on the liortus Malabaricus, Part II. 243 



Ossar of P. Alpinus, which would seem to imply, that he rightly 

 considered these as the same, but doubted of this Egyptian 

 plant being his A. procera, which is a native of Persia. For the 

 A. gigantea the only figure quoted by Willdenow {Sp. PL i. 1264.) 

 is the FiHcii, and that of Seba, said to represent the Ameri- 

 can plant. Although he does not quote the Madorius, he ad- 

 vances, on the authority of Rumphius (vii. 25.), that this plant 

 kills cattle unaccustomed to its use. The only authority for 

 this is Knox, in his account of Ceylon, who attributes such 

 powers to a plant, which he calls Capita gauha {Capita herba), 

 and which Rumphius, on very inadequate grounds, considers as 

 the Madorius. Where M. Lamarck procured his account of the 

 virtues of this plant I cannot say : " Son sue laiteux est acre et 

 caustique ; elle cause le mort aux animaux qui en mangent." 

 The latter part is evidently taken from Knox : on what weak 

 foundations the former part rests we may judge from Rumphius, 

 " lac amaricans, adstringens ac tandem in ore nauseosum dulces- 

 cens, sine ulla tamen ardore vel acredine." The plant, however, 

 is much used in medicine by the natives of India, and from its 

 sensible qualities may be possessed of considerable powers. In 

 Bengal the milk mixed with salt is applied to rheumatic swell- 

 ings, and the leaves heated with butter are applied to the same 

 complaint. 



Willdenow in describing the A. syriaca {Sp. PL i. 1265.) 

 quotes some of the synonyma, which Plukenet and Commeline 

 had erroneously conjoined with the Bel Ericu, and especially the 

 Beid el Ossar of Veslingius, Avhich Willdenow properly states 

 to be different from the Beid el Ossar of P. Alpinus : but he con- 

 joins with it an American plant, and would at first sight seem to 

 consider America as its only proper country. *' Habitat in ^ ir- 

 ginia, circa Astracan." We cannot however suppose, that he 

 thought Astracan a place in Virginia ; and must allow that, by a 



VOL. XIV. 2 K typo- 



