ALLIUM. 



6-parted, permanent, equal. Stamens inserted into the base of 

 the perianth ; filaments either all alike, or every other one tri- 

 cuspidate, with the anther on the middle point. Style subu- 

 late ; stigma simple. Capsule usually obtusely 3-cornered or 

 3-lobed, depressed, 3-celled, bursting into 3 valves through the 

 dissepiments, and containing 2 or 1 black angular seed in each 

 cell. 



1255. A. sativum Linn, sp.pl. 425. Desf. fl. atl. i. 287. DC. 

 fl. fr. iii. 219. S. and C. t. 1 10. R. and S. vii. 1000. — Por- 

 tugal ? Hieres ? Egypt? (Garlic.) 



Bulbs clustered, very proliferous, many enveloped in the same silvery 

 skin. Stem about 2 feet high, leafy below the middle. Leaves acute, 

 distichous, glaucous, channelled above. Spathe calyptriform, horned. 

 Umbels bulbiferous. Flowers, if any, pink, red, or whitish, rather 

 longer than the stamens. — The bulbs act as a local irritant, and, when 

 taken into the stomach as a stimulant, expectorant and diuretic. They 

 have been used in dropsies and as an anthelmintic. Steeped in rum they 

 form a favourite remedy among country people for the hooping cough ; 

 the infusion is rubbed night and morning into the skin of the patient's 

 loins. A clove of garlic or a few drops of the juice, introduced into the 

 ear, are said to prove highly efficacious in atonic deafness. 



1256. A. Cepa Linn. sp. pi 431. Fl. grcec. t. 326. R. and S. 

 vii. 1024. — Egypt. (Onion.) 



A biennial. Bulbs simple, round, depressed or globose or oblong, 

 invested with shining thin dry membranes. Stem 1-2 feet high, fistular, 

 leafy at the base. Leaves taper, fistular, distichous, glaucous, acute, 

 shorter than the stem. Spathe reflexed, generally longer than the 

 lower flowers. Umbels large, regular, compact, many-flowered, not 

 bulbiferous. Pedicels about an inch long, thickened at the point. 

 Flowers whitish, greenish, or tinged with purple; the segments always 

 having a green keel. Stamens almost twice as long as the perianth. — 

 The onion is stimulant, diuretic, expectorant, and rubefacient. The 

 juice is sometimes given, made into a syrup with sugar, in infantile 

 catarrhs and croup, in the absence of much inflammatory action. It is 

 also recommended in dropsy and calculous disorders. Roasted and 

 split it is sometimes applied as an emollient poultice to suppurating 

 tumours. Wood and Backe. 



1257. Bulbine planifolia R. and S. (Anthericum bicolor 

 Desf.) has purgative roots according to De Candolle. 



DRACAENA. 



Perianth urceolate, tubular, or deeply 6-parted, deciduous ; 

 with a spreading or reflexed limb. Filaments thickened in the 

 middle, inserted into the upper part of the tube of the perianth ; 

 anthers linear, incumbent. Ovary pedicellate ; stigma depressed, 

 obtuse or 3-lobed. Berry subglobose ; 3-celled ; cells 1-2-seeded, 

 usually abortive. 



1258. D. Draco Linn. syst. veg. 275. R. and S. vii. 337. 

 593 tt q 



