UMBELLIFERZ. 109 
3 acts as a stupefying narcotic, producing headache, giddiness, 
4 a with some people a tendency to coma. 
3 Description.—The plant grows freely all the year round 
if watered, sending out long runners, which produce leaves, 
roots and fruit at the jomts. The peduncles and petioles are 
fascicled ; the latter are frequently three to fou inches long ; 
the peduncles are very short, and bear a 3 or 4-flowered 
simple umbel with very short rays; the leaves are reniform, 
' crenate, 3 to 2 inches in diameter, 7-nerved, glabrons, or when 
q young somewhat hairy on the under side; the fruit is laterally 
_ compressed, orbicular, acute on the back; the mericarps reti- 
_ culated, sometimes a little hairy, with 3 to 5 curved ribs; they 
have no vitte. The fresh herb has an aromatic somewhat 
_ ivy-like odour when crushed and a nauseous bitter taste, but 
_ these qualities are to a great extent lost in drying. 
Chemical composition.—Hydrocotyle has been analysed by 
_ Lépine of Pondicherry (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim. [3] 
_ xxviii., p. 46), who found in it a peculiar body which he named 
- Vellarin, and described as being obtainable from the dry plant 
the extent of 0°8 to 1-0 per cent. He describes it as an oily 
non-volatile liquid, with the odour and taste of the fresh herb, 
luble in spirit, ether, caustic ammonia, and partially in hy- 
rochloric acid, and volatilizing at 120°. The authors of the 
rganic compounds ; moreover, they failed to obtain “ee 
like it from the dry herb. os 
_ We find that the fresh leaves contain about 78 per cent. of 
water. 
Distilled with water some traces of a stearopten-like wily: 
‘Were condensed and the distillate was neutral. The ether 
extract contained a white crystalline substance possessing th 
odour of the drug, with resin and fat amounting to 8°9 per c 
the dried leayes. Alcohol dissolved 24° 5 per cent. of 
d sugar, the tannin gives a bulky green 
erric chloride and neutral apotate of di 
