MALVACEAE. 



W. and A. — Decoction of the root and stem used in Brazil as a remedy 

 in windy colic ; flowers as an expectorant in dry and inveterate coughs. 



ABELMOSCHUS. 



Calyx 5-toothed, spathaceous, deciduous, surrounded by a 

 5-10-leaved often very caducous involucel. Ovarium 5-celled ; 

 cells with many ovules. Style 1, 5-cleft at the apex. Stigmas 

 5. Capsule 5-celled, 5-valved, loculicidal, polyspermous. Seeds 

 naked. 



287. A. esculentus W. and A. i. 53. — Hibiscus esculentus 

 Linn, sp.pl. 980. Cav. diss. t. iii. 61. f. 2. DC. prodr. i. 450. 

 H. longifolius Roxb.fi. ind. iii. 210. — West Indies : cultivated 

 all over the warmer parts of the world. (Okra, Bendee, Gombo.) 



An annual. Stem erect, branched, 3-6 feet high, round, towards the 

 base somewhat woody, and in a good soil, as thick as a man's wrist; 

 tender parts covered with sharp bristles, and often spotted with pur- 

 plish specks. Leaves alternate, stalked ; inferior ones only angular, 

 about the middle of the plant palmate, while the superior ones are sub- 

 digitate, with the divisions lanceolate-oblong; all serrate, and some- 

 what bristly. Petioles round, bristly, as long as the leaves. Flowers 

 axillary, solitary, on short stalks, very large, pale yellow, with a dark 

 crimson bottom. Involucre 1 from 6 to 12-leaved ; leaflets linear, 

 bristly, deciduous. Calyx spathiform, bursting on 1 side, of a remark- 

 ably soft texture. Stigmas as many as the cells in the capsule. Cap- 

 sule from 6 to 12 inches long, and about 1 in diameter, somewhat 

 bristly, particularly the ridges, their number corresponding with that of 

 the cells, and valves, with a single row of round, smooth seeds in each 

 cell. — Abounds in a copious mucilage ; a valuable emollient and demul- 

 cent. Constantly used in hot countries as a means of thickening 

 soup. Leaves are used to form emollient poultices. 



288. A. moschatus W. and A. i. 53. — Hibiscus moschatus 

 Linn.sp.pl. 980. DC. prodr. i. 452. H. longifolius Willd.sp.pl. 

 iii. 827. DC. 1. c. 450. Rheede. ii. t. 38. 



Stem herbaceous, hispid with spreading hairs, not prickly. Leaves, 

 and long petioles, hispid with rigid hairs, but otherwise glabrous, un- 

 equally and coarsely toothed, deeply 5-7-lobed ; lobes all spreading, 

 oblong or lanceolate, acuminated. Pedicels harshly pubescent, axillary, 

 about as long as the petioles. Involucral leaves 6-10, linear, hairy, 

 somewhat'persistent. Capsule oblong, acuminated, hairy. W. and A. 

 — Dr. Wm. Hamilton quotes an instance of its powerful effects in 

 counteracting the fatal influence of the bite of venomous reptiles. The 

 bruised seeds were rubbed on the wound, and a considerable quantity 

 forced down the throat of the animal in question. Trans, med. bot. 

 soc. 1834, p. 72. Musky seeds considered cordial and stomachic and 

 by the Arabs mixed with coffee. 



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