Gentianales.] 



LOGANIACE^. 



603 



sometimes more pieces than tlie calyx, as in Potalia ; the stamens are sometimes re- 

 duced to one, as in Usteria. Tlie stamens of Dogbanes always alternate with the lobes 

 of the corolla ; those of Loganiads vary more or less from this position, and become 

 opposite in Potalia. In Dogbanes the nmuber 2 in the carpels is without exception ; in 



Loganiads, one genus, Labordia, has 3 cells. In Dogbanes, the tiistivation of the 



corolla is always twisted, except in jMascarenhasia, where it is induphcato-valvate with 

 a tors- on of the back of each lobe, which mdicates the tendency of the Order ; in Loga- 

 niads ;he aestivation is very variable, and is often valvate in the strictest acceptation^of 



the term. Dogbanes often have hypogynous glands or a complete disk ; Loganiads 



have not a trace of either. The first have often appendages inside of the corolla ; the 

 second never have any, unless we so consider the hau-s which guard the orifice. The 

 stigma is often of considerable size, and bears a peculiar kind of gland in Dogbanes ; 

 Loganiads have no such appearances." This last is the true distinguishmg character. 



AH Loganiads are either tropical or inhabit countries near the tropics ; a few outlying 

 species in New Holland and America forming the only exceptions. 



It would be difficult to name a more venomous Order than this, of whose quaUties the 

 celebrated Nux Vomica may be taken as the representative. This fatal drug consists of 

 the seeds of Strychnos Nux Vomica, 

 an Indian tree, with small greenish- 

 white flowers, ribbed leaves, and a 

 beautiful orange-colom'ed round fruit, 

 the size of a small Apple, ha^^ng a 

 brittle shell, and a white gelatinous 

 pulp. The wood is exceedingly 

 bitter, particularly that of the root, 

 which is used to cure intermittent 

 fevers, and the bites of venomous 

 snakes. The seeds are employed in 

 the distillation of coimtry spiints, to 

 render them more intoxicating. The 

 pulp of the fruit seems perfectly 

 innocent, as it is greedily eaten by 

 many sorts of bii'ds. — Roxh. The 

 seeds are extremely poisonous, in 

 large doses producmg extraordinary 

 rigidity and convulsive contraction of 

 the muscles previous to death. In 

 very small and repeated doses it 

 promotes the appetite, assists the 

 digestive process, increases the secre- 

 tion of m'ine, and sometimes acts 

 slightly upon the bowels. It is 

 employed medicinally in paralysis, 

 dyspepsia, dysentery, affections of 



the nervous system, &c., and appears to be vei'y active in remo\nng impotence. 

 Another virulent kind is the Strychnos toxifera, which fonns the basis of a celebrated 

 poison called Wooraly or Oui'ari. Dr. Hancock thinks it is the most potent sedative in 

 natm'e. For an account of it by Sii' R. Schomburgk, see Ann. Nat. Hist. vii. 411. From 

 the bark of the root of Stryclmos Tieute another frightful poison is prepared in Java, 

 where it is called Tjettek and Upas Radja ; it acts hke Nux Vomica, but in a more 

 intense and violent manner. Notwithstanding the active quaUties of these formidable 

 plants, othei's are used in medicine with advantage. Strychnos ligustrina is said by 

 Biume to yield the genuine Lignum colubrinum, a dinig once held in great estimation as 

 a remedy for pai'alysis of the lower extremities; it is also said to be a valuable anthelmin- 

 tic, and to be useful in blenorrhoea faucium et laryngis, diseases to which Eiu'opcans are 

 subject in Java. Blume adds that several other species of the genus are brought into the 

 market under the name of Lignum colubrinum. Strychnos pscudoquina is said to be the 

 best febrifuge in Brazil; with the exception of the fruit, which is eaten by children without 

 danger, all the parts, especially the bark, are extremely bitter and rather astringent. 

 It is universally employed instead of Cinchona, and is asserted to be fully equal to Pe- 

 ruvian Bark, in the cure of the intei'mittents of Brazil. Vauquelin analysed the bai'k 

 and could find in it neither brucine, nor strychnine, nor quinine. It is sold midcr the 

 name of Copalche bark. The seeds of Ignatia amara, called St. Ignatius's Beans, are 

 used successfully in India as a remedy for cholera, mider the name of Papeeta, but gid- 



Fig. CCCCVIU.— Stryclinos ligustrina.— iiVwiHt'. 1. a flower ; 2. a section of the ovary ; 3. fniit cnt 

 across ; 4. seed ; 5. the same more magnified and divided. 



