OUTLINES 
OF 
MEDICAL BOTANY. 
INTRODUCTION. 
Ae een t;. from the Greek pe gO CBotuhe). an 
hers or plant, is the term applied to the science which treats 
of plants. It includes, in its widest signification, an account 
of the Structure, Compostrion, CHARACTERS, FUNCTIONS, | 
Hasrts, Mersops of Crassiryinc, Propertiss, and Uses 
of the objects which compose the vegetable éreation,—in_ . 
short, all knowledge relating to plants. It is trulyascience, 
embracing the description of an extensive series of mutually 
‘related phenomena, and the examination of the laws by _ 
_which they are regulated. ae 
2 In plants we find an apparatus more or less ¢ 
designed for the performance of particular offices, nece 
_to maintain their existence, advance their growth, : 
e various products they are destined to bear. — 
