monv rTORTUS J AMAI CENSIS. 227 



He ii.ncles thick, comprcssed-ancipital, shorter by lialf than the leaves, drooping ; calyx 

 ri^id, almost cartilaginous ; corolla mostly five-parted, seldom sis-parted, whitish be- 

 k.w, yellowish above, first "lobular then bell-shaped : berry dry, falling when ripe 

 without splitting; seeds scarlet, silky. 



Tiutch Tree See P^lmeto. 



THORN APPLE. DATURA. 



Cl. 5, or. I. Pentandria monogynia. Nat. or. Luridte.' 



Gfn. char. Calyx an oblong perianth, tubulated, of a pentangular figure, mono- 

 petalous,. divided into five segments at the extremity ; its upper part falls off 

 ritear the base ; but an orbicular segment of it remains on the plant The corolla 

 is funnel-shaped, monopetalous, the limb folded in five places and almost entire 

 at the edges, but rising into five points ; stamina the length of the cup, with ob- 

 I mg anthers; germen oval; style filiform ; stigma thick, obtuse, and bilamellaled. 

 Capsule four-valved two-celled, and affixed to the base of thecup : the receptacles 

 are convex, large, punctated, and alhxcd to a partition : the seeds are numerous 

 and kidney-shaped. 



STRAMONIUM. 



Stramonia altera major sive tatura qutbusdam, S!oane, v. I, p. 159.. 

 Foliis profunda ci < nut is, fruetu erccto spinoso. Browne, p. 167. 

 Pericarps thorny, erect, ovate ; leaves ovate smooth. 



This plant, in every respect the same as the European, grows very commonly in 

 every part of Jamaica, rising a yard high, with an erect, strong, round, hollow, green, 

 stalk, branching luxuriantly, having the branches widely extended on every side ; lar""e, 

 oval, irregularly angulated, smooth, dark green lea\es ; and, from the divisions of the 

 branches, large while flowers singly, succeeded by large oval prickly capsules, growing 

 erect, commonly called thorn-apples. At night the upper leaves rise up and inclose 

 the flowers. The blossoms have sometimes a tinge of purple or violet. The flowers 

 consbt of one large funnel-shaped petal, having a long tube, and spreading pentagonal 

 limb, succeeded by large roundish capsules, of the size of middling apples, closely 

 beset with sharp spines. An ointment prepared from the juice of the leaves and i: ;;- 

 hard, gives ease in external inflammations, burns, and in the haemorrhoids, as in vi- 

 rulent ulcers. The seeds were lately recommended by Dr. Storck to be taken internally 

 in ca--es of madnt ss ; but they seem to be a very unsafe remedy. Taken even i,, ,< 

 small dose, they brnig on a delirium, and in a large one would certainly prove fatal. 

 Cows, horses, sheep, an I i;o;its, refuse to eat it. 



The Edinburgh college direct an extract from the leaves, which has been given with 

 great a [vantage in c mvulsions and epilepsies ; the dose from two to sixteen grains a- 

 day. Th^se and the seeds given internally bring on delirium, tremors, swelling, itch- 

 ing, eruption and inflammation on the skin. Browne says all its parts are remarkably 

 narcotic, though seldom administered inwardly, on account of those dr ad fill perturba- 

 tions of, mind that gi ;. nail) .i nil the taking of it. Externally applied as an ointment, 

 tfcte j nice and seeds are useful in scalds an ! painful sores. 



F t 2 In 



