No. 93. UNISEMA. 105 



&c. They are reckoned demulcent, restringent, cepha- 

 lic, errhine, pectoral, diaphoretic, deobstruent, &.c. 

 Often used in Europe and America for coughs, com- 

 plaints of the breast and lungs, asthmatic affections, 

 hooping cough, and also in scrofula : either in tea or 

 decoction, conserve or powder. A small pinch of the 

 powdered leaves is a very mild errhine, and a good 

 cephalic, removing diseases of the head, giddiness, ob- 

 structions in the nose, headache, &c. ^ It is the base of 

 the** herb-tobacco,' used for that purpose in New England. 

 Our medical writers have neglected the Coltsfoot, or 

 spoken of it as nearly inert, but it is a mistake ; Cutler 

 and Henry alone mention it as useful 5 the Shakers and 

 herbalists use it beneficially. Their powers in diseases 

 of tlie breast are not strong, but available for consump- 

 tive coughs and hooping cough, in warm infusion, sweet- 

 ened with honey, or boiled in milk. A strong decoc- 

 tion has tured scrofula (along with Nymphea^ as a poul- 

 tice, over the swellings of the neck) half a pint 01 the 

 decoction was'taken three times a day. 



No. 93. UNISEMA DELTIFOLIA. 



Names* Shovel Pickerelweed. Fr. Uniseme deltine. 

 Vulgar. Pond Shovel, Shovel Leaf, Water Plantain- 

 Classif, Nat. Order of Unisemous. Hexandria mo- 



iiogynia L-. 



Genus Unisema. Perigone simple corolliform, 6 cleft, 



bilabiate, marcescent, each lip unequally trifid, upper 

 lon^j-est. Stamens 6, unequal, inserted on the tube. 

 Pistil oblong, one filiform style and stigma. Fruit a 

 single oblong seed, coated by the marcescent perigone. 

 Roots creq)mgy perenniaL Stem one leaved^ with a ter- 

 minal vaginate spike. 



Sp. Unisema deltifolia. Raf. See sp. 1'. 



HISTORY. This striking genus is formed with the 

 Pontedoria cordalu of L. I observed as early as 1802, 

 the singular one seeded fi-uit, and established the genus 

 in 1807 and 1817* Nuttal, in 1818, confirmed my ob- 

 servation J but choose to retain the Linneean name, and 



^ 



