No. 83. SANGUINARIA. 79 



1. Parviflora. 2. Cespitosa, 3. JRentformis. 4. Repens, 

 5. Multipetalay with double petals. 6. Stenopetala with 

 a narrow linear acute petals. Is it a new species? It 

 IS a vernal plant, blossoming in April and May, found 

 in woods from Canada to Louisiana, Florida, and Mis- 

 souri. It is handsome, but inodorous. When the plant 

 is in blossom, the leaves are small j they continue to 

 grow larger afterwards. 



PROPERTIES. The root is the officinal part : it is 

 one of the most valuable medical articles of our country, 

 and already begins to be introduced into general prac- 

 tice. It is an acrid narcotic, emetic, deobstruent, dia- 

 phoretic, expectorant, vermifuge, escharotic, and at the 

 same time stimulant, tonic. The chemical analysis has 

 detected in it chinconin, a resin, an acrid gum resin, 

 gallic acid, fecula, extractive and a peculiar bitter alkali 

 called Sanguinarine, by Dana, which is of an orange 

 color, and forms colored salts with acids. Alcohol dis- 

 solves the color of the root better than water; paper and 

 cloth dipt in these solutions are dyed of a salmon color. 

 The Indians used the red juice to paint themselves, and 

 dye or stain skins, baskets, &c. It has not yet been 

 much used in dyeing, although it stains wool of a fine 

 orange color ; the mordants are alumine and muriosul- 

 phate of tin, for silk, cotton, &c- The taste of this root 

 13 acrid and bitter, burning the mouth and throat : in 

 powdering the dried root, the nose and throat are effect- 

 ed. A large dose, from eight to twenty grains, is dan- 

 gerous, causing heartburns, nausea, faintness, vertigo, 

 dimness, and emesis. In small doses of two to four 

 grains, it produces nausea without vomiting, and acce- 

 lerates the circulation, while in minute doses of less than 

 a grain, it acts like a tonic, and lessens the frequency of 

 the pulse like Digitalis. The best way to use it is in 

 tincture, diluted in wine or other vehicles. Ten drops 

 of it acts as stimulant, diaphoretic, and deobstruent. 

 When used as an emetic, it expels the worms from the 

 stomach. It is, however, a violent and dangerous eme- 



be preferred- Schoepf mentions 



that a decoction of the root was used in gonorrhoea, bites 



of serpents, jaundice, and in bilious diseases j these 

 properties are doubtful. The juice being acrid and cor- 



