, eight boys mistaking this plant for water-parsnep, ate plentifully of its roots: about four or five hours after, the eldest boy became suddenly convulsed, and died > and before the next morning four of the other boys died in a similar manner. Of the other three, one was maniacal several hours, another lost his hair and nails, but the third escaped unhurt.° Stalpaart vander Wiel mentions two cases of the fatal effects of this root; these, however, were attended with great heat in the throat and stomach, sickness, vertigo, and purging. They both died in the course of two or three hours after eating the root. Allen, in his Synopsis Medicine, also relates that four children suffered greatly by eating this poison. In these cases great agony was experienced before the convulsions supervened; vomitings likewise came on, which were encouraged by large draughts of oil and warm water, to which their recovery is ascribed. The late Sir William Watson,* who refers to the instances here cited, also says that a Dutchman was poisoned by the leaves of the plant boiled in pottage. It appears from various authorities that most brute animals are not less affected by this poison than man; and Mr. Lightfoot informs us that a spoonful of the juice of this plant, given to a dog, rendered him sick and stupid; but a goat was observed to eat the plant with impunity. The great virulence of this plant has not however prevented it * Phil. Trans. vol. 44, » Ibid. 1. c. * Sir William likewise informs us, that Mr. Miller knew a whole family at Battersea, who were poisoned with this plant. And that Mr. Ehret, while draw- ing the fresh plant, was affected with universal uneasiness and vertigo Fublished by Phillips, & Pardon, dagurt 27 2%e% OENANTHE CROCATA. ORD. VI. Umbellate. 95 from being taken medicinally. In a letter from Dr. Poultney to Sir William Watson,’ we are’ told that a severe and inveterate cutaneous disorder was cured by the juice of the root, though not without exciting the most alarming symptoms. Taken in the dose of a spoonful, in two hours afterwards the head was affected in a very extraordinary manner, followed with violent sickness and vomiting, cold sweats and rigors; but this did not deter the patient from continuing the medicine, in somewhat less doses, till it effect- ed a cure. @ Phil. Trans. vol. 62. ee, a. RR CICUTA VIROSA. WATER HEMLOCK. SYNONYMA. Cicuta Aquatica. Pharm. Murray.i.271. Bergius. 212. Wepfer. Hist. Cicute Aquat. p. 4. Sium alterum olusatri facie. Lobel. Ic. 208. Ger. Emac. 256. Ray Hist. 450. Synop. 212. Sium eruce folio. Bauh. Pin. 154. Sium majus angusti- folium. Park, Theat. 1241. Conf. Phil. Trans. 0. 44. 242. tab. 4. Hal.n.781. Flor: Dan. 208. Cicuta virosa. Hudson. Flor. Ang. 122. Lightfoot. Scot. 164. With. Bot. Arr. 299. Smith. Brit. 322. Flor. Dan. 208. Eng. Bot. 479. Pentandria Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 354 Gen. Ch. Fructus subovatus, sulcatus. Sp. Ch. C. umbellis oppositifoliis, petiolis marginatis obtusis. ROOT perennial, thick, short, hollow, beset at the joints with numerous slender fibres. Stalk thick, round, fistular, striated, smooth, sparingly branched, about four feet in height. Leaves pinnated, leafits usually placed in ternaries, spear-shaped, serrated ; Bg se Ure os ke ald - RA ep ie ist 96 ORD. VI. Unmbeliate. CICUTA VIROSA. serratures white at the points. Flowers in large expanding umbels. Partial involucrum composed of several short bristle-shaped leaves. Calyx scarcely discernible. Florets all uniform, fertile, each consisting of five petals, which are ovate, turned inwards, of a greenish white. Filaments five, capillary, longer than the petals. Anthere simple, purplish. Styles two, at first close, afterwards: divaricating. Stigmata simple. Fruit egg-shaped, divisible into two seeds, which are ribbed and convex on one side, and flat on the other. It grows on the borders of pools and rivers, flowering in July and August. : This plant, which in its recent state has a smell! ieansibliniy that of smallage, and a taste somewhat like that of parsley, is well known to Be a powerful poison. Haller supposes it to be the Kaye» of Dioscorides; but whether it is the Athenian cicuta, or the plant of which the poisonous potion of the Greeks was composed, cannot possibly be ascertained. The root has a strong smelJ, and a warm somewhat aerid taste ; by distillation with water it yields a volatile matter, which ts of a narcotic quality, and ofa ful odour ‘Tt appears from Bergius, that Waset-Henthack; in its dried state, may be taken-in a considerable quantity without producing any bad effect ;* but of the fatal effects of its root when fresh, numerous instances are recorded. Of two boys and six girls, who ate of this root for that of parsnep, the greater part died in a short time after- wards, those only escaping who were enabled to discharge it by vomiting. The symptoms it produced were intoxication, vertigo, * Recentem cicutam nunquam adhibui; pilulas vero e succo cicute expresso & inspissato, cum pulvere foliorum fermatas, dedi feeminw, cancro vero mammarum laboranti, incipiendo a parca dosi, sensim adscendendo ad dsacm. 3. quotidie; sed nullum effectum inde sensit, neque bonum, nec malum. Prescripsi famulo cuidam ct. saturat. herbe cicute siccate libr. 4, quod externe adhiberet, sed per esrorem intra binas horas totam ebibit laguaculam, absque ullo tamen inse- quente damno.” Vide J, c. CIOUTA VIROSA,.§ - ORD. VI. Umbellate. or great heat and-pain in, the stomach, convulsions, and even epilepsy, _distortions.of the eyes, vomiting or retching, a discharge of Pea from the: ears, swelling of the abdomen, hiccup, spasms, &c.> .In the case of a man, who had eaten of this poisonous root, we are told the symptoms were vertigo, succeeded by delirium, with constant heat at the stomach, and inextinguishable thirst: these symptoms _ were of long continuance, and followed by an erysipetalous tumour of the neck. are To cite all the instances related of the deleterious effects of this root would be unnecessary, as those here stated from Wepfer will sufficiently show the train of symptoms which usually follow the taking.of this poison. It may be observed however that in most of the cases in which it proved fatal, the patients died in a convulsed or epileptic state, and that whenever the root was rejected Dy vomiting only a spies degree of stupefaction was for few hours experienced: On examination of the bodies of those who joined ip eating this root, we are told that the stomach and intestines were discovered to be inflamed, and even in a gangrenous or eroded state, and the blood-vessels of the brain much distended.‘ To several brutes this plant has likewise proved mortal ; bat the facts upon this point are somewhat vague and ‘various. Though said to be a fatal poison to cows, it is eaten’ with impunity by goats “& Wepfer: bc. ~~ * See Eph. Nat. Cur. Cent. 10: Obs. 58. p. 355. ¢ See Bresl. Samm]. 1722. p. 286. Schwencke gives an account of four boys who had the misfortune.to eat this root, three of whom died.in saayeleionss the ‘other was saved by the timely administration, of an emetic. © Vide Wepfer, ———— Bresl. Samml. 1722. p.286. Eph. Nat. Cur. Deg. 2. a. 6. p. 321 : j videre icet pinguescere sepe cicuta ee states homini Sang est acre yenenum, }al10 wasld 13 aoe 0B ocrer.® * No. 9. on’ potent, ‘ 98 ' ORD. VI.. Umbellate. — BUBON GALBANUM, As an internal medicine the Cicuta aquatica is universally super- seded by the common hemlock; but externally employed in the way ofa poultice, it is said to afford relief in various fixed pains, especially those of the rheumatic and arthritic kind. BUBON GALBANUM. LOVAGE-LEAVED BUBON. | 5 : SYNONYMA. Bubon Galbanum. Jacquin. Hort. Vindob. vol. 3, . p. 21. Anisum Africanum frutescens, folio anisi, galbaniferum. Pluken. Alm. p. 31. t. 12. Ferula Africana galbanifera, folio et facie ligustici. Herm. Parad. p. 163. t. 163. Gummi-resina. Galbanum. Pharm. Lond. § Edin. xaxtim Dioscorid. raxém Gree. Class Pentandria. Ord. Digynia. 5 os Gen. Plant. 350. pce a Ses Ess. Gen. Ch. Fructus ovatus, striatus, +itohie Sp. Ch. B. foliolis rhombeis dentatis striatis glabris, umbell. paucis. L. B. foliolis ovato-cuneiformibus acutis argute serratis, umbellis paucis, seminibus glabris, caule frutescente glauco. Aiton’s Hort. Kewen. THE stalk is shrubby, several feet high,* slender, purplish, covered with a glaucous-coloured exudation,’ round, bending, Knotted or jointed, towards the bottom woody and naked, but » Jacquin says five feet or more; but this plant is now growing in the King’s garden at Kew, four yards high. * This observation applies to the younger plants, or to the upper and softer part of the stalk. _ BVBON GALBANUM, ~ ORD: VI. Umbellate: 99 towards the top sending off leaves and branches; the compound leaves rise from the striated sheathes of the stem, they are subtri- pinnated, the uppermost subbipinnated, and have strong round ribs; the simple leaves are rhomboidal, acute, thickish, of a sea- green colour, veined, subtrilobed, cut, or irregularly serrated, but near the base entire, and some leaves upon the upper branches are somewhat wedge-shaped ; the principal umbel terminates the stem, and is large, plano-convex, and composed of numerous radii; the lateral umbels are few, and grow upon slender pendent branches; the leaflets of the general involucrum are about, twelve, narrow, lanceolated, membraneous, whitish, and bent downwards; of the partial involucrum they are six, of the same shape and patent. The flowers are all hermaphrodite, fertile, first open at the circumfe- rence of the umbel, and followed successively by those towards the centre; the petals are equal, patent, have their points. turned imwards, and are of a greenish yellow colour: the stamina are greenish, longer than the petals, and the anther are yellow; the germen is round and narrow at the base, the styles are two, short ‘and tapering; the seeds are two, brownish, oval, with smooth uneven surfaces, and marked with three elevated lines. The whole plant is smooth, has an aromatic smell, and an acrid biting taste. It is a native of Africa, about the Cape of Good Hope, and flowers in June and July. It was first introduced into Britain by Mr. John Gerard in 1596,‘ and all the four species described by Linnzus have been since cultivated by Mr. Miller. Through the industry of Mr. Masson, a new species of the Bubon (the lavigatum) has been discovered at the Cape of Good Hope, and is now in the Royal garden at Kew. Notwithstanding we have represented the Bubon Galbanum as the plant yielding the officinal drug; yet it is still a matter of doubt which species of these umbelliferous plants. really produces it; and although we have referred to Herman’s. Ferula Africana, yet we wish to observe, that he thought. this! © Aiton’s Hort. Kew. 100 | ORD. VI. Umbellatee. BUBON CALBANUM. « matter still uncertain.? It seems highly probable that Galbanum is‘ obtained from different species of the Bubon,’ though, upon the’ authority of Linneus, the. London, Edinburgh, and other medical eile confine their reference to the species we have figured, The juice is obtained partly by its spontaneous exudation from the joints of the stem, but more generally and in greater abundance by making an incision in the stalk a few inches above the root, from which it immediately issues, and soon becomes sufficiently concrete to be gathered. ~ Galbanum is commonly imported into Basil from Turkey, and from the East-Indies, in large softish ductile pale-coloured masses, which by age acquire a brownish yellow appearance; these are intermixed with distinct white grumes or tears, which are accounted | the best part of the mass; but the separate hard tears are externally of a ferruginous colour, and always preferred to the mass. itself. Geoffroy distinguishes the former into Gaibanon en larmes, and the latter into Galbanon en pains. Spielman mentions a liquid sort of Galbanum which is brought from Persia, “ Prostat etiam interdum Galbanum liquidum ex Persia, consistentia terebinthine instructum, cui multe feces nigre commixiz sunt, tempore ast fundum sece- dentes, odorem resina,nunguam Galbani, habet,”* has a strong unpleasant smell, and a warm bitterish actid. taste; “ like the other gummy resins it unites with water by trituration inte a . Geiuink ia planta, que Galbanum officinarum fundit, nostri seculi Bo« tanicis nondum innotuit. Ferulaceam esse yeteres docent omnes, quenam yero species sit, non constat. Parad. Bat. |. c. Hermann is certainly a good authority; he was an intelligent physician, and practised. many years in the East-Indies, about the latter end of the last century, and also at the Cape of Good Hope: his judgment therefore, as well as his fidelity, is at least equal to that of Plukenett’s, which. Linnzus prefers. ' ~~ * Phares extare possunt stirpes, que succum Galbano similem stillant, ut de variis lachrymis que inter se conyeniunt & e diversis stirpibus leguntur, nobis compertnm est. Herm. lL. ¢ “ * Mat, Med. p. 560, BUBON GALBANUM. “ORD. VI. Umbeliate. 101 milky liquor, but does not perfectly dissolve, as some have reported, in water, vinegar, or wine. Rectified spirit takes up much more than either of these ménstria, but not the whole: the tincture is of a bright golden colour. _ A mixture of two parts of rectified spirit, and one of water, dissolves all but the impurities, which are ie commonly in considerable quantity.’—TIn distillation with water, the oil separates and rises to the surface, in colour yellowish, in quantity about one-twentieth of the weight of the Galbanum. Newman observes, that the empyreumatic oil is of a blue colour, which changes in the air to a purple. Galbanum, medicinally considered, may be said to hold a middle rank between Asafoetida and Ammoniacum; but its fetidness is very inconsiderable, especially when compared with the former, it is therefore accounted less antispasmodic, nor is it supposed to affect the bronchial glands so much as to have expectorant powers equal to those of the latter; it has the credit however of being more useful in hysterical disorders, and of promoting and correctin various secretions and uterine evacuations. Externally Galbanum : has been applied to expedite the suppuration of inflammatory and indolent tumours, and medically as a warm stimulating plaster. It is an ingredient in the pilule e gummi, the emplastrum lithargyri cum gummi, of the London Pharm, and in the mph ad Gann pedum of the Edin. : a a & Lewis’s Mat. Med. by Dr. Aikin, P. 314. The Galbanum colour was a prevailing fashion withthe ; ra Reticulumque comis auratum ingentibus implet, Ceerulea indutus scutulata, aut galbana rasa; Jovenar, Sat. 2, 1. 96. And Martial, speaking of an effeminate person, says, Galbanos hahet mores. Lib. 1. Epig. 97.——Commentators differ about the colour of Galbana Rasa; we have described the Galbanum flower to be of a greenish yellow. 102 ORD. VI. Umbellate. CARUM CARUT. COMMON CARAWAY. SYNONYMA... Caruon. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Carum ‘sei Careum. Gerard. Emac. p. 1034. Caros: J. Bauh. iil. p. 69. Cuminum. pratense, Carui officinarum. Bauh. Pin. p. 158. -Carum vulgare. Park. Theat. p. 910. Camer. Epit. 516. _ Rait Hist. p. 446. Synop. p.. 213. Morison Umbellifer. p. 24. ‘Jacq. Flor. Aust. 393. Haller Stirp. Helv. n. 789. Withering. Bot. Arrang. p. 312. Smith. Brit. 330. Jacq. Aust. 393. ‘Kags Dioscorid. -Cateum. . Plinii. Class Pentandria. Ord. Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 365. Ess.Gen.Ch. Fructus ovato-oblongus, striatus. Involucr. 1-phyllum. Petala carinata, inflexo-emarginata. THE root is biennial, long, thick, white, and has a sharp sweet- ish taste:* the stalk is round, strong, channelled, branched, and rises” to the ‘height ‘of two or three feet: the leaves are long, and ubdivide amerous pinnule or segments, which are narrow, pointed, 6f'a deep green colour, and have a sweet tasté:} the flowers grow in terminal umbels, generally consisting of ten radii, and furnished with both a general and a partial ihvolucran, each of which, in the specimen we have figured, consisted of four or five narrow segments: the corolla is composed of five roundish blunt petals, which are white, and curled inwards at the extremities: the five filaments are slender, about the length of the petals, and crowned with small round anthere: the two styles are short, ca- ' pillary, and furnished with simple stigmata: .the seeds are two, naked, brown, bent, striated, and of an oblong shape. * Parkinson says that these roots are better eating than parsneps. - + The leaves are said to afford an oil similar to that of the seeds.—Vide Lewis and others. — eee ee ee, ee {2 2 Zh, Cavin / DCF. ee by Philos 1 Feordon, Saxe. 2.1806 a Paw agin: CARUM CARUI. - ORD. VI. Umbellate. 103 This plant produces its flowers in May and June. It is a native of Britain, and grows in meadows and low grounds; but the seeds of the cultivated plant are said to be larger, “more oily, and of a more agreeable flavour than those of the wild plant, which are hot and weed. . Caraway seeds are well known to have a pleasant spicy smell, and a warm aromatic taste, and on this account are used for various ceconomical purposes." “ They give out the whole of their virtues, * by moderate digestion, to rectified spirit. Watery infusions of these | seeds are stronger in smell than the spirituous tincture, but weaker in taste: after repeated infusion, in fresh portions of water, they _ still give a considerable taste to spirit. In distillation, or evapora- tion, water élevates all the aromatic part of thé Caraways: the remaining extract is almost insipid, and thus discovers, that in Caraways there is less, than in most of the other warm seeds of European growth, of a bitterish or ungrateful matter joined to the aromatic. Along with the aqueous fluid there arises in distillation a very considerable quantity, about one ounce from thirty, of essential oil; in taste hotter and more pungent than those obtained from most of our other warm seeds.” The Caraway seeds are esteemed to be carminative, cordial, and stomachic, and recommended in dyspepsia, flatulencies; and other symptoms attending hysterical and hypochondrial disorders: they are also reported to be diuretic, and to promote the secretion of © milk. They formerly entered many of the compositions in the Pharmacopezias ; but are now less frequently employed. An essen- tial oil, and a distilled spirit, are directed to be prepared from them by the London College. : * Semina Carui satis communiter adhibentur ad condiendum panem. Raustici nostrates esitant jusculum e pane seminibus Carui & cerevisia coctum., Distillatores seminibus Carui utuntur in rectificatione spiritus framenti, ut ille acuatur oleo. stellatitio carul, utpote calefaciente, unde spiritus fortior apparet, &c. > Beaume obtained from six pounds of unbruised caraway seeds four ounces of. essential oil as colourless as water. 104 ORD. VL Umbellate. CONIUM MACULATUM. COMMON HEMLOCK: SYNONYMA. Cicuta. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Hal. Stivp. Helv. 766. Cicuta major. Bauh. Pin. 160. Cicuta vulgaris. major, Park. 933. Cicutaria vulgaris: Clus. Hist. 2. 206, Cicuta. Gerard,.1061. Raii Hist. vol. 1. 451. Synop. p. 215. Stoerck. Suppl. Conium Maculatum. Scop. Flor. Carn. p. 207, Bergius Mat. Med. 192. Curtis Flor. Lond. Withering Bot. Arrang. 277. Relhan Flor. Cant. 112. Smith Brit. 302. Ksew» < Grecor. Class Pentandria. Ord. Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 336. Ess. Gen. Ch. Involucella dimidiata, subtriphylla. Fructus sub+ globosus, 5-striatus, utrinque crenatus. Sp. Ch. C. seminibus striatis. THE root is ‘pheanint: tapering, sometimes forked, eight or tet inches long, and about the thickness of a finger: the stalk is five or six feet high, round, shining, beset with brown and purplish specks; towards the top branched and striated; near the bottom about three inches in circumference, and covered with a bluish exudation, appearing like a fine powder: the lower leaves are very large, tripinnated, of a shining green colour, standing upon long: striated, concave footstalks, which proceed from the joints of the stem; the upper and smaller leaves are bipinnated, and placed ‘at the divisions of the branches: the flowers are produced in umbels, which are both universal and partial, and composed of several striated radii. The universal inyolucrum ¢ consists of five or seven leaves, these are lanceolated, whitish at the margin, and bent * The calyx of umbelliferous plants is termed inyolucrum, and may be univer- sal, partial, or proper, according ag it.is placed at the universal umbel, partial ‘umbel, or flower. fv ad oe Zz rg c 1 i t Wis v7] Cf 4 - LOVAMATE ial CONIUM MACULATUM. ORD. VI. Umbellate. 105 downwards; the partial involucrum is composed of three or four leaves; which are placed on the outer side of the radial stalk; the petals are five, oval, white, and curl inwards at their points; the stamina are five, white, about the length of the corolla, and crowned with whitish anthere; the styles are two, filiform, in- clining outwards, and terminated by round stigmata; the fruit is oval, striated, consisting of two irregularly hemispherical striated brownish seeds. This plant flowers in July, and is commonly found near dunghills and waste grounds.* It has a peculiar faint fetid smell, and a slight aromatic herbaceous, and somewhat nau- seous taste.” The common resemblance of most of the umbelliferous plants leads us to suspect, that they were very imperfectly distinguished by the ancients; for though the botanical description of the Kwvvr, given by Dioscorides, applies in great measure to this plant, yet it must be considered, that his description is without discrimination, and is, with a few exceptions, equally applicable to all the genera of plants composing the natural order of Umbellifere: so that the accounts given of Cicuta by ancient writers, should be admitted with great caution." Whether this species of hemlock was the poison usually administered at the Athenian executions, and which « << The Hemlock is obviously distinguished from our other umbelliferous plants by its Jarge and spotted stalk, by the dark and shining green colour of its bottom leaves, and particularly by their disagreeable smell when bruised, and which, according to Stderck, resembles that of mice.” Curt. Flor. Lond. The Chero- phyllum bulbosum has a spotted stem, but its swelled joints, and rough seeds, distinguish it from the hemlock, > Bergius. M. M. 194. Stoerck says, that the milky juice of the root is so extremely acrid and deleterious that a small drop or two of it being applied to his tongue produced great pain and swelling of that organ, and for some time deprived him of the power of speech._—TIn answer to this see note (*), © Haller refers it to the Cicuta virasa, ¢ The word Cicuta, with the ancients, seemed not indicative of any particular species of plant, but of poisonous vegetables in general. Vide Plinii Hist. Nat. L, 14. ¢. 5. L. 25. c, 13. No. 9. 2nd ~ 106 ORD. VI. Umbellate. CONIUM MACULATUM. deprived Athens of those great characters, Socrates and’ Phocion, we are at a loss to determine;* but that it is a deleterious poison there cannot be a doubt,’ though some. circumstances render. it probable that it is less powerfully so than is generally imagined! © For further informatioa on this subject, consult Steger Diss. de Cicuta Atheniensium. Ehrhart Diss. de Cicuta. Joannis Viventii de Cicuta comment. * Of the most decisive instances of its fatal effects, which have occurred in this country, is that related by the late Dr. Watson in the Phil. Transact. in which itis fully ascertained by him, that two Dutch soldiers, at Waltham Abby, were Killed in a very short time by eating this plant, Other proofs of this sort are given by Heins, (Pharm. rat. p. 370) which happened to some boys at Dresden. Saml. fur Geschichte von Ober. Sachs. III. p. 221. Scaliger, Subtil. Exerc. 152, Amatus Act. Cur, 98. Cent. V. See also the cases mentioned by Wolf in Comment. lit. Nor. anno 1740 and 1749,—Wepfer. Cicut. p. 71. 312. Brassavola Examen. omn. simp. We may also notice the following from Theophrastus, (L. IX. ¢. 17.) Thrasyas Mantineensis remedium a se inventum fuisse gloriabatur, quod absque dolore yitam abrumperet, ex Cicuta & Papaveris succo mistam, > &c. vide Hal. Stirp. Helv. p. 338.—to which work we are obliged for many of the facts just recited. Although sheep and some other animals eat this plant with impunity, yet to many it is strongly poisonous. ‘Three spoonfuls of the juice killed a cat in less than a quarter of an hour. Rozier, Tableau, tom i. 1773. Upon opening those animals to which it proved fatal, inflammation of the stomach -and intestines was discovered. Harder apiar. Obs. 24 & 25. Wepfer Cicit. p. 334. And we may here remark that vinegar has been found the most useful in obviating the effects of this poison; and that by macerating or boiling this plant in vinegar, it becomes totally inert. Lindestolpe de venenis. & Respecting the root of Hemlock, we have the following instances, shewing unegnivocally that it does not possess any noxious power whatever. . Ray relates, _ (Phil. Trans. XTX. vol. p. 634.) that the skilful herbalist, Mr. Petiver, ate half an ounce of the root of Hemlock, and that Mr. Henly, in the presence of Mr. Petiver, swallowed three or four ounces, without experiencing any remarkable effect; and these facts seem confirmed by the later experiments of Mr. Alcorne and Mr. Timothy Lane, neither of whom perceived any sensible effect on eating this root. Mr. Curtis says, Mr. Alcorne ‘¢ assures me, that he has tried ‘this in every season ef the year, and in most parts of our island, without finding any material difference: and Mr. T. Lane informs me, that he also, with great caution, made some experiments of.the like kind, and in a short time found he could eat a considerable part of a root, without bes inconvenience; after this he had some CONIUM MACGULATUM, ORD. VI. Umbellate. 107 The symptoms produced by Hemlock, when taken in immoderate doses, are related by various authors, the principal of which have been collected by Haller and others, and stated in the following words: * Intus sumpta facit anxietates, cardialgias, vomitus, appe- titum prostratum diuturnum, convulsiones, czcitatem, sopores,”’ (Loc.) “vertiginem, dementiam, mortemque ipsam.’? Murray App. Med. vol. 1. p. 215.—Cicuta seems to have been, both by the Greek ‘and Arabian physicians, very generally employed as an external remedy for tumours, ulcers, and cutaneous eruptions; it was also thought to have the peculiar power “ frangere stimulum venereum ;””" fad this circumstance is the more remarkable, as Stéerck, Bergius, and others, recommend its internal use for complaints of a contrary nature, and adduce proole of its aphrodisi- acal powers.” > Baron StGerck was undoubtedly the first shbsichasi es irc! ht Hemlock into repute as a medicine of extraordinary, efficacy, by his Fate roots boiled, ‘ond found them as agreeable eating at dinner with meat as earrots, which they in taste somewhat resembled; and as far as his experience, joined with that of others, informed him, the roots might be cultivated in gardens, and either eaten raw like celery, or boiled as parseneps or carrots.” (Flor. Lond.) , And Murray observes, Non tamen tantopere esse Conium reformidandum, ut quidam existimant, patet inde, quod etiam infantibus tenellis impune exhibitum, : * nec foetum affecerit sub matris graviditate datum, nec grayidam matrem, nec detri- : mentum attulerit largior et per protractius tempus, ad drachmas sex extracti usque supraque intra nychthemerum, usus. Stoerck, vide eae Ap. Med. vol. 1. p- 216.—Quin & exstant exempla yetustiora, ingestam herbam vel succum “majori adeo quantitate subinde tam homines quam bruta Gigs tulisse. Sic Plinius caulem viridem comedi, Sextus Empericus feminam producit, que drachmam unam succi absque noxa cepit. Murray, 1. c. h Areteus de Morb. Acut. L. %. c. 14. Et incrementa mammarum & testium cohibere, Anaxilaus & Dioscorides. i Impotentiam virilem sub usu Conii curatam observayi, in vireo quodam plusquam quadrigenario, qui omnem erectionem penis perdiderat, postinde tamen plures liberos procreavit. Bergius Mat. Med. p. 195.—Dr. Cullen, however, never discovered its effects in this way. 108 ORD. VI. Umbellate. CONIUM MACULATUM. publication in 1760; and his claim to this distinction is the stronger, as his facts only have since’ been able to support its reputation to any very considerable extent; nay it never succeeded so well as when under his own direction, or confined to the neighbourhood in which he resided,“ and to the practice of those physicians with whom he lived in habits of intimacy and friendship.* To enumerate all the diseases. in which he sets forth the powerful efficacy of Cicuta, in four successive books on the subject, would be to give a catalogue of most of the chronic diseases with which human nature is afflicted. And Bergius, though he experienced no advantage by employing it in true cancerous affections, _ still recommends its use in “ Ulcera sordida & siphilitica, Scabies, Morbi cutis, Gonorrhoea, Leucorhoea, Phthisis, Impotentia virilis, Rheumatismus chronicus, Scrophula;” and he considers its Virtus to be “ narcotica, resolvens, suppurationem promovens, diuretica.” To estimate with precision the medicinal utility of Hemlock is no very easy task. Had Dr. Stéerck’s publications upon this subject contained but few and less extraordinary proofs of its good effects in certain obstinate and painful diseases, the virtues of Se might have been held in greater estimation than they actually are:' while those authors, who have as generally condemned this medicine as uniformly useless or dangerous, seem to have done it equal * The general inefficacy of Hemlock experienced in this country, induced physicians at first to suppose that this plant, in the environs of Vienna and Berlin, differed widely from ours, and this being stated to Dr. Stoerck, he sent a quantity of the extract, prepared by himself, to London, but this was found to be equally unsuccessful, and to differ in no respect from the English extract. * Collin, Locher, Quarin, Leber, &c. ' That it should be of some estimation in many of the diseases, in which it is” recommended by Stoerck, appears from the numerous authorities cited by Murray, _ who concludes with these words: ‘+ Et sic quidem in multis ‘pertinacissimis PEE spissa, obstructa reserandi et sanguinem depurandi, eflicacia auxilio uit. c be et Nae a CONIUM MACULATUM: ORD. VI.. Umbellate.. 109° injustice." Although we have not in this country any direct facts, like those mentioned by Stéerck, proving that inveterate scirrhuses, cancets, ufters, and many other diseases hitherto deemed irremedi- able, were completely cured by the Cicuta; we have, however, the testimonies of several eminent physicians, shewing that some complaints, which had resisted other powerful medicines, yielded’ to Hemlock;* and that even some disorders, which, if not really cancerous, were at least suspected to be of that tendency, were greatly benefited by this remedy... In chronic rheumatisms, some glandular swellings, and in) various fixed and periodical pains, the cicuta.is now very generally employed ; and from daily experience, it appears in such cases.to be a very efficacious remedy. It has also been found of singular use in the chincough.’ We cannot: therefore but consider this plant an important acquisition to the. Materia Medica. Externally the leaves. of hemlock have been. variously applied with advantage to ulcers, indurated tumours, and. gangrenes, Much has been said Fempéctiang: the ail nature of this plant,. the time of collecting it, the part which ought to be preferred, and: the best manner of preparing it for medical use; but as these’ circumstances seem only to produce a mere variation in the strength: of the masligine, we conceive such hipharmaseuieal 2 PES to be: Vide Andree’s. Disorsatiods: on Staerck’s Pamphlet, anno +761._ en: Diss. dubia Cicute vexata. anno 1764, De Haen Epist..de cicuta, anno 1765-- Bierken (Tal om Kreaftskador) who, with egies says, that in all cancers: it« does mischief. . * Among those we may mention the late Drs. Fothergil and Rutty. Vide Med. . Obs. & Inquir. vol. 3.—also in the 5th vol. the former gives an account of painful affections of the face, which he attributes to cancerous acrimony, removed by the use of cicuta—Dr. Cullen says, ‘‘ 1 have found it in several cases (of cancer) te relieve the pains and mend the quality of the matter proceeding from the sore, and : even-to make a considerable approach towards healing it.” Mat. Med. vol. 2. 266. Several others imstance its good effects in glandular diseases, and Mr. Hunter commends its use in syphilis. ° Dr. Butter on the Chincough.. No. 10. Qk 110 ‘ ORD. VI. Umbellate. CONIUM MACULATUM. ‘of very little importance, requiring only a proportionate adjustment of the dose, which, under the direction of a skilful practitioner, will always be regulated by its effects only, beginning with a few grains of the extract or powder, and increasing it daily? till a slight ‘vertigo or other symptoms manifest the sufficiency of the dose: and unless this method has been pursued, the medicine cannot be said to have had an efficient trial. “ An extract from the seeds is said to produce giddiness sooner than that from the leaves. Hence, while both the London and Edinburgh Colleges have given a place ‘to the succus spissatus cicutz, into the pharmacopeeia of the latter ‘an extractum seminum cicutz is also introduced.” P This should also be attended-to on recommencing with a fresh parcel of the ‘medicine, as it may differ very materially from the former preparation used; of ‘this Dr. Cullen gives a remarkable instance, strongly evincing the necessity of such -a precaution, I. \c. 4 Duncan’s Edin. New Dis. The powder of'the dried leaves of Hemlock seems to act with more certainty, cand is more to be depended upon than the extract; great caution however is required in drying and preserving these leaves. Dr. Withering recommends the fellowing methed, which appears to us extremely proper: ‘¢ Let the leaves be gathered abeut the end of June, when the plant is in flower. Pick off the little eaves, and throw away the leaf stalks. Dry these selected little leaves in a hot sun, or in a tin dripping pan er pewter. dish before the fire. Preserve them in ‘bags made of strong brown paper, or powder them and keep the powder in glass vials, in a drawer or something that will exclude the light, for the light soon dissipates the beautiful green colour, and with its celour the medicine loses its efficacy. From 15 to 25 grains of this powder may be taken twice or thrice @ day, I have found it particularly usefal in chronic rheumatisms, and also in many of those diseases which are usually supposed to arise from acrimony.. The nature of this book does not allow minute details of the virtues of plants, but I can assure the medical practitioner, that this is well worth his attention.” Bot. Arr. 2d Ed. p. 280. NS oe seminar Nn Z — es /4, | LAN AW CH UMA —. Published: by Phillipn e Fiardom, Sop ?s "heb. ORD, VI. Umbeltaie. ‘Fak FERULA ASSAFCETIDA, ASAFCETIDA GIGANTIC FENNEL. SYNONYMA. Planta umbellifera, tripedalis, erecta, ramosa, glauca, flore luteo, Hope, Phil. Trans. vol. 75, p. 36. Asafcetida umbellifera Levestico affinis, foliis instar Poconia ramosis; caule pleno maximo; semine foliaceo nudo solitario; Brance ursinz t vel pastinace simili; radice asam foetidam fundente. Kaempfer Amenit. Exot. p. 535. Gummi-resina, Asafoetida, Pharm. Lond. & Edin. Hingiseh Persarum. Altiht Arabum, et a quibusdam creditur xiguy Vel os cing Dioscor.. Theophrast. -Hippoc. §c. Laser et Laserpitium, Latinorum. Class Pentandria. Ord. Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 343. Liss. Gen. Ch. Fructus ovalis, compresso-planus, striis utrinque 5. Spec. Ch. F., Foliis alternatim sinuatis obtusis. _LINNEUS has given the specific character according to Kaempfer’s representation of the Asafcetida plant, which differs in many respects from the figure here annexed, which is taken from that communicated to the Royal Society by the late Dr. Hope, and published in the 75th volume of the Philosophical Transactions: and this difference being so considerable as to indicate more than a mere botanical variety, Sir Joseph Banks thinks it probable that Asafcetida may be produced from different species of the ferula. Dr. Hope was undoubtedly the first who cultivated the Asafoetida plant in Britain, or perhaps in Europe, and his accurate description of it, as it grew in the botanical garden near Edinburgh, in the } Branca ursina is the Heracleum SphondyHum of Linneus. | 112 ORD. VI. Umbellate. . — FrruLa ASAFC@ETIDA. year 1784, is inserted below.* Though Asafoetida was formerly in * Pianta umbellifera, tripedalis, erecta, ramosa, glauca, flore luteo. Radix perennis. Folia rdlicalia sex, procumbentia, trilobo-ovata, multoties pinnatim divisa ; foliolis incisis,-subacutis, subdecurrentibus; petiolo communi superne plano, linea elevata longitudinaliter per medium decurrente. Caulis bipedalis, erectus, teretiusculus, annuus, leviter striatus, claber, nudus preter unam circa medium mgitapes oF eee conjugationem ; petiolo membranacee concave. » Rami nudi, patuli; quorum tres inferi, alterni, sustinentur singuli folii imper- fecti petiolo membranaceo concavo. Quatuor intermedii verticillati sunt. Supremi ex — caulis = quorum interni erecti. Omnes hi rami summitate sustinent umbellam compositam sessilem termina- lem, et preterea 3—6 ramulos externe positos, umbellas compositas. ferentes. Hoc modo, rami inferiores sustinent 5, raro 6 ramulos; intermedii 3 vel.’ 4; superiores 1 et 2. Cat. Unmbella universalis radiis 20—30 constat. ——— partialis flosculis subsessilibus 1O—20. Umbella composita sessilis convexo-plana. pedunculata paminpherica, Involucrum universale nullum. partiale nulium. — Parcastizan proprium vix notabile. Cor. wniversalis uniformis. Flosculi umbellz sessilis fertiles. —— —-—— pedunculate plerumque abortiunt. propria petalis quinque zqualibus, planis, ovatis: primo patulis, dein reflexis, apice ascendente. Stam. Filamenta 5, subulata, corolla longiora, incurvata. Anthere subrotunde. Pist. Germen turbinatum, inferum.- : tyli duo, reflexi. Stigmata apice incrassata. Per, nullum: fructus oblongus, plano-compressus, utrinque 3 lineis elevatis notatus est. Sem. duo, oblonga, magna, utrinque plana, 3 lineis elevatis notata. odorem alliaceum diffundit. Folia, rami, pedunculi, radix, truncus, sécti succum fundunt ae sapore et odore Ase feetide, $$ —— -FERULA ASAFO:TIDA, ORD. VI. Umbellate 1is great estimation both as a medicine and a sauce, yet we had no particular account of the plant till Kaempfer returned from his travels in Asia, and published his Ameenitates Exotica in: the beginning of the present century. As he saw the plant growing, ‘and describes it from his own observation, we have collected the following general description from the history. he has given: It is a native of Persia, the root is perennial, tapering, ponderous, and increases to the size of a man’s arm or leg, covered with a blackish coloured bark, and near the top beset with many strong. rigid fibres; the internal substance is white, fleshy, and abounds with a thick milky juice, yielding an excessively strong fetid. alliaceous smell; the stalk is simple, erect, straight, round, smooth, striated, herbaceous, about six or seven inches in circumference at the base, and rises luxuriantly to the height of two or three yards,. or higher ;* radical leaves six or seven, near two feet long, bipin-. nated, pinnule alternate, smooth, variously sinuated, lobed, and. sometimes lance-shaped, of a deep green colour, and fetid smell; the umbels are compound, plano-convex, terminal, and consist of many radii: the seeds are oval, flat, foliaceous, of a reddish. browa colour, rough, marked with three longitudinal lines, have a. porraceous smell, and a. sharp bitter taste: the petals Kaempfer did not see, but supposes them. in. number five, minute, and. white.. This plant is said to vary much according to the situation and soil in which it grows, not only in the shape of the leaves, but in the peculiar nauseous quality of the juice which impregnates them ; this becomes so. far altered that they are sometimes eaten by the. goats. | : Asafoetida is the concrete juice of the root of this plant, which. is procured in the following manner on the mountains in the provinces of Chorasaan and Laar in Persia. At that season of the year when the leaves begin to decay, the oldest plants are selected: *- Caulic, in orgyjx, sesquiergyje, vel majorem longitudinem luxuriose exsur-. gens, crassitic in ime quanta mands complexum superat. . No, 10. 2F t ot a ORD. VI. Umbellate. FERULA ASAFQETIDA. for ® this purpose. First the firm earth which encompasses the root; is rendered light by digging, and part of it cleared away, so as to leavé a portion of the wpper part of the root above the ground; the leaves ‘and stalk are’ then twisted off and used with other vegetables fora‘covering to screen it from the sun, and upon this covering a stone is placed to prevent the winds from blowing jit down; in this state the root is left for forty days, after which the covering is removed, and the top of the root cut off transversely; it is then screened again from the sun forforty-eight hours, which is thought a sufficient time for the juice to exude upon the wound- ed surface of the root, when the juice is scraped off by a proper instrument, and exposed to the sun to harden: this being done, 2 second transverse section of the root-is made, but no thicker than is necessary to remove the remaining superficial concretions which would otherwise obstruct the farther effusion of fresh juice; the screening is:‘then again employed for forty-eight hours, and the juice obtained:a second time, as before mentioned: In this way _ the Asafcetida is eight times repeatedly collected from each root; observing, however; that after every third section, the root is always suffered to remain unmolested for eight or ten days, in order that it may recover a sufficient stock of juice: Thus, to exhaust one root of its Juice, computing from the first’ time of collecting it to the last, a period of nearly six weeks is required; ‘ when the root is abandoned, and soon perishes. 3 The whole of this business is conducted by the peasants who live in the neighbourhood of the mountains where the drug is procured; and as they collect the juice from a number of roots at the same time, and expose it in one common place to harden, the sun soon gives it that consistence and appearance in whieh it is imported into Europe. Asafoetida has a bitter, acrid, pungent taste, ont is well known by its peculiar nauseous fetid smell, the strength of which is the surest test of its goodness; this odour is extremely volatile, and of ° * Radix quadriennié minor parum lactescit & nunquam seca‘ur. ee re SERULA ASAFCETIDA. ORD. VI. Umbellate. 115 * course the drug loses much of its efficacy by keeping. According to Kaempfer’s account, the juice is infinitely more oedorate when recent than when in the state brought to-us: Affirmaré ausim, unam drachmam recens effusam, majorem spargere foetorem, quam centum libras vetustioris quem siccum venundant aromatarii nos- trates. ‘“ We have this drug in large irregular masses of a hétero- geneous appearance, earpeaed of various shining little lumps or grains, which are partly whitish, partly of a brownish or reddish, and partly of a violet hue. Those masses are accounted the best which are clear, of a pale reddish colour, and variegated with a great number of fine white tears. Asafcetida is composed of a gummy and a resinous substance, the first in largest quantity. Its smell and taste reside in the resin, which is readily dissolved and extracted by pute spirit, and, in a great part, along with the gummy matter, by water.‘ ‘Asafcetida is a medicine in very general use, a is certainly a more efficacious remedy than any of the other fetid gums: it is most commonly employed in hysteria, hypochondriasis, some symptoms of dyspepsia, flatulent colics, and in most of those » diseases termed nervous: but its chief .use is derived from its antispasmodic effects; and it is thought to be the most powerful remedy we possess for those peculiar convulsive and spasmodic affections which often recur in the first of these diseases; both taken, into the stomach and in the way of enema. It is also recommended - as an emmenagogue, anthelminthic, expectorant,* -antiasthmatic; and anodyne. Where we wish it to act immediately as an antispas- modic, it should be used in.a fluid form, as that of tincture. - In the London Pharmacopeeia, a spirituous tincture of it is directed, and it is also an ingredient in the Pilule e Gummi. In the Edinburgh Pharmacopeeia, Asafeetida is ordered in,the Tinctura fuliginis, in the pilule gummosz, and in the form of tincture with ‘the Spt. Sal. ammon. vinos. © ‘Lewis’s Mat. Med. 2 Dr. Cullen prefers it to the Gum Ammon. as an expectorant. Asafetida should therefore have a double advantage in spasmodic asthmas. / 116 ORD. VI. Usmbellatee. IMPERATORIA OSTRUTHIUM. COMMON MASTERWORT. SYNONYMA, Imperatoria. Pharm. Edinb. J. Bauh. iii. 137. Gerard Emac. 1001. Haller. Stirp. Helv. No.805. Imperatoria major. Bauh. Pin. 156. Imperatoria sive Astrantia vulgaris. Park. Theat. 942. Common Masterwort, by some erroneously Pellitory of Spain. aii. Hist. 436. Magistrantia. Camer. Epit. . §92. Imperatoria Ostruthium. Withering. Bot. Arr. Lightfoot. Flor. Scot. Smith. Brit. Class Pentandria. Ord. Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 356. = = rr vey t Ess, Ch. Fructus subrotundus, compressus, medio gibbus, margine’ cinctus. Petala inflexo-marginata. Imperatoria Ostruthium. L. Sp. Pl. 371. ‘THIS is‘ the only Imperatoria described by Linnzus. . The root is. perennial, large; fleshy, succulent, round, tapering, rough, articulated, externally brown, internally whitish; creeping,, and sends off many lateral fibres: the stalk is thick, striated, round, jointed, and rises about two feet in height: the leaves are com- . pound, and proceed alternately from long footstalks, which supply- the stalk with a sheathy covering at each articulation; the simple leaves are ovato-elliptical, pointed, irregularly serrated, and. placed in treble ternaries, and the terminalleaf is. commonly cut into three lobes: the general umbels are large, flat; and terminal; ,the partial umbel convex and unequal; there is no general involucrum; the partial involucrum consists of one or two slender leaves, nearly: of the length of the radii; each flower is composed of five oval petals, which are of equal size, white, notched, and having their points bent inwards; the five filaments are tapering, white, erect, and longer than the corolla; the anthere-are double; the germen NL ec aelitiy ber alovt 0 l hut UP fe 1406. Y Baliye s te orders ape? & tlhiyjhed IMPERATORIA OSTRUTHIUM.- ORD, VI. Umbcllate. 117 is roundish, ‘striated, truncated, above white, beneath greenish: the two styles are tapering, spreading, and a little shorter than the stamina; the stigmata are simple and obtuse. The flowers appear in May and July. ‘ Masterwort may be considered as a native of Scotland, Mr.— Lightfoot having found it growing in several places on the banks of t the Clyde. It is frequently cultivated in our gardens; but the root, which is the part directed for medical use, is greatly inferior to that produced in the South of Europe, especially in mountainous situations: hence the shops are re genctally supplied with i it from the Alps and Pyrenees. This root has a fragrant smell, and a bitterish pungent tas leaving a glowing warmth in.the mouth for some time after it e. been chewed. Its virtues are extracted both by watery and spirituous menstrua, but more completely by the latter. . This plant, as its name* imports, was formerly thought to be of singular efficacy, and was preferred to most of the other aromatics,. for its alexipharmic and sudorific powers. In some diseases” it was employed with so much success oe to be distinguished by the name of “divinum remedium.”* At present, however, physicians con- ps this root merely as an aromatic, and it is of course superseded of that class of a superi« or character. -Half a dram of the toot sibetance and one dram of it’ in oe is the dose wa pine ceantaacia ob tak poeseciet fecnlmieg puns. fuit.” Vide Bauh. Pin. 5. ey > ie Atala lak which it has been ety: nc Sinsiiiseded? baat tg Hydrops, Colica, Eersistio Yoats Febres intermittentes.. It has been also Bes as a sialag: “ ae “. €, Hoffman, Ofcin c, 2. £4,216. Prt f No. 10. 26 + its ORD. VI. Umbellate. APIUM PETROSELINUM. COMMON PARSLEY. SYNVONYMA. Petroselinum. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Apium hortense vulgo Petroselinum. Bawh, Pin, p. 153. Petroselinu:m vulgare. Park. Theat. p. 922. Apium hortense. Gerard. Emar. p. 1013, Raii. Hist, p. 1448. * Apium sativum. Riv. pent. $8. Common ‘Parsley. ‘® Apium crispum. Riv. pent. 90. -—_ Curled Parsley. y Apium radice esculenta. Hort. Ups. 67. Large rooted Parsley. Aiton’s Hort. Kew. Class Pentandria. Ord. Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 367. Ess. Gen, Ch. Fructus ovatus, striatus. —— i-phyllun. : Petala qualia. | Sp. Ch. ..A. foliolis caplinie ee ea javolucelis minutis. “THE. cnptis Bieomiak: long: bee » and beset with fibres: the stem is upright, round, s sranched, jointed, rf rises two feet in height: the ig ae are with footstalk: compound, pinnated in ternaries: the leafits are smooth, weined, divided into three lobes, and ounekil at the margin: the.leaves of the stalk proceed from the vaginal sheaths at the joints, and have the leafits cut into narrow linear entire segménts: the flowers are small, of a yellow colour, and terminate the stem and branches in umbels composed. of general and partial radii; the former are about ten in number; and the ‘latter twenty im each~ umbel ‘it seldom has a general involucrum, but the partial involucrum consists of six or’ eight leafits; ‘unequal, pointed, spreading, | and Shorter than the umbel: the corolla consists of five oval petals, which have their points inflected: the filaments are five, spreading, slender, twice the length of the corolla, and crowned with roundish as nr nt “ee OAL Vauim Pircaluan re a ; bes 2 Pubiished by Pluiltips, & Farden, SepT2 7806. NO rear APIUM PETROSELINUM. ORD. VI. Umbelate. : 119 anther: the germen is oval, striated, ie supports two short _ reflected styles, terminated with obtuse stigmata: the seeds are of a dark green colour, oblong, angular, teat flat on one sidé, and convex on the other. It is a native cf Sardinia, and lowers in June and July. 3 All the varieties of Parsley have been long very generally cultivated in England,* and its frequent use for culinary purposes renders it more familiar than most of the plants which our kitchen gardens produce. Both the roots and seeds of Parsley are directed by’ the London College for medicinal use; the former have a sweetish taste, accompanied with a slight warmth or flavour, some- what resembling that of a carrot: the latter are in taste warmer, and more aromatic than any other part of the plant; and also manifest considerable bitterness. In distillation, three pounds yielded above an ounce of essential oil, a great part of which sunk in the fluid. They give out little of their qualities by infusion in watery menstrua, but readily impart all their virtue to rectified spirit. The roots, by distillation in water, were found to yield a very inconsiderable portion of essential oil, not above two or three drams from as many hundred pounds of the root.” . These roots are said to be aperient and diuretic, and have been ie in apozems, to relieve nephritic pains, and obstructions of urine.* In this way they have been. prescribed by Dr. Cullen without producing any diuretic effect, and this he. thinks may in some ‘measure be sptributed fo the loss of their active ‘matter, which t they sustain in Boiling.” ‘The seeds, like ‘those of many other u ferous plants, possess a share of aromatic and carminative power; but as this is inconsiderable they are now seldom employed.t ; The a hg: $0°1551> Turn." Herb. pare 1. high D. iti!) “Wide Aiton’s Hort. > Lewis, Mat. Med. = - . See Hoffman and others. a tet Med. p. 45961 F< E t Externally they havé been advantageously used for destroying. eatanenpe insects in childrea. Vide Con. Mich. Valentini Act, Nat. Cur-.vol. i. p, 286. and Rosenstein Barns. junkd. Ed. 3. p.. 33, 120 ORD. Vi. Umbelate. APIUM PETROSELINUM bruised leaves have been successfully used as a decutient poultice to various kinds of tumours.* Although Parsley. is so commonly used at table, it is remarkable that facts have been adduced to prove that in some constitutions it occasions epilepsy, or at least aggra- vates the epileptic fits in those who are subject to this disease.’ Ii has been supposed also to produce inflammation in the cyes.* * We are told by Lange, (Misc. verit. med. p. 26) that this application has succeeded in scirrhous tamours where Cicuta and Mercury had failed * Hannemannus, in Eph. Nat. Cur. Dec. 3. A. 3. p. 78. And. Marriotte in Journ. de Med. ¢. 23. p. 545. ® See Boyle’s Works, ¢ 1. p. 503. Alston’s Lect. on. M. M. vol. és p. 38%. And cited by Murray. . = ERYNGIUM* MARITIMUM., Soret SEA sameuntaiee or’ HOLLY. re VNR TER” ee pia Paarm. Lond. Bauh. Pin. ?p. 386. Eryngium marinum. Gerard. Emac. p. 1162. Park. Theat. p. 986. J. Bauh. Hist. vol. iti. p. 86.. Raii Hist. p. 384. Synop. p. 222. Eryngium maritimum. , Bauh. Pinar. p. 386. Hudson. Flor, Ang. Smith Brit. Withering. Bot. Arrang. p. 264. » Flor. Dan. tab. 875. ae - Class. Pentandria, . Ord. PiBTAR Lin. Gen. Plant, 324...» « 5 7 “Grect aa tes avin quasi sevyues, id est recie dictum putant, quod capre que morsu surculum Eryngii preciderint, vel deglutiverint, cunctum. “ gregem pone “cee f quasi stupore attonitum s oe donec Eryngium ructu rejecerint. C. Banh cae, 4 bn Scmbiteoniine “ Published by Phillips, & Fardon, Oct 7217! B06. ogee a ERYNGIUM MARITIMUM: ORD. VI. Unbeltate. : 121 Ess. Gen. Ch. Flores capitati. Receptaculum paleaceum, Sp. Ch. E. foliis radicalibus subrotundis plicatis spinosis, capitulis pedunculatis, paleis tricuspidatis. THE root is perennial, long, round, tough, externally of a brown colour, internally whitish: the stalk is thick, fleshy, round, striated, white, branched, and rises from one to two feet in height: the leaves, which grow from the root, are roundish, plaited, trifid, firm, spinous like those of the holly, marked with white reticulated veins, and of a very pale bluish green colour; those proceeding from the stalk are sessile, and surround the branches: the flowers are small, of a blue colour, and terminate the branches in round heads: the common receptacle is conical, and supplied with paleew, which sepa- rate the florets: the involucrum of the receptacle is composed of many pointed leaves, which are longer than the florets: the calyx consists of five erect sharp leaves, placed above the germen: the corolla is composed of five oblong petals, with their points turned inwards: the filaments are five, slender, upright, longer than the corolla, and supplied with oblong anthere: the two styles are filiform, and furnished with simple stigmata: the germen is beset with short hairs, and stands beneath the corolla: the fruit is two oblong seeds, connécted together. It grows abundantly on the sea eoasts, and flowers from July till October. In the Materia Medica of Linnzus, and in abesvat alk the foreign pharmacopeeias, the Eryngium campestre is considered to be the efficinal plant: Geoffroy, however, has observed that the E. mariti- yum is by many thought to be a more powerful medicine, and Simon Paulli* gives it the preference; but Boerhaave * attributes the same virtues to both, and indeed it seems of little importance which is preferred. Eryngo is supposed to be the sgvyya of Dioscorides,* * Quadrip. p. 324. * Hist. pl. T. z. p. 194, © Lib. 3. c. 24. He recommends it ad menses obstructos, tormina, inflationss hepaticos, venena, venenatos morsus, episthotonicos, & comitiales. No. 11. Qu 122 ORD: VI. Umbellate. ERYNGIUM MARTIMUM. ‘who with other ancient writers speak highly of its medicinal efficacy. ‘The root, which is the part directed for medicinal use, has no pecu- liar smell, but to the taste it manifests a grateful sweetness, and on ‘being chewed for some time it discovers a light aromatic warmth or pungency. By Boerhaave this was esteemed the principal of the aperient roots, and he usually prescribed it as a diuretic and antiscor- butic:* it has likewise been celebrated for its aphrodisiac powers.* But this and the other = ascribed to Eyrngo seem now to ob- tain er little credit. 4 Vide, 6 . © &* Non male tum Graiis florens Eryngus in hortis *¢ Queritur: hunc gremio portet si nupta virentem *¢ Nunquam inconcessos conjux meditabitur ignes. Rapinus in Boer. Hist. ‘The root is frequent] y candied, or made into a sweet meat. The young flowering shvots boiled, have the flavour of asparagus. Lin. Flor. Suec. een rr RS Te PASTINACA OPOPANAX. OPOPANAX, or ROUGH PARSNEP. Opopanax, gummi-resina. Pharm. Lond, SYNONYMA. Panax costinum. Bauh. Pin. p. 156. Panax Heracleum. Morris Hist. t. iii, p. 315. Boccone, Journ. des Scav. 1676. p. 28. Gerard Emac. p. 1003. Raitt Hist. p. 410. Hera- cleum alterum, sive peregrinum Dodonzi. Park. Theat, p. 948. Pastinaca sylvestris altissima. Tourn. Inst. p.319. P.Opopanax. | » Gouan, Illustr. 19. t. 13, 14. Class Pentandria. Ord. Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 362. £iss. Gen. Ch. Fruétus cared compresso-planus. Petala invo- uta, integra. Sp. Ch. P. foliis pinnatis: foliolis basi antica excisis, Syst. Veg. =) 47: Cpupen AI Poa Sasli Vvacew Published by Phillips, & Pardon, Oct 72%" 1806. ~ nen sei ms Wy PISTINACA OPOPANAX. ORD. VI. Umbellate. 123 THE root is perennial, thick, fleshy, tapering like the garden parsnep: the stalk is strong, branched, rough towards the bottom, and rises seven or eight feet in height: the leaves are pinnated, consisting of several pairs of pinne, which are oblong, serrated, veined, and towards the base appear unformed on the upper side: the flowers are small, of a yellowish colour, and terminate the stem and branches in flat umbels: the general and partial umbels are composed of many radii: the general and partial involucra are com- monly both wanting: all the florets are fertile, and have an uniform appearance: the petals are five, lance-shaped, and curled inwards: the five filaments are spreading, curved, longer than the petals, and furnished with roundish anthere: the germen is placed below the corolla, supporting two reflexed styles, which are supplied with blunt stigmata: the fruit is elliptical, compressed, divided into two parts, containing two flat seeds, encompassed with a narrow border. It is a native of the South of Europe, and flowers in June and July. This species of Parsnep was cultivated in 1731 by Mr. P. Miller, who observes that its “roots are large, sweet, and accounted very nourishing,” therefore recommended for cultivation in kitchen-gar- dens.* It bears the cold of our climate very well, and commonly maturates its seeds, and its juice here manifests some of those qualities which are discovered in the officinal opopanax;” but it is only in the warm regions of the East, and where this plant is a native, that its juice concretes into this gummy resinous drug. Opopanax is obtained by means of incisions made at the bottom of the stalk of the plant, from whence the juice gradually exudes, and by undergoing spontaneous concretion, assumes the appearance under which we have it imported from Turkey and the East-Indies, * See his Dict. ’ Alston says, ‘* with regard to these plants growing here, I venture to say, that, if their juice be not the opopanax, it is very like it.” M. M. v. it. p. 443. © We find no account of the manner of obtaining this drug since that mentioned by Dodonaeus, Pempt. (p. 309.) & Boccone, (1. ¢ ) 124 ; ORD. VI. Umbeliaice. PISTINACA OPOPANAX. viz. “ sometimes in. little round drops or tears, more commonly in irregular lumps, of a reddish yellow colour, on the outside with specks of white, internally of a paler colour, and frequently variegated with large white pieces.” “‘ This gummy-resin has a strong disagreeable smell, and a bitter acrid somewhat nauseous taste. It readily mingles with water, by triture, into a milky liquor, which on standing deposits a portion of resinous matter, and becomes yellowish: to rectified spirit it yields a gold-coloured tincture, which tastes and smells strongly of Opopanax. Water distilled from it is impregnated with its smell, but no essential ie is obtained on committing moderate quantities to the operation.” Opopanax has been long employed by physicians, and esteemed for its attenuating, deobstruent, and aperient virtues; but_as it is commonly prescribed in combination with other medicines, these qualities are by no means ascertained, nor do its sensible qualities indicate it to be a medicine of much power. Dr. Cullen classes it with the antispasmodics; it is however less fetid than galbanum, though more so than ammoniacum, and therefore may be supposed to have some affinity to a union of these two, It has commonly been given in hypochondriacal affections, visceral obstructions, menstrual suppressions, and asthmas, especially when connected with a phlegmatic habit of body. It has no place in the Mat; Med. of the Edinburgh Pharmacopeeia, but, by the London College it is directed in the pillule e gummi. ° * Lewis, Mi M. p. 468. rs if e eo WAPI iaelases Published by Phillips, & Beton, Oct 2 1806. 46. ORD. VI Unmbellatee. ~~ 195 ANETHUM GRAVEOLENS. COMMON DILL. SYNONYM4. Anethum. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Gerard, Emac. p. 1038. Raii Hist.p. 415. Anethum hortense sive vul- gare.. Park. Theat. p. 886. Anethum hortense. Bauh. Pin. p. 147. ! Class Pentandria. Ord. Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 364. Ess, Gen. Ch. Fructus subovatus, compressus, striatus. Petala invo- luta, integra. Scag Sp. Ch. A. fructibus. compressis. THE root is annual or biennial, long, tapering, whitish, sending off strong fibres, and striking deeply in the ground: several stems. usually proceed from the same root, and are erect, smooth, channell- ed jointed, branched, covered with a glaucous exudation, and rise about two feet in height: the leaves stand upon sheathy fooistalks,. placed at the joints of the stalk, and are alternate, smooth, doubly | pinnated ; pinnz linear, pointed: the flowers are produced in termi- nal umbels, which are large, flat, and like the partial umbels, com- posed of several radii: it has no involucrum: the corolla. consists of five petals, which are yellow, egg-shaped, obtuse, concave, and have their points turned inwards: the five filaments are yellow, — longer than the corolla, and furnished with roundish anthere: the germen is placed below the insertion of the petals, and is covered by the nectarium: the two styles are very short, and terminated by obtuse stigmata: the seeds are two, oval, flat, striated, and surrounded with a membranous margin. The flowers appear in “June and July. 3 No. il. 21 126 ORD. VI. Umbeilate. ANETHUM GRAVEOLENS; This plant, which is a native of Spain and Portugal, appears by the Hortus Kewensis, to have been first cultivated in Britain by Mr. Gerard in 1597.* The seeds of Dill are directed for use by the London and Edinburgh Pharmacopeeias; they have a moderately warm pungent taste, and an aromatic smell, but like that of the plant, not of the most agreeable kind.” “ Water extracts very little of their virtues either by infusion or digestion for many hours. In boiling, their whole flavour exhales along with the watery vapour, and may be collected by distillation. Along with the water arises a “sonsiderable portion of pungent essential oil, smelling strongly of the Dill. These seeds impart their flavour to rectified spirit by di- gestion, but not by distillation, the active part of the seeds remain- ing in the extract.” ‘ The seeds and the plant itself were formerly much used in medi- cine, and from the time of Dioscorides have been esteemed for their carminative and hypnotic powers, and therefore have been recom-. mended in flatulent colics, and certain dyspeptic symptoms pro- ceeding from a laxity of the stomach.‘ They are also said to be more effectual than the other seeds of this class in promoting the secretion of milk.“ At this time however the seeds of Dill are seldom employed, though a simple distilled water prepared from them is directed both by the London and Edinburgh Pharmacopeeias. * Hort. Kew. ® Virgil does not seem to have been of this opinion: ’ Narcissum & florem jungit bene olentis anethi. Ect. 2. v. 45. : © Lewis, M. M. p. 58. 4 Forestus speaks highly of their use in allaying vomiting and hiccup. Oper. Lib. 6. Obs. 29. & Lib. 18. Obs. 12. ws Murray, App. Med. vol. 7. p. 289. \ \NGPZZ x, > | 4 > = WZ } . WE. WZ WH 4x ANF 2 " Published by Phillips & Pardon, Oct": *2b06 - ORD. VI. Umbellate. ~~ a 127 ANETHUM FQENICULUM. COMMON FENNEL. SYNONYMA. Feeniculum dulce. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. et ~ Feeniculum vulgare. Pharm. Edinb. Foeniculum dulce, et Foeni- culum vulgare germanicum. Bauh. Pin. p. 147, Foeniculum vulgare. Gerard. Emac. p. 1032. Park. Theat. p. 884. Raii Hist. p. 457. Synop. p. 217. Haller Hist. Stirp. Helv. n. 760. A. Feniculum. Hudson. Fl. Ang. p. 126. Relhan. Fl. Cantab. 123. Withering. Bot. Arr. p. 311. Smith. Brit. 329. ic. Mill. Must. (Class Pentandria. Ord. Digynia. Lin-~G@en>Plant. 364.°~ Ess. Gen. Ch... Fructus subovatus, compressus, striatus. Petala involuta, integra. Sp. Ch. A. fructibus ovatis. THE root is perennial, white, tapering, and fibrous; three or four stems usually rise from the same root, and are ereét, round, striated, of a glaucous tinge, jointed, branched, and three or four feet in height: the leaves stand alternately at the joints of the stem upon long striated sheaths, and are bipinnated, divided into long linear pointed pinne, of a deep green colour: the flowers are produced in terminal umbels, which resemble those of Dill: there are no involucra: the corolla consists of five petals, which are yellow, ovate, emarginated, and have their points turned inwards : the five filaments are yellow, spreading, shorter than the petals, and supplied ‘with double anthere: the germen is smooth, cylindrical, truncated, striated, and covered with the nectarium, whigh is a large roundish fleshy yellow substance, divided into two parts, from each of which rises a short thick style, terminated by a _ 128 ORD. VI. Umbellate. _ANETHUM FQNICULUM. blunt stigma: the — are two, oval, and deeply furrowed. The flowers appear in June. The seeds of Foeniculum dulce are admitted of the Materia Medics in both Pharmacopoeias, and the root of Feeniculum vulgare also in that of the Edinburgh College ;* but both these plants being con- sidered as varieties of the Anethum Feeniculum, they are comprised in the figure here prefixed. Fennel is found to grow wild in many eits of England, affecting dry chalky soils; but that which is cultivated in our gardens is more fragrant, of a sweeter flavour, and, excepting the seeds, which, are brought from the south of Europe,* commonly used both for medi- cinal and culinary purposes. The seeds have an aromatic smell, and a warm sweetish taste.— “ Water extracts.the virtue of these seeds very imperfectly by infu - sion, but carries it off totally in evaporation: after repeated infu- sion, they retain part of their aromatic warmth, and the liquors are much less agreeable than the seeds in substance; after boiling for some time, the seeds prove entirely insi pid, and the decoction, inspissated to the consistence of an extract, is very nearly so. By distillation they impregnate water with their flavour: a gallon re- eeives a strong impregnation from a pound of the seeds. A large portion of essential oil separates m the distillation;—in smell re- sembling the fennel, im taste mild and sweetish like ‘the oil of aniseeds, and like it also congealing, by a slight cold, into a white butyraceous mass. These seeds contain likewise a considerable quantity of a gross oil of the expressed kind, which, when freed from the essential oil, discovers no particular smell.or taste. This oil is _* © By Feeniculum dulce, (Dr. Cullen says) we mean seeds imported from .a southern climate; we allow however the roots to be taken, as they most .conve- miently may, from the plants growing in our gardens.” M. M. vol. i. p. 158. * © Feeniculum dulce copiesissime colitur in Italia & Sicilia, quarum regionum _ ¢lima plus-illi -conciliat dulcitatis, quam in Gallia attingere potest, cqsnaggglen ‘ planta junior, cum radice & herba, frequenter ibi estur cruda cum sale. & pane.” “Bergius, M. M, p. 228.- See Labat, Voyage en Espagne & en Italie. t. 5. p. 170. * eS t ANETHUM FOQINICULUM. ORD. VI. Umbellate. 129 extracted, along with the aromatic matter of the fennel, by digestion in rectified spirit, but separates and rises to the surface upon in- spissating the filtered tincture. The spirit, gently distilled off, has very little of the flavour of the seeds; the oily matter retains a part both of their taste and smell; but much the greatest part remains concentrated i in the extract.” “The Feeniculum of the Latins is supposed to be the MagaSgu of the: Greeks, by whom it was highly esteemed for promoting the secre- tion of milk,‘ an opinion which the experience of some modern authors has tended to confirm.“ The seeds are also. supposed’to be stomachic and ¢arminative, but these, and indéed all the other effects ascribed to Fennel, as a upon their stimulant and aromatic qualities, must be f dill, anise, and caraway, though termed one of the four greater hot séeds. The root, which Alston says may be called alimentum medica- méftosum, which was by Boérhaavé thought to possess ‘all the virtue of Ginseng, and which ranks as one of the five aperient roots, is now wholly disregarded. To the taste it is sweet, with very little aromatic warmth, and said to be pectoral and diuretic. By the London Pharmacopeeia a simple distilled water is directed to be prepared from the seeds of Fennel, which also enter some other officinal compositions. » Lewis, Me M. p- 303. ¢ Iippoc. De Morb. Mul. Lib: 1. Seét. 5. p. 608. Fees. _Dioscorids M. M. Lib. 3. c. 81. pis 205. Sarac. a Bergius, Novo. 4a. Ups. tol. t.p 104... * Leét. on the M. M. vol. 7. Pp. 335. (oa) a N6.. 11. 130 | ORD. VI. Umbellata. - DAUCUS CAROTA. WILD CARROT, or BIRD’s NEST. | SYNONYM4A. Daucus sylvestris. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Pastinaca sylvestris tenuifolia Dioscoridis, vel Daucus officinarum, | Bauh. Pin. p. 151. Daucus vulgaris. Raii Synop. p. 218. fy Pastinaca sylvestris tenuifolia. Gerard Emac. p. 1028. Park. Theat. p. 901. Raii Hist. p. 465. Daucus involucris cavis, com- _ munibus pinnatis, peculiaribus lineari lanceolatis. Hall. Stirp. Helv. n. 746. Daucus Carota. Huds. Ang. p. 114.» Lightf. Scot. p. 156. Withering. Bot. Arr. p. 274. Relhan. Cantab. p. 112. Smith. Brit. 300. Ic. Flor. Dan. p. 723. « Pastinaca tenuifolia sativa radice lutea. C. Bauh. Yellow Garden Carrot.. £ Pastinaca tenuifolia sativa radice atrorubente. C. Bauh. fe Red Garden Carrot. Aiton. Hort, Kew. Class Pentandria. Ord. Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 333. Ess. Gen. Ch. Cor. subradiate, omnes hermaphrodite. Fructus pilis hispidus. Sp. Ch. D. seminibus hispidis, petiolis subtus nervosis. THE root is biennial, large, spindle-shaped, fleshy, and yellowish : the stalk is round, erect, branched, furrowed, hairy, and rises about two feet in height: the leaves are large, and at the root many times ) : pinnated ; those on the stalk are gradually smaller towards the top, and cut into irregular pinnulz, which on the upper side are of a deep green colour: the leaves are all somewhat hairy, and stand | upon footstalks, which are nerved on the under side: the umbels are oe ; : BY cy et. ; - 135 PIMPINELLA ANISUM. ANISE. 2 ———— ee SYNONYMA. Anisum. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Gerard. Emac. p. 1035. Park. Theat. p.911. Raii Hist. p.450. Anisum herbariis. Bauh. Pin.p.159. Anisum vulgare. Clus. Hist. ti. p. 202. Anisum vulgatius minus annuum. Hist. Ox. iti. p. 297. Sp. Ch. P. foliis radicalibus trifidis incisis. THE root is annual, tapering: the stem is upright, branched, striated, jointed, smooth, and rises about a foot in height: the leaves on the upper part of the stem are divided into narrow pinnated segments, but at the bottom they are roundish, separated in three or five indented lobes, and stand upon scored sheath-like footstalks: the flowers are small, white, and placed in umbels, which are terminal, flat, consisting of several general and partial radii, without involucra: the parts of inflorescence resemble those of the P. Saxifraga; therefore need not be repeated here. It isa native of Egypt, and flowers in July. The Anise was cultivated here in the time of Turner, (1551) but our summers are seldom warm enough to bring the plant to perfection. The seeds, according to Miller, are annually imported here from Malta and Spain, where the Anise is chiefly cultivated. Savary also informs us, that “ the Maltese and Alicant Anise is most esteemed, though not so green as the French;” and the Spanish Aniseeds are easily distinguished from those of France and Ger many, by being much smaller. ; Aniseeds have an aromatic smell, and a pleasant warm taste, accompanied with a considerable degree of sweetness. “ They totally give out their virtue to rectified spirit—The spirit, distilled off from the filtered tincture, has a light taste of the seeds, but leaves far the greatest part of their virtue behind in the extract.— Infused in water, they impart a little of their smell, but scarcely any taste: in distillation they give out the whole of their flavour.” , 136 ORD. VI. Umbellate. PIMPINELLA ANISUM. at Along with the water arises an essential oil, ag the paras of an ounce or more from three pounds.” This oil, in colour yellowish, congeals, even when the air is not sensibly cold, into a butyraceous white concrete. Its smell, which exactly resembles that of the Aniseeds, is extremely durable and diffusive; its taste is milder and less ei els than that of almost any other distilled vegetable oils.” « These seeds yield an oil likewise upon expression, of a ‘eréenish colour, in taste grateful, and strongly impregnated with the flavour of the seeds: sixteen ounces, lightly moistened by exposure to the ~steam of botling water, are said to afford one ounce. This oil is composed of a gross insipid, inodorous onc, of the same nature with the common expressed oils; and a part of the essential oil of the seed, on which the flavour depends.”* The seeds of Anise, which are ranked among the four greater hot seeds, have been long medicinally employed by physicians as an aromatic and carminative, in preference to those of most of the other umbelliferous plants; they have also been esteemed useful in pulmonary complaints, and to. possess, like those of fennel, a power of promoting the secretion of milk. Their chief use how- ever is in flatulencies, and in the gripes, to which children are more especially liable; and they are usefully combined with such purgatives as are apt to produce these effects...Weakness of the stomach, diarrhceas, and loss of tone in the prime viz, are likewise complaints in which Aniseeds are supposed to be peculiarly useful ; and hence by V. Helmont they were called Solamen intestinorwm. The essential oil,* which is the only officinal preparation of. Aniseeds now directed by the Pharmacopceias, is usually grateful to the stomach, and may be taken in the dose of twenty drops. In diseases of the breast, the oil-is preferred, but in flatulencies and colics the seeds in substance are said to be more effectual.® * Lewis, MuM. py. 62. * itis sitetteiis that this oil siesit a poison to pigeons, Olexm Anisi presen tafeum est venenum columbis, si pance guttule ipsarum rostro instillentur & capiti- iufricentur, ut observavit Rup. A. Vocrr, (Hist. Mat. Med. 161) & confirmavit pe P. (Stralsund. Mag. p. i. p. 56.) Vide Bergius, M, -M. = 282. -* Lewis il. (<0 Fb Pt | COVES | DME: he DPD Published & Phillips, & Pardon, Z e ov 22 Beb mccain.) pee. ORD. VI. Umbellate. 137 CORIANDRUM SATIVUM. © COMMON CORIANDER. SYNONYMA. Coriandrum. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. J. Bauh. vol. iii.p.89. Gerard. Emac.p.1012. Raii Hist. p,470.. Synop. p. 221. Hall. Stirp, Helv. n.764. Coriandrum majus. Bauh. Pin. p. 158. Coriandrum vulgare. Park. Theat: p. 918. C. sativum. _Hudson., Flor: Ang. p..123._ Withering. Bot..Arr. p. 302.... Smith. Brit. 520. Sowerby’s English Botany, p. 67. - Kegwy Vel Kogiawor. Dioscorid. Kograry. _ Theophr. Class. Pentandria.. Gril, Durie. Lin. Gen. Plant. 356... Ess. Gen. Ch. Cor. radiata: Petala inflexo-emarginata. Involuer. universale 1-phyllum : Partialia dimidiata, Fructus sphericus. Sp. Ch... €. Fructibus globosis, THE root is annual: the stalk is erect, branched, round, smooth, - of a glaucous tinge, and rises about two feet in height: the leaves are variously pinnated; those of the upper part of the stalk are divided into narrow linear alternate pointed segments; those at the bottom are cut into irregular serrated lobes, resembling the leaves of common parsley : che flowers are white, or reddish, and placed in terminal umbels, appearing in June:,.the partial umbels are composed. of more radii than the general, and each is furnished with an involucrum of three narrow leaves; but the general involucrum is commonly wanting,.or composed of a simple leafit : the general corolla is irregular in its shape, and unequal: the petals are five, oblong, bent inwards, and at the circumference the outermost are the largest: the filaments are five,»slender, and. fur- nished with roundish yellow anthere: the germen is globular, placed below the insertion of the corolla, and supports two short No. 12. 2M “138 | ORD. VI. Umbellate. ’ CORYANDRUM SATIVUM. styles, bent in opposite directions, and terminated by simple stigmata: the fruit is globular, and divisible into two hémispheri- cal concave seeds. This plant is a native of the South of Europe, — in some places it is said to grow in such abundance, as frequently to choke the growth of wheat and other grain.” From being cultivated here as a medicinal plant, it has for some time become naturalized to this country,” where it is usually found in corn fields, the sides of roads, and about dunghills. Every part of the Mant; when fresh, has a very offensive odour,* but upon being dried the seeds have a tolerably grateful smell, and their taste is moderately warm, and slightly pungent. “ They give out their virtue totally to rectiffed spirit, but only partially to water. In distillation with water, they yield a small quantity of a yellowish essential es which smells arena ty and pretty agreeably of the Coriander.” Dioscorides' asserts, that these seeds, when taken in a considerable quantity, produce deleterious effects; and in some parts of Spain and Egypt, where the fresh herb is eaten as a cordial, imstances of fatuity, lethargy, &c. are observed to occur very frequently ;° but these qualities seem to have been unjustly ascribed to the Corian- ' der; and Dr. Withering informs us, that he has “ known six drams of the seeds taken at once without any remarkable effect.’ ‘ @ See Murray, App. Med. vol. i, p. 278. * See English Botany, p. 67. * “ Coriander was probably so called from xoegrs cimex, because the green herb, seed and ail, stinks intolerably of bugs.” Alston. Leét. onthe M. M, vol. ti: p. 849. « Lewis, M. M. p. 253. , * “Silargius sumptum fuerit semen, mentem, non sine pericule, e sua sede & statu demovet.” And again, *¢ Coriandrum propter odorem latere non potest : epotum vocis raucitatem facit, atque insaniam, qualis ex vinolentia proficiscitur, ita ut qui sumpsere varia dicta pudenda blatterant: toto vero corpore coriandri odor se prodit.” ZL. 3. c. 71. — © Vide C. Hoffmann. Med. Off. p. 241. * Withering, 1. ¢. - J4, oe & © « ta ‘4 >) GN lublished by Phillips, & Fardon, Nov? T*fo6. ' CORIANDRUM SATIVUM. ORD. VI. Umbellate. 139 These seeds, like those last mentioned, and indeed those of most of the umbelliferous plants, possess a stomachic and carminative power.. They are directed in the infusum amarum, the infusum senne tartarisatum, and some other compositions of the Pharmaco- poeias; and according to Dr. Cullen, the principal use of these seeds is; “that, infused along with senna, they more powerfully correct the odour and taste of this than any other aromatic that I have employed; and are, I believe, equally powerful.in obviating the griping that senna is very ready to produce.” 8 Mat. Med. vol. ii. p. 158. SIUM NODIFLORUM. . (CREEPING WATER PARSNEP. SYNONYMA. Sium. Pharm. Lond. Siam aquaticutt pro- cumbens, ad alas floridum. Moris. Hist. tit. p. 283. 8.9. t. 5. 3. Petiv. t. 26. f. 3. Sium umbellatum repens. Gerard. Emac. p. 256. Rait Synop. p. 211. Hist. 444. Sium foliis radicalibus ovatis, pinnatis, dentatis; caulinis appendiculatis; umbellis ‘glaribus. ‘Hall. Stirp. Helv. n. 778. 8. nodifloram. Hudson. “Flor. Ang. p. 119. Withering. Bot. Arr. p. 292. Lightfoot. Flor, Scot. p. 161. Rethan. Flor, Cantab.p. 116. Smith. Brit. 313. Eng. Bot. 639. Class Pentandria. Ord. Digynia. Lin. Gen, Plant. 348. Ess. Gen. Ch. Fructus subovatus, striatus. Invelucrumpolyphyllum, : Petala cordata. om3 Sp. Ch. S. foliis pinnatis, umbellis axillaribus sessilibus. 140 ORD. VI. Umbellate. SIUM NODIFLORUM, THE root is perennial, long, creeping, and hung with numerous fibres: the stem is jointed, thick, succulent, scored, procumbent, branched, and seldom reaches a foot in Jength: the leaves are pin- nated, consisting of three or four pairs of pinnze, terminated by an odd one; the pinnz or segments are ovate, pointed, serrated, sessile: the flowers are small, and stand in axillary umbels, which are com- posed of from six to nine general radii, and about an equal number of partial radii: there is no general involucrum, but the partial one consists of five, six, or seven ovate pointed leafits: ‘the corolla is composed of five petals, which are entire, ovalish,. white, largest at the circumference, and bent inwards at their apices: the five fila- ments are slender, spreading, rather longer than the corolla, and furnished with roundish anther: the germen is small, placed be- neath the corolla, and supports two slender reflexed styles, termi- nated by blunt stigmata: the fruit is egg-shaped, small, scored, divisible, into two seeds, which are flat on one side, on the other convex and scored. It is common in rivers and ditches, and flowers in July and August. _ This plant is not iesiead | into the Materia Medita of ‘any of tle Einwecanee: which we have seen, except . that! of the London College, where it has lately been received in the character of an _antiscorbutic, or rather as a corrector of acrid humours, especially when manifested by cutaneous eruptions and tumours in the lym- phatic system, for which we have the testimony. of Beirie* and Ray.’ . But the best proofs of its efficacy are the followmg given by Dr. Withering : “hk young lady, six years old, was cured of an obstinate cutaneous disease, by taking three large spoonfuls of the juice twice a day: andI have repeatedly given to adults three or four ounces every morning, in similar complaints, with the greatest advantage. It is not nauseous, and children take it readily if mixed with milk. In the dose I have given it, it nerther affects the head, the stomach, nor the bowels.”* *Seed.c. » Dict. de la Mat. Med. © Synop. p. 213. y rae ¢ ne, ae Agus SV ECALTTA- - Published by Phullps, & ™, 2. sas tes MAMECHOIA- Pardon, Nov 22° 2806. ORD. VI. Umbellate, M41 LIGUSTICUM LEVISTICUM. COMMON LOVAGE. SYNONYMA4. : Levisticum. Pharm. Edinb. Ligusticum vul- gare. Bauh. Pin. p. 157. Ligusticum vulgare, foliis apii. J. Bauh. iti. p. 122. Levisticum vulgare. Gerard. Emac. p. 1008. Park. Theat. p..936. Raii: Hist. p. 437. Angelica montana perennis, Paludapii folio. Yourn. Inst. p. 313. Class Pentandria. Ord. Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 346. Ess. Gen. Ch. Fructus oblongus, 5-sulcatus utrinque. Corolle equales. Petalis inyolutis, integris. Sp. Ch. L. foliis multiplicibus: foliolis superne incisis, THE root is perennial, long, tapering, branched, externally brown, internally whitish: the stalk is erect, branched, smooth, striated, and rises five or six feet in height: the upper leaves are small, and irregularly cut into narrow elliptical segments; the lower leaves are large, doubly pinnated; pinnz indented, pointed, often lobed, and placed in pairs with an odd one at the top: the flowers are small, of a whitish yellow colour, and produced in umbels: the general and partial umbels are composed of nearly an equal number of radii, and each furnished with involucra, con- sisting of about seven simple ovate segments: all the flowers are fertile: the corolla consists of five petals, which are egg-shaped, and turned inwards: the five filaments are capillary, shorter than the corolla, and furnished with simple anthere: the germen is truncated at the top, upon which are placed two nectarious cor-. puscles, supporting two short styles, crowned with simple stigmata: the fruit is oblong, angular, furrowed, divisible into two seeds, which ‘No. 12. Qn 149 ORD. VI. Umbcllate. LIGUSTICUM LEVISTICUM. are oblong, on one side striated and convex, on the other flat and smooth: the flowers appear in June and July. It is a native of the Alps, and according to Mr. Aiton was first cultivated in England by Mr. Gerard. The odour of this plant i is very strong, and peculiarly ungrateful ; its taste is warm and aromatic. It abouimeds with a yellowish gummy resinous juice, very much resembling opoponax. _ Its virtues are supposed to be similar to those of angelica and masterwort in ex-_ pelling flatulencies, exciting sweat, and opening obstructions; there- fore chiefly used in hysterical disorders, and in uterine obstructions. A teacupful of the juice with rhenish wine, or a decoction of the seeds with wine or mugwort water, was; by Forestus,* said to bea secret remedy of extraordinary efficacy in slow or laborious partu- tition. The leaves, eaten as sallad, are accounted emmenagogue.” The root, which is less ungrateful than the leaves, is said to possess | sumilar virtues, and may be employed in powder. -* See Forest. lib. 28. obs. 32, in schol. - * Chomel. Usuelles, t. 2. p. 216. a CUMINUM CYMINUM. ) -_CUMMIN. —————— SYNONYMA. Cuminum. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Cuminum semine longiore. Bauh. Pin. p. 146. Cuminum sativum Diosco- ridis. Gerard. Emac. p. 1066. Cyminum, sive Cuminum sativum. J. Bauh. iii.p.22. Raii Hist. p. 433. Cuminum vulgare. Park. Theat. p. 887. Cuminum. Mor. Umb.4. Hist. Oxon. iii. p. 271. Feeniculum orientale, Cuminum dictum. Tourn. Inst.312. Icon.. Rivin. Pentap. t. 40. Class Pentandria. .Ord. Digynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. $51. Ess. Gen. Ch. Fructus ovatus, striatus. Umbellule 4. Involucra 4-fida. fe ¥ . Fie i . VAIRATVAADIE AYTHED REPAY ~— Pi ‘ Published. by Phillies &: Fardon, Deo3 2 :Bob. CUMINUM CYMINUM. | ~ ORD. VI. Unmbellate. 143 THE root is annual, simple, fibrous: the stalk is round, slender, “often procumbent, branched, and rises about six or eight inches in height: ‘the leaves are numerous, narrow, linear, pointed, grass-like : the flowers are purple, and produced in numerous small umbels, which are usually composed of four radii, each supporting a partial _umbel of a like number: the general and partial involucra consist of four narrow pointed segments: all the florets are fertile: the corolla is composed of five petals, which are unequal, bent inwards, and notched at the apex: the filaments are five, and furnished with simple anthere : the germen is large, ovate, and placed below the corolla: the two styles are minute, and terminated by simple stig-’ mata: the fruit is egg-shaped, or oblong, striated : the seeds are two, oblong, flat on one side, convex and striated on the other. This phot, which is the only species of Cuminum yet discovered, is a native of Egypt and Ethiopia, and is cultivated in the islands of Sicily and Malta, from whence we are supplied with the seeds.* fs Cumin seeds have a bitterish warm taste, accompanied with an aromatic flavour, but not agreeable. They give out great part of their smell by infusion ‘in water, but very little of their taste: in distillation with water, a pungent oil arises, of a strong ungrateful flavour like that of the seeds: the decoction, inspissated, leaves a weakly roughish bitterish extract. Rectified spirit takes up the whole virtues of the = by infusion, and leaves them nearly uninjured in evaporation.’” Cummin has been thought to be the Kyu of Wiecande: The seeds, which rank as one of the four greater hot seeds, contain a large proportion of essential oil, and are therefore supposed to possess a carminative and stomachic power, equal, if not superior to most of those of the umbelliferous class... They are generally preferred to the other seeds for external use in discussing indolent tumours, and give name both to a plaster and cataplasm in ag Pharmaco- peias. . @ It was cultivated in England in 1594 by Sir Hugh Plat. See Plat’s Garden of Eden. part. tt. p. 134. Hort. Kew * Lewis. Mat. Med. p. 268. © Cullen. M, M. vol. it. p. 159. ORD. VII. HEDERACEA. From Hedera Ivy.—Ivy-like Plants. “ ER VITIS VINIFERA. COMMON VINE. ~ SYNONYMA. Vitis. Pharm. Lond. Vitis vinifera. Bauh. Pin. p. 299. J. Bauh. Hist. iii. p. 67. Gerard. Emac. p. 875. ' Park, Theat. p. 1555. Raii Hist. 1613. Kniph. Bot. orig. cent. 6. Duhamel. Arb. ii. p. 360. t.106. Schmidel. Ic. plant. t, vii. &. Vitis corinthiaca s. apyrena. Bauh. Hist. ii. p. 72. Glass Pentandria. Ord, Monogynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 284. Ess. Gen. Ch. Petala apice coherentia, emarcida. Bacca 5-sperma, supera, ; -Sp. Ch. V. foliis lobatis sinuatis nudis, THE Vine sends off numerous long slender climbing branches, and is covered with rough dark brown bark: the leaves are roundish deeply serrated, commonly divided into three lobes, and stand alter- nately upon long footstalks: the flowers are small, and produced in spikes: the calyx is divided into five small narrow segments: the petals are five, small, oblong, whitish, withered, adherent at their apices, and soon fall off: the five filaments are tapering, and fur- nished with simple anthere: the germen is egg-shaped, without any style, hut supplied with a cylindrical stigma: the fruit is a large round berty, of one cell, and contains five hard seeds, of an irregular form. The flowers appear in June and July. th See ie. (co ee y) lisa wirferee a, Publis trad by Pathe & Fardom, Bee 28.66 VITIS VINIFERA, ORD. VH. Hederacce. : 145 The Vine is a native of most of the temperate parts of the four quarters of the world, and is successfully cultivated in our hemis- phere between the thirtieth and fifty-first degree of latitude. Through the effects of culture, and a difference of soil and climate, numerous varieties of grapes are produced, differing widely in shape, colour, and taste, and affording wines, which are known to be extremely various, Vine leaves, called pampini, and the tendrils. or capreoli, have an astringent taste, and were formerly used in -diarrhoeias, hemorrhages, and other disorders, requiring refrigerant and styptic medicines. The juice, or sap, of the Vine, named lachryma, has been recommended in calculous disorders, and is said’ to be an excellent application to weak eyes, and specks of the cornea. The unripe fruit Kasa harsh rough sour taste: its expressed. juice, called verjuice, was much esteemed by the ancients, but is now superseded by the juice of lemons; for external use however, particularly in bruises and sprains, verjuice is still employed, and: considered to be a very useful application. ' The dried fruit constitutes an article of the Materia Medica, under~ -the name of uva passa, of which two kinds were formerly mentioned ' in our Pharmacopeeias, viz. Uvze passa majores & minores, or raisins and currants; the latter 1s a variety of the former, or the fruit of the ‘Vitis corinthiaca seu apyrena, of C. B. The manner of preparing. them is by immersing them in a solution of alkaline salt, and soap lye made boiling -hot, to which is added some olive oil and a small. -quantity of common salt, and afterwards drying them in the shade.* These fruits are used as agreeable lubricating acescent sweets, in pectoral decoctions, and for obtunding the acrimony of other medi- - cines, and rendering them grateful to the palate and stomach. They are direCted in the Decoctum hordei compositum, Tinctura senne, and Tinctura cardamomi composita. Wine, or the fermented juice of the grape; of which there isa: _great variety, bas by. medical writers been principally confined to. four sorts, as sufficient for officinal use. These are the vinum album *Sce Antill in American Philosophical Transact. vol. i. p, 194. No. 153. 2:0 & 146, _ ORD. VII. Hederacer. = VITIS VINIFERA, ‘hispanicum, mountain; vinum canarium, canary or sack; vinum rhenanum, rhenish; and vinum rubrum, red port. On a chemical investigation, all wines consist chiefly of water, alcohol, a peculiar acid, the aérial acid, tartar, and an astringent #ummy resinous miatter, in which the colour of red wine resides, and which is expressed from the husks of the. grapes. They differ from each other in the:proportion of these Fnigrendanents) and particu- larly in that of the alcohol; which they contain. The qualities of wines depend not only upon the difference of the grapes, as containing more or less saccharine juice, and of the acid matter which accompanies it, but also upon circumstances attending the process of the fermentation: Thus, if the fermentation be incomplete, the wine may contain a portion of must, or unassi- milated juice ; or if it be too active, or too long protracted, it may be converted into vinegar.’ New wines are liable to a strong degree of acescency when taken into the stomach, and thereby occasion much flatulency, and eructa- tions of acid matter; heart-burn, and violent pains of the stomach from spasms are also often produced; and the acid matter, by passing into the intestines, and mixing with the bile, is apt to occasion colics, or excite diarrhceas. Sweet wines are likewise more disposed to become acescent in the stomach than others; but as the quantity of alcohol which they contain is more considerable than appears sensibly to the taste, their acescency is thereby in a great measure counteracted. Red port, and most of the red wines, have an astrin- gent quality, by which they strengthen the stomach, and prove useful in restraining immoderate evacuations; on the contrary, those which are of an acid nature, as rhenish, pass freely by the kidneys, and gently loosen the belly. But this, and perhaps all the thin or weak wines, though of an agreeable flavour, yet, as contain- ing little alcohol, are readily disposed to become acetous in the stomach, and thereby to aggravate all arthritic and calculous com- plaints, as well as to produce the effects of new wine. * See Cullen M. M. vol. i. p, 413. VITIS VINIFERA. ORD. VII. Hederacee. 147. The general effects of wine are, to stimulate the stomach, exhila- rate the spirits, warm the habit, quicken the circulation, promote perspiration, and in large quantities to prove intoxicating, and powerfully sedative. In many disorders wine is universally admitted to be of important service, and especially in fevers of the typhous kind, or of a putrid tendency; in which it is found to raise the pulse, support the strength, promote a diaphoresis, and to resist putrefaction; and in many cases it proves of more immediate advantage than the Peruvian bark. Delirium, which is the consequence of excessive iritability, and a defective state of nervous energy, is often entirely removed by the free use of wine. It is also a well-founded obser- vation, that those who indulge in the use of wine, are less subject to fevers, both of the malignant and intermittent kind. In the putrid sore throat, in the small-pox, when attended with great debility and symptoms of putrescency, in gangrenes, and in the plague, wine is to be considered a principal remedy. And in almost all cases of languors, and of great prostation of strength, wine is experienced to be a more grateful and efficacious cordial than can be furnished from the whole class of aromatics. The Tartar, which is thrown off from wines to. the sides and bottom of the cask, is also an officinal article, and consists of the vegetable alkali supersaturated with acid. When taken from the cask, it is found mixed with an earthy, oily, and colouring matter: ‘that obtained from red wine is of deep brown colour, and com- monly called red, and when it is of a paler colour, white tartar. © It is purified by dissolving it in boiling water, and separating the earthy part by filtering the boiling solution. On cooling the solution, it deposits irregular crystals, containing the colouring matter, which is separated by boiling the mass with white clay. The tartar, thus purified, is called cream of tartar. If this be exposed to a red heat, its acid flies off, and what remains is the vegetable alkali, or salt of tartar. Crystals of tartar are in common use as a laxative and mild. cathartic; they are also esteemed for their cooling and diuretic 148 ORD. VII. ~Hederaceéce. VITIS VINIFERA. qualities, and therefore have been much employed in dropsies, and other cases requiring an antiphlogistic treatment. Dr. Cullen says, “ that in large doses they act like a purgative in exciting the action of the absorbents in every part of the system, and that more powerfully than happens from the operation of any entirely. neutral salt ;” and on this is founded their utility in the cure of dropsy. It must be remarked, however, that they do not readily pass off by the kidneys, unless taken with a large quantity of water; and therefore when intended as a diuretic they ought to ‘be given in a liquid form, as Dr. Holme has directed. The dose is to be regulated according to the circumstances, from a dram to two ounces. These salts enter several officinal compositions. Another article to be noticed here is. Vinegar, which has been ‘esteemed of great use in almost all inflammatory and putrid dis- orders, whether internal or external. Bergius says, it is refrigerans, resolvens, antiputredinosa, alexiteria, antiphlogistica, digestiva, antiscorbutica, diaphoretica. [t is very efficacious in counteracting the effects of vegetable poisons, especially those of the narcotic kind. Inhaled im the form of a vapour, it is found useful in the putrid sore throat; and it has been given successfully in mania, and in rabies canina. Distilled and neutralized with volatile alkali, it forms the aqua ammoniz acetate, or spiritus Mindereri, a-medi- cine of common use in fevers. By distillation, however, the vinegar generally contracts an empyreumatic taste, and is seldom found in a rightly concentrated state; when required to be of great strength, it may be rendered so by freezing it, after the ‘manner we have directed for concentrating the juice of lemons. _ ‘Vinegar is also much employed as a menstruum, or for extracting the virtues of other medicines. Rares ee y 9 j - — - de ea x 4 : \ Sanan pete FU4 ado Z. MMA FE Published? by Philbivs, & Fardon, Deo heb: D So IF ORD. VII. Hederacee. — 149 PANAX QUINQUEFOLIUM. GINSENG, SYNONYMA. Ginseng. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Raii Hist. p. 1338. Aureliana canadensis. Lafiteau in Memoires concernant la precieuse plante de Ginseng. Paris, 1718. Et Hist. de L’ Acad. 1718.p 42. Catesby’s Car. 3. p. 16. t. 16. Breyn. in Prod. rar. pl. 2. p. 35. Fig. ad. p. 52. Araliastrum foliis ternis quinque- partitis Gingseng s. Ninsin officinarum. Ehret. tabul. a Trew, _t. 6. fig. 1. Gin-seng Chinensibus. Jartoux Phil. Trans. vol. _xxviti. p. 237. Conf. Des lettres edifiantes & curieuses, tom. x. p. 172. Araliastrum, quinquefolii folio, majus Ninsin *‘vocatum.. Vall. Sex. 43. ; Class Polygamia. Ord. Dioecia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 1166. Ess. Gen. Ch. Hermaphrod. Umbella. Cal. 5-dentatus, superus, _ Cor. 5-petala. Stam. 5. Styli 2. Bacca disperma. Masc. Umbella. Cal. integer. Cor. 5-petala. Stam. 5. Sp. Ch. P. foliis ternis quinatis. THE root is perennial, small, wrinkled, branched, ofa pale yel- lowish colour, and sends off many short slender fibres: the stalk is: erect, smooth, round, simple, tinged of a deep purple colour, and’ above a foot in height: the leaves arise with the flower stem from a. thick joint at the extremity of the stalk; they are generally three, but sometimes more, of the digitated kind, each dividing into five simple leaves, which are of an irregular oval shape, serrated, veined, pointed, smooth, of a deep green colour above, and stand upon short footstalks proceeding from a common petiolus, which is long,. * The plant formerly known i) this name is now understood to be the Sion: Ninsi, of Linneus, ’ No. 15. ' 2 P 150 ORD. VI. Hederaceew. PANAX QuINQUEFOLIUM. round, and almost erect: the flowers are white, produced ina roundish terminal umbel, and are hermaphrodite or male on separate plants: the former, which we have figured, stand im close simple-umbels: the involucrum consists of several small, tapering, pointed, permanent leaves; the proper calyx is tubular, and divided at the rim into five small teeth: the corolfa consists of five petals, which are small, oval, equal, and reflexed: the: filaments are five, short, and furnished with simple anther: the germen is roundish, placed below the corolla, and supports two short erect styles, crowned by simple stigmata: the fruit is an umbilicated two-celled berry, each containing a single irregularly heart-shaped seed, The flowers appear in June. Ginseng was formerly supposed to grow only in Chinese Tartary, ° affecting mountainous situations, shaded by close woods; but it has now been long known that this plant is also a native of North America, whence M. Sarrasin transmitted specimens of it to Paris in the year 1704;° and the Ginseng since discovered in Canada, Pensylvania, and Virginia, by Lafiteau,“ Kalm,* Bartram,’ and — has been found to Bees vege with the Tartarian Bape om which are known to undergo a certain preparation, whereby. they assume an appearance somewhat different. For it is said that in China the roots are washed and soaked in a decoction of rice, or millet-seed, and afterwards exposed to the steam of the liquor, by which they acquire a greater firmness and clearness than in their natural state.* The plant was first introduced into England in 1740 by that industrious naturalist Peter Collinson,‘ and our * Sarrasin was correspondent of the Royal Academy of Sciences, in the history of which his account was published in 1718. See p. 44. *L.c. * Rosa til N. America, t. iii. p. 334. * Comm, Nor. 1741. p. 361. * The Chinese value these roots in some measure according to their figure, esteeming those very highly which are regularly forked, or havea fancied resem- blance to the human form. See Hort. Kew, | | PANA QUINQUEFOLIUM, ORD. VI. Hederacee. 15¥ figure was drawn’ feom’a good specimen, growing in the Royal Botanic garden at Kew. The ited root of Ginseng, as imported here, is scarcely the thickness of the little finger, about three or four inches long, frequently forked, transversely wrinkled, of a horny texture, and both internally and externally of a yellowish white colour. . “ To the taste it discovers a mucilaginous sweetness, approaching to that of liquorice, accompanied with some degree of bitterishness, and a slight aromatic warmth, with little or no smell. It is far sweeter and of a more grateful smell than the roots of fennel, to which it has by some been supposed similar; and differs likewise remarkably from those roots, in the nature and pharmaceutic properties of its active principles; the sweet matter of the Ginseng being preserved entire in the watery as well as the spirituous extract, whereas that of fennel roots is destroyed or dissipated in the inspissation of the watery tincture. The slight aromatic impregnation of the Ginseng is likewise in good measure retained in the watery extract, and perfectly in the spirituous.’ The Chinese ascribe extraordinary virtues to the root of Ginseng, and have long considered it as a sovereign remedy in almost all diseases to which they are liable, having no confidence in any medicine unless in combination with it. It is observed by Jartoux, that the most eminent Physicians in China have written volumes on the medicinal powers of this plant, asserting that it gives immediate relief in extreme fatigue, either of body or mind, that it dissolves pituitous humours, and renders respiration easy, strengthens the stomach, promotes appetite, stops vomitings, removes hysterical, hypochondriacal, and all nervous affections, and gives a vigorous tone of body, even in extreme old age.* These, and many other effects of this root, equally improbable and extravagant, are related by various authors, and Jartoux was so much biassed by this eastern prejudice in favour of Ginseng, & Lewis, M. M. p. 325. ** L.c. See also Decker, (Exercit. pratt. p. m. 670.) 152 ORD. VII. Hederacee. PANAX QUINQUEFOLIUM. that he seems to have given them full credit, and confirms them in some measure from his own experience.‘ But. we know of no proofs of the efficacy of Ginseng in Europe, and from its sensible qualities we judge it to possess very little power as a medicine.* It is recommended in decoction, viz. a dram of the root to be long boiled in a sufficient quantity of water for one dose. i He says, ‘* Nobody can imagine that the Chinese and Tartars would set so high a value upon this root, if it did not constantly produce a good effect.”—*“+ I ob. served the state of my pulse, and then took half of a root raw: in an hour after I found my pulse much fuller and quicker; I had.an appetite, and found myself much more vigorous, and could bear labour much bctter and easier than before. But I did not rely on this trial alone, imagining that this alteration might proceed from the rest we had that day: but four days after, finding myself so fatigued and weary that I could scarce sit on horseback, a Mandarin who was in company with us perceiving it, gave me one of these roots: I took half of it immediately, and an hour after I was not the least sensible of any weariness. I have often made use of it since, and always with the same success.. I have observed also, that the green leaves, and especially the fibrous parts of them chewed, would produce nearly the same effect.” Phil. Trans. vol. xxviii. p. 239. * Dr. Cullen says, ‘* We are told that the Chinese consider Ginseng as a power- ful aphrodisiac ; but I have long neglected the authority of popular opinions, and. this is one instance that has confirmed my judgment. I have known a gentleman, a little advanced in life, who chewed a quantity of this root every day for several years, but who acknowledged he never found his faculties in this way improved. by it.” Mat. Med. o. ii. p. 161, 39 . | i LLY Phils. & Faredom, Der 2% shot. Se ORD. VIII. SARMENTACE. From Sarmentum, a long shoot like that of a vine: an order consisting of Plants which have climbing stems and branches, by which they attach themselves to the neighbouring bodies for support. ARISTOLOCHIA SERPENTARIA. SNAKE-ROOT BIRTHWORT. SYNONYMA4A.. Serpentaria virginiana. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb, Aristolochia Pistolochia s. Serpentaria virginiana, caule nodoso, Pluk. Alm. 50. t. 148. Catesby Hist. of Carol. t. p. 29. tab..29, Raii Hist. vol. iii. p. 394. Aristolochia polyrrhizos virginiana, &e. Morris. Hist.p. 310. Park. Theat. p. 420. Class Gynandria. Ord. Hexandria. Lin. Gen. Plant. 1022. Ess.Gen.Ch. Hexagyna. Cal. 0. Cor. 1-petala, lingulata, integra. Caps. 6-locularis, infera. Sp..Ch. A. fol. cordato-oblongis planis, caulibus infirmis flexuosis teretibus, flor. solitariis. Caulis geniculata valde nodosa.. Flores ad radicem. THE root is perennial, and composed of a number of small fibres, proceeding from a common trunk; externally brown, and internally whitish: the stems are slender, round, crooked, jointed, and rise about eight or ten inches in height: the leaves are heart~ shaped, entire, pointed, veined, and stand upon strong footstalks, to which they are attached by three prominent ribs: it has no calyx: the flowers are monopetalous, solitary, of a purplish brown: colour, and placed upon long sheathed jointed peduncles, which. rise from the lower articulations of the stem: the corolla is - No. 33. 2Q 154 ORD. VII. Sarmentacee.. -anisTOLOCnIA SERPENTARIA. tubular, irregular; at “die base distended into a globular figure, at the middle contracted and twisted,. at the extremity spreading, and of a triangular form: it has no “Maments, but six antherzx, which are attached to the under side of the stigma: the germen is oblong, angular, and placed below the soa diay the style is extremely ghurts the stigma is roundish, and divided into six parts: the capsule is Ber oonal, separated into six cells, which contain several small flat seeds. It is a =e of Virginia, and flowers in August. » The first account we have of Serpentaria is that given in Johnson's edition of Gerard, in which we are told that it was brought from Virginia, and grew in the garden of Mr. John Tradescant, of South Lambeth, in 1632. But Johnson evidently confounds the . Sérpentaria with the Pistolochia cretica of Clusius. In 1635, Dr. J. - Cornutus published at Paris, Canadensium plantarum, aliarumque nondum editarum, Historia, wherein the Serpentaria is-noticed under the name of Radix’ Snagroel Nothe Angliz, and highly extolled as an effectual remedy for the bites of the most poisonous serpents.* _ Plukenet, whose botanical knowledge of this plant will not be doubted, informed Dale, that the roots of three different species of Aristolochia were sent to Europe for those of snake-root;* but though this might have happened a century ago, at present the | * © Missa quoque est ad me ex notha Anglia radix quam Serpentarie vocant, yernacule Snagroel cum hac inscriptione. Hec radix alexiterium presentissimum est, contra morsum serpentis ingentis pernitiosissimique in notha Anglia, cujus ‘morsus inira duodecim horas interficit, nisi hujus radicis sumatur Eien. qua eam pis nullus unquam auditus est periclitari de vita.” p. 214. * ‘Tres radices sub hoc nomine in officinis nostris yeniunt, ut nos monnit eruditissimus ile Botanicus Leonard Plukenetius, M. D. in literis ad me datis, viz. 1. Aristolochia polyrrhizos, auriculatis foliis Virginiana. Pluk. Phytog. Tab. 78. alimag. 50. Tourn. Inst. 162. &c. 2+ Aristolochia Viole fruticosa foliis Vir- Siniana, cujns radix Serpentaria dicitur. Pluk. Phytog. T. 15. Almag. 50. &c» 3. Aristolochia Pistolochia, sen Serpentaria Virginiana, caule nodoso.” This last is the plant we have figured. See Dale, Pharmacol. p. 194. ¢ ARISTOLOCHIA SERPENTARIA. ORD, VIII. Sarinentacere: TSS practice appears to be no longer continued, for. we have carefully, examined several parcels of snake-root, without discovering these roots intermixed with those of the others referred to by Dale.. We may notice however, that among these roots, some specimens of the whole plant were found, which differed from the annexed figure; having lance-shaped leaves. And this variety of Serpentaria seems to accord with that noticed by Alston, who says, “ the dried specimen I have of the whole plant, brought directly from America by Mr. Richard Lightbody, surgeon, agrees with none of them; (meaning the three mentioned by Dale) the leaves no way resem- bling a heart at the footstalk, being there all roundish, or obtusely pointed.’ The plant, from which the present figure was designed, is now growing in the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew, where it was ~ introduced by Mr. William Young aboutthe-year 1770" ~_ € Snake-root has an ar omatic smell, approaching to that of valerian, but more agreeable, and a warm bitterish pungent taste, which is not easily concealed or overpowered by a large admixture of other materials. It gives out its active matter both to water and rectified spirit, and tinges the former of a deep brown, the latter of an orange colour. Greatest part of its smell and flavour is carried off in evaporation or distillation by both menstrua: along with water there arises, if the quantity of the root submitted to the operation be large, a small portion of pale-coloured essential oil, of a considerable smell, but no very strong taste, greatest part of the camphorated pungency,. as well as. bitterness of the root, remaining in the inspissated extract. The spirituous extract is stronger than the watery: not so much from its having lost less in the evaporation, as from its containing the active parts. of the root concentrated into a smaller volume; its quantity amounting only to about one-half of that of the other.’ Ris root, as we have already observed, ‘was first recommended as » MM. volt. pi 52h. © We had this information from Mr. Aiton, who desires us to say, te by mistake, this plant was passed unnoticed in the Mort. Kew. — * Lewis, M. M. p. 602. 156 ORD. VIU. Sarmentacew. ARISTOLOCHIA SERPENTARIA. a medicine of extraordinary power in counteracting the poisonous effects of the bites of serpents, and it has since been much employed in fevers, particularly those of the malignant kind: a practice which seems founded on a supposition that the morbific matter of these fevers is somewhat analogous to the poison of serpents, and that its influence upon the human system might be obviated by the same means: hence Serpentaria has been considered the most powerful of those medicines termed alexipharmics. Modern physicians however have exploded this theory of antidotes, and the alexiterials and theriacas so industriously studied ever since the first ages of Greece, are now wholly disregarded. Serpentaria is thought to possess tonic and antiseptic virtues, and is generally admitted to be a powerful stimulant and diaphoretic ; and in some fevers where these effects are required, both this and contrayerva have been found very useful medicines, as abundantly appears from the experience of Huxham, Pringle, Hillary, Lysons,. and others: yet it may be remarked, that by some of these authors this root has been employed too indiscriminately, for there seems to us some inconsistency in the practice of —— and giving snake- rootin the same fever. It is thought by many, that peruvian bark and wine may in every case supersede the use of Serpentaria ;* but this opinion is also liable to exceptions, as a mixed state of fever has been frequently ob- served to prevail, in which the bark has proved hurtful, though this. root has evidently had a good effect; and even in intermittent fevers the bark has been found more efficacious when joined with Serpenta- riathan when given alone ;‘ and this hasbeen also the case in continued fevers. The dose of snake-root is usually from ten to thirty grains in substance, and to a dram or two in infusion. A tinctura serpentari@ is directed both in the London and Edinburgh Pharmacopczias. * In cases marked with progressive signs of debility and putridity, there cannot be a doubt but that the bark, wine, anda suitable application of cold, are the remedies chiefly to be trusted; but by admitting this, we are not to reject Serpen- taria as utterly useless in all fevers. * Vide Lysons, Practical Essays upon intermitting fevers, p. 13. seq. ‘ < | Deus PN olga? Se ; bs. “or ieee / 7 Dec?s”* 2808 60. ORD. VII. Sarmentacere, - 157. ARISTOLOCHIA LONGA, LONG-ROOTED BIRTHWORT. © ' SYNONYMA. Aristolochia. Pharm. Edinb. Aristolochia longa. Clus. Hist. ti.p.70. J. Bauh. Hist. iii. p. 560. Gerard. Emac. p. 846. Raii Hist. p.762. Aristolochia longa vera. Bauh. Pin. p. 307. Park. Theat. p. 291. Tourn. Inst. p. 162. Miller’s Fig. tab. 61. Sp. Ch. A. fol. cordatis petiolatis integerrimis NRE igy caule: infirmo, flor. Sohtarits. THE root.is perennial, long, tapering, “branched, externally” wrinkled and brown, internally yellowish: the stems are slender, round, branched, trailing, and usually exceed a foot in length: the leaves are heart-shaped, obtuse, entire, veined, of a pale green colour, and placed alternately upen round footstalks, which are about the length of the leaves: the flowers are solitary, and stand upon peduncles, which arise close to the leaf-stalks: the corolla forms a more regular tube than that of the Serpentaria, and is: tongue-shaped at the extremity: the other parts of fructification are similar to those described of Serpentaria. It is a native of the South: of: Europe, and flowers from June till O&tober. The medicinal character of Aristolochia was formerly in great: repute, and physicians very genérally employed various species of the plant. Those received into. our. pharmacopeeias were, 1. Aris-- tolochia longa.. 2. A. rotunda. 3..A. tenuis or clematitis of Lin-: nexus. But the roots of these plants have for a long time been gradually falling into disuse, and at present, we Believe e, are rarely if ever prescribed: they are all expunged from the Mat. Med. of | the London Pharmacopeeia, but in that of the Edinburgh the last. species. is still retained, and therefore, according to our plan, it might have been figured here; but as these different species are _ generally allowed to be similar in their es qualities, we trust” NOs 2S 3? QR 158 ‘ORD. VITI. Sarmentacee, ARISTOLOCHIA LONGA, Sp. Ch. A. foliis cordatis, caule erecto, floribus axillaribus confertis. ROOT perennial, cylindrical, long, slender, creeping, fibrous. Stalks simple, slender, striated, two feet in height, round, smooth, in a somewhat zigzag direction. Leaves on footstalks, alternate, smooth, heart-shaped, blunt, of a shining bright: green on the upper side, beneath veined. Flowers numerous, at the axille of the leaves of a greenish yellow. Calyx none. Corolla monope- talous, tubular, tube nearly cylindrical, at the base round, at the mouth wider, and extended downwards into a long tongue. Filaments none. Anthere six, growing underneath the stigma. Germen oblong, angular, placed below the corolla. Style very short. . Stigma roundish, divided into six portions. Capsule hex- agonal, six-celled. Seeds numerous, small, flattish. It is a native of this country, growing in woods and hedges, and ‘producing its flowers from July till September. 160 ORD. VIII. Sarmentacee. anistonocuia CLEMATITIS, Various species of Aristolochia were formerly included in the. Materia Medica, as noticed in the first part of this work; but the Clematitis here figured is the only species still retained in the Edinburgh Pharmacopeeia, and therefore ought to have superseded the A. longa, of which a plate is given at page 157. The root, which is the part medicinally used, has a somewhat aromatic smell, and a warm bitterish taste. Not only writers on the Materia Medica, but most authors on the practice of medicine, from the remotest times, have ascribed many virtues to the roots of Aristolochia, which it would be useless here to. enumerate. The qualities for which they have been chiefly esteemed are sufficiently noticed in the following extract from Dr. Cullen :— «« Which of the species of Aristolochia are to be preferred I cannot «© determine, and believe the difference between the rotunda, longa, ** and tenuis, is not considerable, though the latter seems now to be * preferred by both the Colleges of London and Edinburgh. They «¢ are all of them considerably bitter, with more acrimony than in « any other of the bitters commonly employed. Its name seems to « have arisen from the supposition of its emmenagogue virtues, «and in some cases of retention and ‘chlorosis, as a warm and, = stimulating medicine, I have found it useful; but in cases of «* suppression I never found it of any use: and the commendation “« of it by the ancients in promoting the lochia, facilitating birth, &c. « is very ill founded. The Aristolochia has been long commended «© gs a cure for the gout. It makes a considerable part of the « Portland powder,* and has often been employed by itself in the; «© same manner as that powder, to be taken every day for a length ** of time.”* But Dr. Cullen thinks with Werlhoff,’ that though it may, prevent. the recurrence of the gouty paroxyms, yet the long continued use- of such medicines is extremely hurtful, and commonly brings on a. general state of disease more fatal than the original distemper. _ * For the. Saxe 3 of. oe powder, sce p. 158, M. M. 7 * See Cautiones Medic ka. Wickman. p 346, — Cafe a © oy LOMA” Sarrapurlla. Published by Philiias & Pardon, Jar’2” be? 62. ORD. VIL. Sarmentacee. 161 SMILAX SARSAPARILLA. SARSAPARILLA SMILAX. “f ; . ——————X—X—K—==_= SYNONYMA. Sarsaparilla. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Smilax aspera peruviana sive Sarsaparilla. Bauh. Pin. p. 296. Park. Theat. p. 173. Raii Hist. p. 656. Gerard. Emac. p. 856. Smilax caule angulato aculeato, foliis ovatis acutis inermibus. Roy. Lugdb. p. 228. Smilax viticulis asperis virginiana, folio hederaceo. Jeni Zarga nobilissima. Pluck. Phytogr. tab. 111. f. 2. Class Dioecia.. Ord. Hexandria. Lin. Gen. Plant. 1120. Ess. Gen. Ch. Masc. Cal. 6-phyllus. Cor. 0. Fem. Cal. 6-phyllus. Cor. 0. Styli 3. Bacca S-locularis. Sem. 2. \ Sp. Ch. S. caule aculeato angulato, foliis inermibus ovatis retuso- mucronatis trinerviis. THE root is perennial, divided into several branches, which are somewhat thicker than a goose quill, straight, externally brown, internally white, and three or four feet in length: the stalks are shrubby, long, slender, scandent, or trailing, angular,. and beset with spines: the leaves are ovate, without spines, pointed, three- nerved, and stand alternately upon footstalks, at the base of which proceed long tendrils: the fiowers are male and female on different plants, lateral, and usually stand three or four together upon a com- mon peduncle: the calyx of the male flower is bell-shaped, divided into six segments, which are oblong, spreading, and reflexed at their: ‘points: the filaments are six, simple, and ‘furnished with oblong anthere: the calyx of the female flower is similar to that of the ‘male: there is no corolla, unless the calyx be considered as such: the germen is ovate, and.supports three minute styles, furnished with oblong reflexed hairy stigmata: the fruit is a round three— celled berry, containing two globular seeds, Nod# 3, 3: Qs 162 . ORD. VIII. Sarmentacee. smirax SARSAPARILDA. bd “According to Mr. Aiton it was first cultivated in this country by Mr. Forster in 1691.* Though this is the plant which i is considered by Linnzus as fur- nishing the officinal Sarsaparilla, yet there are other writers who contend that this medicine is the root of the Smilax aspera L. which is said to correspond with the Sarsaparilla im every respect.°~ Sir William Fordyce, who has investigated the subject, says, “ Prosper Alpinus has put it beyond all doubt, by the appearance of the smilax aspera, which he found in soft grounds in the island of Zant, (Zacynthus) that Europe, and the Grecian islands: in particular, furnish the true Sarsaparilla, or Smilax aspera peruviana dicta of C. Bauhine.”* But this synonym is referred to the Smilax Sarsaparilla by Linnzus, whose authority we have followed, along with Murray and Bergius, in preference to that of-Alpinus. Besides it may be remarked, that in Spain, Italy, and other parts of Europe, where ‘the Smilax aspera grows in abundance, the American Sarsaparilla is still employed, and imported at a great expence. It is probable however. thas, these two Anecies of the same genus, and of the same 0D. aEeweato > angulato, may-have roots roots. of similar ‘appearance ond coos ng we have already noticed that not only different Species, but even different genera in some instances, pro- duce the same. drug. « This root has_a fucitincedus somewhat bitterish taste, and no smell. To water it communicates a reddish brown, to rectified spirit a yellowish red tincture, but gives no considerable taste, to either _menstruum, An extract, obtained by inspissating the. spirituous tincture, has a weak somewhat nauseous balsamic bitterness, which is followed by a slight but durable pungency. . The watery.extract is much weaker, and in larger quantity.” ~ Sarsaparilla was more than two centuries ago 2 areadinced into @ Vide Hort. Kew ® See P. Alpinus Plant. Egypt. p- 136. iis Fallopius, Amatus Lusitanus, pe yanme Be Tobias Aldinus, Monardes, &c. who all either think it the same, or cy © See Med, Obs. & Ing. vol, i. p.173. 4 Lewis M, M. p: 586, This plant is a native of America, and flowers in July and August. ¢ SMILAX SARSAPARILLA. ORD. VII. Sarmeénfacce. 163 Spain * as an undoubted specific in syphilitic disorders, and was also celebrated as a medicine in some other diseases of the chronic kind. But whether it was owing to a difference of climate, or other causes, European practitioners soon found that it by no means answered the charatter which it had acquired in the Spanish West Indies, and therefore it became very much neglected. Many physicians how- ever still consider the Sarsaparilla to be a medicine of much efficacy ; and though they admit that by the use of this root alone we are not to expect a cure of the lues venerea, yet they assert that when it is given along with mercury, the disease is much sooner subdued ; and that ulcers, nodes,.and otlier symptoms of this disorder, which resisted the effects of repeated salivations, have afterwards disappeared by the continued use of Sarsaparilla. In proof of this, we find several cases. related by the late Sir William Fordyce:* but it may be remarked, that ulcers, and other complaints, which continue after a properly conducted course of mercury, are often rather to be con- sidered as the vestiges of the lues than the actual disease, and con- sequently any other medicine possessing no antivenereal power, but improving the general habit of body, might be employed with equal success. _ Admitting this, however, is not denying the utility of Sarsaparilla, which has been decidedly done by.a late ingenious professor.‘ _ It is in frequent use at most of the London hospitals, and we have known patients, after the use of mercury, much sooner restored to health by this root than i in our opinion could have been accomplished by. any other medicine. with which we are acquainted, especially when employed i in, powder. : This root is also recommended in rheumatic affections, scrophula, and cutaneous. complaints, or where an acrimony of the fluids prevail. It may be given in decoction or powder, and should be continued in large doses for a considerable time. © Bauhine states its first introduction into Spain to be about the year 1573. But Monardes informs us, that it was brought. from New Spain to Madrid twenty or -thirty years before this time. The word Sarsaparilla is of Spanish origin. ‘* Zarsa siquidem Hispanis rubrum; parra autem vitem, ty ‘eta viticulam significat.” — CG. Bauh i Ce * ZL, C. ir. Cullen. 164 ORD. VIII. Sarmentacec. SMILAX CHINA. CHINESE SMILAX, SYNONYMA. China(radix). Pharm. Geoff. V.2.p.30. Dale. 167. Alston. 7. 409. Lewis. 226. Edinb. New Dispens. 170. Murray. i. 339. Bergius 803. China vulgaris off. Ger. Emac. 1618. Bauh. Pin. 296. Park. Theat. 1578. , Ray. Hist. 657. Smilax minus spinosa, fructu rubicundo, radice virtuosa China dicta. Kempf. Amen. 781. t.782. Conf. Sam. Gottl. Gmelin’s Reise durch Russland, T. iii. p. 32. t. 36. 3 Sp. Ch. S. caule aculeato teretiusculo, fol. inermibus ovato-cordatis quinquenerviis. ROOT perennial, ligneous, beset with irregular knobs; externally _ of a reddish brown colour, internally paler. Stems long, roundish, slender, jointed, woody, prickly, climbing, branched, furnished with claspers. Leaves smooth, ovate, or heart-shaped, pointed, five ~ nerved, placed o1 on tenia Flowers male and female on different plants, in Mowish “white, “upon a-slender common footstalk, arising at he axille of the leaves. The calyx of the male flower is divided into six leafits, which are oblong, reflexed, and appear to occupy the place of the corolla, which ie wanting. Filaments six, simple, furnished with oblong anthere. The female flower differs from the male, in having no stamina, but is supplied with an ovate germen, supporting three minute styles, terminated ‘by oblong reflexed downy stigmata. Fruit a small round berry, of three cells; when ripe ofa a colour, and contains two round ‘seeds. . This species of Smilax is tolerably well described by Kaempfer and Rumphius, but still more fully by Gmelin. It is a much taller shrub than the S. Sarsaparilla, and grows to the greatest perfection in China, Japan, and in some parts of Persia, It is also a native of Jamaica, but the occidental species has been accounted less effica- 3, ge a ‘ 2 Pps Arne ND? Y hase: L wom Pubiished by Phillips, & Pardon, Jan: bo? SMITAX CHINA. ORD. VIII. Sarmentacee. 165 cfous than the oriental. Mr. Aiton informs us, that it was first cultivated in Britain by Miller: it seems however to be a tender plant, and is rarely brought to flower in this country, even when placed in the best stoves, and under the direction of the most scientific gardeners. According to Lewis, “ two sorts of the roots are common in the shops, an oriental, and occidental; the first, which is accounted the best, is considerably paler coloured, and harder than theother. Of either kind, such should be chosen, as is fresh and heavy, and which, when cut, exhibits a close smooth glossy surface.” «« These roots have scarcely any smell, or particular taste; when fresh they are said to be somewhat acrid, but as brought to us they discover, even when long chewed, no other than a slight unctuosity in the mouth. Boiled in water they impart a reddish colour, and a ‘kind of vapid softness: the decoction, inspissated, yields an unctuous farinaceous almost insipid mass, amounting to upwards of half the weight of the root.” * About the year 1535 this root was first brought to Europe with the character of being an incomparable medicine for the cure of the venereal disease.” For this purpose it was given in the form of a decoction, of which a large cupful was ordered to be made hot;,and taken by the patient every morning while in bed, in order to produce a diaphoretic effect for two or three hours. This, and the occasional use of purgatives, was to be pursued for twenty-four days, after which the decoction was to be used as-a common drink*© This root was also recommended in many other disorders, espe-~ cially those of a chronic and inveterate kind, as some cutaneous _diseases, obstructions, rheumatisms, &c. But whatever may have -been the opinion formerly entertained of the efficacy of China root, 2 Lewis. J. c, > Thevet.. Cosmogr. univers. LE, 11. c. 25. * Vesalius. Epist. de rad, chine in Aphor. p. 598. &c. Astruc. de morb, ven. p. 112.. No, 14. 2T 166 ORD. VIII. ‘Sarmentacee. RUSCUS ACULEATUS. physicians, at this time, agree in considering it as a very inert sub- stance, and therefore it is rarely employed. Like the sarsaparilla, by which it has been superseded, it contains a considerable share of bland nutritive matter, and appears to us not less adapted to the auxilliary purposes of medicine. RUSCUS ACULEATUS. BUTCHER’s BROOM, or KNEE HOLLY. SYNONYMA. Ruscus. Pharm. Geoff. Dale. 169. Alston. i. 386. Lewis. 546. Murray. i. p. 341. Bergius. 816. Edinb. New Dispens. 267. Bauh. Pin. 470. Ger. Emac. 907. Park. Theat. 253. Raii. Hist. 664, Synop. 262. Hudson. Flor. Ang. 437. Haller. Hist. Stirp. Helv. n. 1238. With. Bot. Arr. 1132. Miller. Tilust.t. 155. Eng. Bot. 560. Dioecia Syngenesia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 1139. Gen. Ch. Mase. Cal. 6-phyllus. Cor. 0. 0. Neéarium, centrale, ee ~-ovatum, apice perforatum. um. Fem. Calyx, Corolla, et NeGiarium maris. Stylus 1. Bacca 3-locularis. Sem. 2, Sp. Ch, R. foliis.supra. floriferis nudis. A SMALL evergreen shrub, seldom, much exceeding a foot in height. Stalk strong, smooth, channelled. Leaves floriferous, sessile, or on very short, footstalks, ovate, rigid, sharply pointed,” entire, anarked with numerous parellel veins, Flowers male and female on * Hence Virgil says, ** Horridior rusco.” Ec. 7, V. 41. aspera rusci, Vimina arr silvam, eel ‘ TS ie fp * SL beta Cbd rete OV Ad eer Lublished by Phillips & Bardon, Jan? % So? . ampelos Puscervee” Published. ley Phils, % Pardon, Jene!z tba? . RUSCUS ACULEATUS, ORD. VIII. Sarmentacee. 167 different plants, solitary, appearing on the upper disc of the leaves. Calyx of the male flower composed of six small oval spreading leaves, of a yellowish green. Corolla none. Nectarium egg-shaped, inflated, upright, purple, open at the rim, of the length of the calyx. Filaments none. Anthere three, expanding, uniting at the base, placed at the mouth of the nectarium. In the female flower the germen is oblong, enclosed in the nectarium, supporting a cylindrical style, supplied with a blunt stigma. Fruit a threé- celled red berry, containing two globular seeds. It usually grows in woods and thickets, flowering in March and April. The root, which is somewhat thick, knotty, and furnished with — long fibres, externally brown, internally white, and of a bitterish — taste, has been recommended. as an aperient and diuretic in drop- sies, urinary obstructions, and mephritic cases. Hence it has been termed one of the five greater aperient roots. It is manifestly the pxpcwm aypa Of Dioscorides,” who speaks highly of its deobstruent and diuretic powers; and Riverius relates a case of dropsy successfully treated by a decoction of the roots of Ruscus; but at present this plant is very rarely, if ever, employed m medicine. » Lib, 4, c, 146, etatainmemminiieesin.”... Soeeenanemmmmiammaanell CISSAMPELOS PAREIRA. PAREIRA BRAVA CISSAMPELOS. — SYNONY.MA. Pareira brava. Pharm. Lond. Clematis baccifera glabra et villosa, rotundo & umbelicato. folio, Pluwmier, Plantes deV Amer. 78..t. 93. Sloane’s Jamaica, vol. i. p: 200. Cat. 85. Caapeba folio orbiculari umbelicato & tomentoso. Plum. Gen. 33. Cissampelos scandens, foliis peltatis orbiculato-cordatis villosig; floribus masculinis racemosis, femininis spicatis, spicis foliolatis. Browne’s Jamaica, p. 357 . 168 ORD. VII. Sarmentacece. CISSAMPELOS PAREIRA. Class Diocecia. Ord. Monadelphia: Lin. Gen. Plant. 1138, Ess. Gen. Ch. Masc. Cal. A-phyllus.. Cor.0.. Neéarium rotatum. Stam. 4: filamentis connatis, Fem. Cal. monophyllus, ligulato-subrotundus. Cor, 0. Styli 3. Bacca 1-sperma. Sp. Ch. C. foliis peltatis cordatis emarginatis. THE root is perennial, long, thick, woody, composed of distinct fibres, of a dull yellowish hue, and covered with furrowed bark of a brown colour: the stalks are numerous, shrubby, slender, very long, covered with a whitish bark, and climb round the neigh- bouring trees for support :* the leaves are roundish, indented at the top, about an inch and a half long, two inches broad, entire, covered with soft downy hairs,» and hang upon round simple downy foot- stalks, which are inserted into the back of the leaf: the flowers are extremely minute, of a greenish colour, placed in clusters upon jong axillary spikes, and are male and female in different plants: the calyx of the male flower is divided i into four small oval segments: it has n | nous: the filaments are four, very brid united, and furnished with broad. flat anthere: of the female flower the calyx is strap-shaped or ligulated: the germen is roundish, and supports three short styles, furnished with pointed stigmata: the fruit is a small one-celled berry, containing a roundish rough compressed seed. It is a native of South America and the West indies, The plant, which we have here represented, was drawn from'a dried specimen in the possession of Mr. Aiton at Kew, to which a separate display of the parts of fructification was intended to have * In Jamaica “ this plant. grows in great plenty, commonly amongst the ebony — trees, climbing about them.” Long’s Jam. vol. iii. p- 760. > From this villous covering of the leaf, it is usually called Velvet leaf. CISSAMPELOS PAREIRA, ORD. VIII. Sarmentacec. 169 been introduced, but from their extreme minuteness and dryness it was found to be impracticable: the general appearance of the ’ plant is however so characteristic as in some measure to His. Nat. L. xii. c. 13. et L. xxi. cap. 6. Asaron, ab « priv. & caipw orno, queniam in coronis non addatur, + Nardus Celtica L. ° Lewis M. M. p. 122. 4 Am, Acad. T. 7. p. 307. where it is also observed, that when exhibited in a state of very fine powder, it uniformly acts as an emetic, but when coarsely powdered it always passes the stomach and becomes cathartic. a 172 ORD. VII. Sarmentacee. ASARUM EUROPEUM. be powdered proves, in a moderate dose, a gentle emetic. It will commonly answer in doses of a scruple, sometimes in a less quantity,” “and as we judge may be suited to many of the pur- poses of the ipecacuanha.’* In small doses it is said to promote perspiration, urine, and the uterine flux.‘ Spirituous tinétures and watery infusions of the plant possess both its emetic and cathartic virtues, but it is said that by co€tion in water the emetic power is first destroyed, and afterwards the purgative.’ At present Asarum is seldom given internally, as the evacuations expected from its use may be procured with more certainty and safety" by various other medicines, that it is now chiefly employed as an errhine or sternu- tatory, and is found to be the most useful and convenient in the -Mat.Med. For this purpose the leaves, as being less acrid than the roots, are preferred by the College, and in moderate doses, not exceeding a few grains, snuffed up the nose several successive evenings, produce a pretty large watery discharge, which sometimes continues for several days together, by which headach, toothach, *opthalmia, and some paralytic and soporific complaints, have been effeCtually relieved. It is the basis of the — sternutatorius, or pulvis asari compositus. SS Mae. Med. vol. tt. p. 473. * ¢¢ Diureticum & emmenagogam insigne: unde Meretricule plus satis frequentant decoctum ejus, cum sentiunt se gravidas. Quo tenuius est tritum ed magis urinas movere, minus autem alvum ducere, creditur.” Ray Hist. p. 208. ® Raii l. c. » Ante aliquot annos civis hujus loci, vir quadratus, difficulter mobilis, sumit, suasn anicule, pulverem asari foliorum & radicis ad integrum cochlear, Inde verd hyper- | catharsin patiebatur Icthalem,” &c, Wedelius Amenit. M. M, p. 240. & De Med. fac. st - ’ . ee 7 a ae LiaectorumsL — Published: by Philly.» & Fapedon, Feb?2 2807. ORD. Ix. STELLAT. Hrom Séella, a star where the leaves surround the stem like the radii of a circle. era RE ERP are RUBIA TINCTORUM. -DIER’s MADDER. S=S— SYNONYMA. Rubia. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. « Rubia sylvestris aspera. g Rubia tinctorum sativa. Bauh, Pin. p. 333. Rubia tinttorum. Gerard. Emac. p. 1118. Rubia major sativa. Park. Theat. p. 274. Rubia sylvestris monspessulana major. J. Bauh. Hist. vol. iit. p. 715. Rubia tinétorum. Rati Hist. p. 480. Vide Hall. Stirp. Helv. n. 708. Rubia foliis senis. ..Miller’s Dié. EguSeodaur vel EgeSodery Grecorum, Class Tetrandria. Ord. Monogynia. Lin, Gen. Plant. 127. Bin Gen. Ch. Car. 1-petala, cau ganattites Balai 2, manosperme.’ Sp. Ch. R.foliis annuis, caule aculeato. Mant. 330. THE root is perennial, long, round, jointed, beset with small fibres, externally of a bright red colour, but towards the center yellowish : the stalks are equine gular, slender, procumbent, jointed, Tout or five feet in length, and covered with rough short points, by which they adhere to the neighbouring plants for support: the leaves are elliptical, pointed, rough, ciliated, and are placed in whorls of four, five, or six together at the joints of the stem: the No, 15. ‘Sx 174 ORD. IX. Stellate. “RUBIA TINCTORUM. branches stand in pairs at the articulations of the stalk, and upon. their various subdivisions produce small terminal flowers of a yellow colour: the calyx is divided at the mouth into four teeth: the corolla is small, bell-shaped, and cut at the extremity into four oval segments: the filaments are four, short, and support simple erect anthere : the germen is double, and placed below the corolla: ‘the style is slender, and at the top divides into two globular stigmata: the fruit consists of two round berries, each containing an oval seed, with a cavity at its smaller extremity. It is a native of the South of Europe, and flowers in June. Madder is frequently mentioned by the Greek writers, whovem- ployed its roots with the same medicinal intentions for which they now are recommended by most of the modern writers on the Materia Medica. Our knowledge of the first cultivation. of this plant in England is from Gerard;* and though an. extensive cultivation of Madder in Britain seems to promise considerable advantage both to the planter and to the nation, yet we. find, that the great quantity of Madder roots used here. by the Diers, and Callico-printers, has ~ been for many years almost wholly the growth and export of Holland” Madder appears to differ from other substances used for the | purpose of dying, in having the peculiar property®* of tinging with a ftori ir not only the milk, urine, &c.* ‘even the bones of those animals which have fed upon it; a circumstance * Vide Hort, Kew. > Milley Diet. in which is also given a full account of the cultivation of this plant. But we are happy to observe, that by the laudable endea- vours of the Society for the Encowragement of Arts, &c. considerable quantities. of English Madder have been produced, and found as good at least, if not better than any imported, See Fransactions, p. 10. vol. é.- * Some other plants of the same natural order (Stellite ) have also the effect of tinging the bones, as the Galium Mollugo and Aparine. Vide Guettard Mem..de Ac. de“Sc. a. 1746 & TAT. And the Valantia cructata.. Bihmer Diss, de rad. rub. tinét. p. 42. © Béhmer also found the serum vot the bload reddened by the Madder. Diss. rad rub, tint, &c. p. 13. And Levret observes, that it sometimes tinged the excretion by the skin. Sur les —— p- 278. + RUBIA TINCTORUM. ORD. IX. Stellate. 175 which was first noticed by Antonius Mizaldus,* but not known in England till Mr. Belchier published an account of a pig and a cock,, whose bones became red by eating Madder mixed with their food;* since that time various experiments relating to this subject have been made, from which it appears that the colouring-matter of Madder affects the bones in a very short time, and that the most solid, or hardest, part of the bones first receives the red colour, which gradually extends, eb externo, through the whole osseous substance, while the animal continues to take the Madder; and if this root be alternately intermitted and employed for a sufficient length of time, and at proper intervals, the bones are found to be coloured in a correspondent number of concentric circles. Accord- ding to Lewis, “the roots of Madder have a bitterish somewhat austere taste, and a slight smell not of the agreeable kind. They impart to water a dark red tincture, to rectilied: spirit, and to distilled oils, a bright red; both. ex watery and spirituous tinctures taste strongly As the Madder.” Madder, by medicinal writers, has. been considered as a deob- struent, detergent, and diuretic, and is chiefly used in the jaundice, -dropsy, and: bther diseases supposed to’ proceéd from visceral ob- Structions, particularly those of the liver and. kidneys; and some modern authors have recommended it as an emmenagogue,’ and in rickety affections." With regard ‘to its diuretic quality, for which there are many respectable authorities, Dr. Cullen. asserts,. that in many trials both for this and other purposes, such an effect is not constant, having never occurred to him. Asa remedy for the jaundice, it has the authority of Sydenham, and was formerly an ingredient in the decoctum ad icteros of the Edin. Pharm. but as it feeined more adapted to the;feeces albide than to the disease itself, 4 Memorab. ut. ac jucunda Cent. 7. Aph, 91. Lutet. 1566. © Phil. Trans. vol: 39: ps 287. & ps 299+ See also.vol. 41. Afterwards experi- ments were prosecuted by Bazanus, Geoffrey, Du Hamel, Fougeroux, Bergius, and a o. * Mat. Med. p. 546. _& See Home’s Clinical sh Ee p. 388, ® Leovret, l. cs. and ae 176 ORD. IX. Stellate. RUBIA “TINCTORUM- this decoction was expunged. That some French writers should prescribe Madder in a rickety state of the bones, appears a little surprising, as the brute animals, to which it was given, especially the younger, suffered considerable emaciation and prostration of » strength from its effects. Its virtues, as an emmenagogue, rest principally on the authority of Dr. Home, who gave from a scruple to half a dram of the powder, or two ounces of the decoction, three ‘or four times a‘day, But this medicine failed with Dr. Cullen, who also says, “ 1 know of other practitioners in this country, who, after “several ineffectual trials made with it, have now entirely deserted its‘use.”” Mat. Med. vol. it. p. 39. GALIUM APARINE. CLEAVERS, or GOOSE GRASS. i SYNONYMA. Aparine. Pharm. Murray. vi, 24. Dale. 133. -Rutty. 321. Aparine vulgaris. Bauh. Pin. 334. Aparine. Ger. ‘Emac.1122. Park. Theat. 567, Ray. Syn. 225. Galium caule serrato, foliis senis linearibus lanceolatis serratis, petiolis unifloris. Hail. Hist. Stirp. Helo. n. 723. “Galium Aparine. Scop. Fl. Carn. n. 157. Hudson. Flor. Ang. 57. Withering. Bot. Arr. 157. Lightfoot. Flor. Smith Brit. 180. Scot. 117. Flor. Dan. Icon. 495. Curt. Flor, Lond. Tetrandria Monogynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 125. ‘Gen. Ch. Cor. 1-petala, plana. Sem. 2, subrotunda. Sp. Ch. G. foliis octonis lanceolatis carinatis scabris retrorsum aculeatis, geniculis villosis, fructu hispido. : ¢ ee 2 s a paler e Ypecrene Published by Phillips & Farden, Febl?$3807- 68. ALIUM APARINE. ORD. IX. Stellatee. 177 ROOT branched, fibrous, annual. © Stalk quadrangular, three or four feet in height, weak, climbing, jointed branched: angles beset with short prickles, which are bent backwards, and fasten hold of _ neighbouring plants. Leaves standing at the joints of the stalk six or eight together, lanceolate, narrow, finely pointed, on the upper side rough, with sharp prickles. Flowers small, white, on rough footstalks. Calyx none. Corolla very small, wheel-shaped, divided into four oval pointed segments. Filaments four, white, shorter than the corolla. Anther yellow. Germen below the ~ corolla, double, rough. Styles swo, short. Stigmata globular. Fruit two dry roundish berries, slightly adhering together, covered with hooked prickles. Seeds solitary, kidney-shaped. It is common in cultivated ground and ae sane its flowers from June till September. 5 This succulent plant is destitute of odour, but to the taste it is bitterish, and somewhat acrid. Dioscorides * speaks of an ointment made of the bruised herb, mixed with lard, as an useful application to discuss strumous swellings; and Gaspari,” an Italian, adopted a similar practice with great success. He also informs us, that a decoc- tion of the plant, employed in the way of fomentation, was found to be very efficacious in swellings of the glands of the neck, which followed a certain epidemic at Verona. Dr. Cullen, however, relates ‘that he tried the Aparine in some glandular indurations, but with- out deriving any advantage. It is said by Mayerne, that three ounces of the j juice of the plant, taken twicea day i in wine, were experienced to be an useful aperient and diuretic in incipient dropsies. But the character in which the Aparine has of late been chiefly esteemed, is that of an antiscorbutic; for this purpose, a tea-cupful of its expressed juice is to be taken every morning for nine or ten days. When the fresh plant cannot be procured, it may be used in a dried state as tea.° *M. M. Lib. 3. cap. 104. > See Osservazioni Storiche, Mediche, &c.1731.p.17. ‘© M.M. vol. 2. p. 37. 4 See Med. & Philos. Commentaries, vol. 5. p. 326. Also Edward’s Treatise on the Goose-grass, or Clivers, and its efficacy in the cure of the most inveterate Scurvy. 15. 2Y 178 ORD. IX! Stellate. GALIUM APARINE:. Other species of Galium have been used for the purposes of medi- cine, especially the G. verum, or yellow lady’s bed-straw, the flowers of which have been recommended in hysteric and epileptic complaints. It has been asserted, that thesé flowers contain an acid, which coagulates milk; but neither Bergius, Cullen, nor Young, observed this effect from them, after repeated trials. Se SPIGELIA MARILANDICA. . PERENNIAL WORM-GRASS, aS , Or, INDIAN PINK. a SYNONYMA. Spigelia. Pharm. Lond. & Edinb. Periclymeni virginiani flore coccineo planta marilandica, spica erecta, foliis conjugatis. Catesby Carel. vol.ti.p. 78. Lonicera marilandica spicis terminalibus, foliis ovato-oblongis acuminatis distinctis sessilibus. Sp. Plant. p: 249. Spigelia marilandica. fol: ovatis oppositis spica secunda terminali. Walter Flor. Carol. p. 92. - Vide Mantiss. Lin. ii. p. 338. Ess. & Obs. Phys. & Lit. vol. iii. p. 151. ‘Curt. Bot. Mag. 80. Class:Pentandria: Ord. Monogynia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 209: Ess. Gen. Ch. Cor. infundibulif. Caps. didyma, 2-locularis, polysperma. Sp. Ch. S. caule tetragono, foliis omnibus oppositis. THE root is perennial, unequal, simple, sends off many slender fibres, and grows in an horizontal direction: the stalk is simple, erect, smooth, obscurely quadrangular, of a purplish colour, and commonly rises above a foot in height: the leaves are ovate, sessile, somewhat undulated, entire, of a deep green colour, and stand in pairs upon the stem: the flowers are large, funnel-shaped, and terminate the stem in a spike: the calyx divides into five long a ee eee eee if | fi / ra pete f : rire Shegelit Ee 09. SPIGELIA MARILANDICA, ORD. IX. Stellate. 179 narrow pointed smooth segments: the ‘corolla is monopetalous; consisting of a long tube, gradually swelling towards the middle, ofa bright purplish red celour, and divided at the mouth into five pointed segments, which are yellow on the inside: the five filaments are about the length of the tube, and crowned with halberd-shaped anthers: the germen is small, ovate, placed above the insertion of the corolla, and supports a round style, which is longer than the corolla, furnished with a joint near its base, and bearded towards the: extremity, which is supplied with an obtuse stigma; the capsule is double, two-celled, and contains many small angular plano-convex seeds. It isa native of America, and flowers.in July and August. Linnzus first supposed this plant to be a Lonicera, or Honey- suckle, but afterwards he ascertained its characters, and called it Spigelia, in honour of the botanist Spigelius, whose first work was. published in 1606.* Two species of Spigelia are now known to botanists, viz. S, An- thelmia and marilandica; they have both been used as anthelmintics ; the effects of the former are noticed by Dr. Browne in the Gentle- man’s. Magazine for the year 1751, and in_his History of Jamaica;* also by Dr. Brocklesby,” and: several. foreign writers. |. But the accounts of the vermifuge virtues of Spigelia, given by Drs. Linning® and Garden,’ from Charlestown, South Carolina, evidently refer to the latter species, which is here figured; and as the anthelmintic efficacy resides chiefly in the root of the plant, that of the Anthelmia, or Annual Spigelia, which is very small, must be incomparably less powerful than the root of the marilandica, which is perennial. Dr. Garden, in his first letter to Dr. Hope, which was written about the year 1763, says, “‘ About forty years ago, the anthelmintic virtues. “ of the root of this plant were discovered by the Indians; since “ which time it has been much used here by physicians, practitioners, « and planters; yet its true dose is not generally ascertained. I have * Adriani Spigelii in rem herbariam Isagoge, Patavii. 2.P. 156. . » Occ. & Med. Observations, p. 282. © See Ess, & Observ. Physical & Literary, vol.i. p. 386. * Lee. 180 — ORD. IX. Stellatee, — sprcer1a MARIZANDICA. « given it in hundreds of cases, and have been very attentive to its “ effects. Inever found it do much service, except when it proved “ gently purgative. Its purgative quality naturally led me to give “ it in febrile diseases, which seemed to arise from viscidity in the “ prime vice; and, in these cases, it succeeded to admiration, even “ when the sick did not void worms. “ In doses of ten or twelve grains this substance purges with great vehemence, frequently producing violent gripes, bloody discharges, and even disordering the whole system, Many attempts therefore have been made to correct its virulence, by the addition of acids, astringents, and the like; but these seem to.answer no other purpose than what might be equally effected by a reduction of the dose. “The best method of abating its virulence, without diminishing its purgative virtue, seems to be by triturating it with gummy farinaceous substances, or the oily seeds, which, without making any alteration in the colocynth itself, prevents its resinous particles from cohering, and sticking upon the membranes of the intestines, so as to irritate, inflame, or corrode them.”* This drastic purgative has been recommended in various chronic complaints; but as several other cathartics have all the advantages of coloquintida, and may be used with more safety, its use is now seldom resorted to, especially alone. Extractum colocinthidis com- positum & pipule ex colocynthide cum aloe, are directed by the Pharmacopceias. » See Shulz Diss. de Colocynthide. Tulp. Obs. lib. 4. c. 26. p. 218. A case in _ which it proved fatal is mentioned by Plater, Obs. p. 858. And Dioscorides ob- serves, that, employed in the way of enema, it occasioned a bloody discharge. Lid. 4.c. 178, © Edinburgh New Dispens. by Dr. Duncan, p. 175. “As worms, lues yenerea, cephalalgia, mania, dropsy, Gonorrhea, epilepsy, asthma, &c. : : 192 ORD. XI. Cucurbitacee. - MOMORDICA ELATERIUM. WILD, Or SQUIRTING CUCUMBER. ss sesincaisnismeaietinieconepsstlbeaejacieniitiantidiaiands -dcmmaeecemtnmoate ocietetisianliners SYNONYM4A. Cucumis agrestis. Pharm Lond. Cucumis asininus. Gerard Emac.p.912. Cucumis sylvestris asininus dictus. Bauh. Pin. 314. Cucumis sylvestris sive asininus. J. Bauh. i. p. 248. aii Hist. p.647. Cucumis agrestis sive asininus. , Park. Theat. 161. Xismus dyeus Greecorum. Succus fructus inspissatus, Elaterium dictus, Class Monoecia. Ord. Syngenesia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 1090. Ess. Gen. Ch. Masc. Cal. 5-fidus. Cor. 5-partita. Filamenta 3. Fem. Cal. 5-fidus. Cor. 5-partita. Stylus 3-fidus. Pomum elastice dissiliens. Sp. Ch. M. pomis hispidis, cirrhis nullis. THE root is annual, long, thick, and of a fleshy substance; it sends forth several stems, which are round, branched, thick, rough, and trailing like the common cucumber, but without tendrils; the leaves are irregularly heart-shaped, slightly sinuated, veined, above of a deep. green colour, underneath paler, rough, reticulated, and stand upon strong footstalks: the flowers proceed ‘from the base of the footstalks of the leaves, and are both male and female on the same plant: the corolla is divided into five acute segments, reticulated with green veins, and placed above the germen: the calyx consists of five narrow acute segments: the stamina, in the male flowers, are three, short, tapering, two of which have cloven antherz, the other has a simple one; in the female flowers the filaments are very short, and without antherz: the style is short, trifid, and terminated by oblong stigmata, of a green colour: the fruit is large, oblong, hairy, divided into three cells, which contain many flat seeds: when ripe this fruit, on being touched, bursts open with great force, and Phit ‘ MOMORDICA ELATERIUM. ORD. XI. Cucurbitacee. 193 throws its contents to a considerable distance; hence the name Squirting Cucumber. It isa native of the South of Europe, and flowers in June and July. Since the time of Gerard, the wild cucumber has been regularly cultivated in this country for medical use: all the parts of the plant are bitter, and strongly purgative,* but the dried juice, or fecule of the fruit, known in the shops by the name of Elaterium, is the only part now medicinally employed, and has been distinguished into white and black Elaterium: the first is prepared from the juice, which issues spontaneously, and the latter from that which is ob- tained by expression.*. The method directed in the London Pharm. for preparing this medicine, is as follows :—* Shit ripe wild cucum- bers, and pass the juice (very lightly pressed) through a very fine sieve into a glass vessel; then set it by for some hours, until the thicker part has subsided. Pour off the thinner part Swimming at the top, and separate the rest by filtering; cover the thicker part’ which remains after filtration, with a linen cloth, and dry it with a gentle heat.” 3 The sensible qualities of this inspissated juice are not remarkable either to the smell or to the taste; it is inflammable, and dissolves readily in watery or spirituous menstrua. Elaterium is a very powerful cathartic, and was frequently employed as such both by the Greek and Arabian physicians, and its use has since been much commended in hydropic cases, particularly by Pauli,” Sydenham,‘ * Radicum vis cathartica major est quam foliorum, minor vero. quem fractuum. Geoff. 2 This drug was formerly prepared in several different ways, a circumstance ne- cessary to be attended to in the history of its medicinal effects. b Although §, Pauli employéd this: medicine with great success, yet from the extreme violence of its operation, he thinks it should not be used until the milder purgatives have failed. c ¢¢ Rlaterium sive fecula Cucumeris agrestis, potenter, in permodica quantitate vires suas exserit, in conturkanda alyo, & fecibus, cum serosis & aquosis humoribus copiose egerendis,” &c. Op. p. 488. No, 17. 3c a 194 ORD. XI. Cucurbitacew. MoMORDICA ELATBRIUM. and Lister.2 It is undoubtedly the most violent purgative in the Materia Medica, and ought therefore to be administered with great caution, and only where the milder cathartics have proved ineffec- tual. The dose is from half a grain to three grains: the most pru- dent and effectual way in which dropsies are now treated by this remedy, is by repeating it at short intervals in small doses. 4 We may also notice, that Lister observes that the patients, by taking this medi- cine, became very hot, and found unusual stroug pulsations at the extremities of their fingers, De Hydrope, in App. Op. Mortoni, p. 25. BRYONIA ALBA. WHITE BRYONY. | SYNONYMA. Bryonia. Pharm Edinb. Bryonia aspera sive alba, baccis rubris. Bauh. Pin. p. 297. Bryonia alba vulgaris. Park. Theat. p.178. Bryonia alba. Gerard. Emac. p.869. Raii. Hist. p.659. Synop. p. 261. Hail. Hist. Stirp. Helo. 574. Hudson. Flor. Ang. p. 437. Relhan. Flor. Cantab. p.375. Lightfoot. Flor. Scot. Bryonia dioica. Withering. Bot. Arr. p. 1133. Ic. Flor. Dan. t. 813. Jacq. Flor. Aust.t.199. Miller. t. 70. Class Dioecia. Ord. Syngenesia. Lin. Gen. Plant. 1093. Ess. Gen. Ch. Masc. Cal. 5-dentatus. Cor. 5-partita. Filamenta 3. Fem, Cal. 5-dentatus. Cor. 5-partita. Stylus 3-fidus. Bacca subglobosa, polysperma. Sp. Ch. B. foliis palmatis utrinque calloso-scabris. . THE root is perennial, large, often a foot in circumference, tapering, branched, and of a whitish yellow colour: the stems are several yards in length, angular, slender, scandent, twisting them- selves about the bushes for support: the leaves are large, hairy, ‘FZ 73 « ‘ “i We ’ iy \ SSA peer /L | : 7 bape, f Lppyonian abba Ag rs i Published by Prin: & Per 22 Mow? do7 BRYONIA ALBA. ORD. XI. Cucurbitacee. 195 lobed, or palmated, lobes pointed; they stand alternately upon strong hairy footstalks: the flowers are of a yellowish green colour, produced in clusters at the footstalks of the leaves, and are male and female on different plants: the calyx of the male flowers is bell- shaped, and deeply divided into five narrow pointed segments: the corolla is also divided into five segments, which are ovate, and spreading: the filaments are three, short, thick, and furnished with irregular antherze, of which two are said to be on each two of-the filaments, and one on the third: the calyx and corolla of the female flower resemble those of the male, but are smaller: the germen is round, and placed below the flower: the style is strong, erect, of the length of the corolla, and divided at the top into three parts, which are bent downwards, and each furnished with a large triangular stigma: the fruit is a smooth red berry containing five or six seeds. It is common in woods and hedges, and flowers in May and June. Linnzus places this plant in the class Monoecia, though he tells us that Jacquin describes it as dioecious, and we have alvcys seen it so in this country; nor have we ever found it to bear black ber- ries. Some doubt may also arise whether it be properly referred to the order Syngenesia, as the anther upon the different filaments do not unite; a circumstance which we have endeavoured to repre- sent in a separate display of the flower. “ Fresh Bryony root, taken up in the beginning of spring, qseene with a thin milky juice: if the upper part of the root be bared of earth, and the top cut over transversely, the juice continues to rise gradually to the surface, in notable quantity, for two or three days successively, and may be collected by forming a cavity in the mid- dle to receive it. Both the root in substance, and the j juice, have a disagreeable smell, and a nauseous bitter biting taste: applied for some time to the skin, they inflame or even vesicate the part. On drying the one, or inspissating the other, they lose most of their — acrimony, and nearly the whole of their ill scent. In summer the root proves much less juicy and weaker both in smell and taste.” * Lewis, M. M. p. 165. 196 ORD. IX. Cucurbitacee. BRYONIA ALBA. Bergius ° states the virtues of this root to be purgans, hydragoga, emmenagoga, diuretica; recent. rad. subemetica; and recommends it in dropsy and asthma. This powerful and irritating cathartic, though now seldom pre- scribed by physicians, is said to be of great efficacy in evacuating serous humours, and has been chiefly employed in hydropical dis- orders.© Instances of its good effects in other chronic diseases are also mentioned, as asthma, mania,’ and epilepsy.* In small doses it is reported to operate as a diuretic, and to be resolvent and deob- struent: given in powder, from a scruple to a dram, it proves strongly purgative; and the juice, which issues spontaneously in doses of a spoonful or more, has similar effects, but is more’ gentle in its operation. An extract, prepared by water, acts more mildly, and with greater safety, than the root in substance, and may be given from halfa dram to a dram.. Externally the fresh root has been employed in cataplasms,’as a resolvent and discutient; also in ischiadic and other rheumatic affections. “ » Mat. Med. p. 786. © See Burcgraf, Lexicon Med. p. 1710. where he gives a ‘acemniae account of a successful method of employing this root. * Sydenham, Process. integr. in op. p. 626. © Arnoldus De Villa Nova. Brev. pratt. L. 1. c. 22. Reussner, Curat. § Obserz. p- 158. £ND OF THE FIRST VOL, London: Printed by Phillips & Fardon, George Sue tana Soc