foc = “s 
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_ MATERIA MEDICA—BOTANY. _ 497 
‘let the bruised leaf be applied to the wound, and a table’ spoonful of 
the expressed juice of equal parts of plantain and boneset, be taken 
_ every hour till the danger is over. 
Pieurtsy Roor. Asclepias Tuberosa. ‘The root. 
Also called orange swallowwort, butterfly weed, flux root, wind 
root, silk weed, &c. rr 
The root is perrennial, large, fleshy, white, crooked, or branched ; 
~ several stalks, either erect, or procumbent, round, hairy, green or ted. 
Leaves scattered, on shorts tems, hairy; lance-like and obtuse; flowers © 
of a bright or orange color, appearing in July and August. It rises 
about four feet high, and is one of the most beautiful American plants. 
It grows chiefly on poor and gravelly soils, and along streams, and is 
found all over the United States, but more abundantly in the south. 
The root when dry is easily pulverized; it is somewhat bitter, but 
not unpleasant. : 
Pleurisy root is subtonic, diaphoretic, expectorant, diuretic, laxa- 
tive, carminative, antispasmodic, &c. It isa valuable popular reme- 
dy and a mild sudorific, acting safely, without-stimulating the body. 
It is supposed to act specifically on the lungs; to | Suppressed — 
Te a : * a 
expectoration, and to relieve the breathing of “pleuritie p: = 
appears to equalize the circulation, and exert a mild tonic effect, as 
Tics, profuse menstruation, dysentery, &c. : 
But in flatulency, colics, and griping pains in the stomach, its ben- 
efits are most conspicuous, in giving quick and effectual relief. It 
has quickly removed many misnamed “ Liver Complaints,” under. 
my direction. -For these it is best given in powder, a tea spoonful 
every half hour till relief is obtained. a, 
In a.low state of typhus fever it has produced perspiration, whem 
other sudorifics had failed. In inflammation of the lungs, and ca+ 
tarrh, it is always beneficial. It restores the tone of the stomach and 
digestive powers. It has been given in asthma, rheumatism, syphi- 
lis, and even for worms. os 
An attested publication has lately appeared, in which it fs stated 
that the pleurisy root, taken freely in a strong decoction till it vomits, 
has cured the bite of a rattlesnake in repeated instances. Taken in 
- that quantity, it creates a profuse sweat, which carries off the poison. 
Taken in repeated doses till it creates perspiration, after proper 
evacuations, itis supposed to be a specific in pleurisy, generally re- 
Moving it in three or four days. r 
The common doses are from twenty to thirty grains of the pow- 
dered root three times a day; or a gill of the decoction and infusion 
- very few hours. 
: 64 
