34 MEDICINAL IIEKBS AXD TOLSONOUS PLANTS 



chalky districts, especially in the South of England. It 

 is somewhat like the last but smaller/ and the flowers 

 are of a dull leaden hue. The leaves are bO acrid that 

 they produce a burning taste when put into tlie mouth: 

 the whole plant when bruised emits a very disagreeable 

 odour; the berries are of a beautiful oi*ange-scarlet colour. 

 There is a mai-ket among herbalists for the roots of 



this plant; they are collected in March. 



Saffron Crocus (Crocus sativus), — This 



plant is said to be naturalized at Saffron 

 AValden in Essex, where it is largely culti- 

 vated. The flowers which come up in 

 autumn are purplish- violet in colour, and 

 possess the general characters of the ordin- 

 aiy garden Crocus. It is especially charac- 

 terized by having a long, pale-yellow style 

 terminating in three deep -red elongated 

 stigmas. These protrude from the flower. 

 Medicinal Prajjerties. — Tlie. stigmas 

 alone possess any medicinal value (fig. 16). 

 Each stigma is about an inch long, and 

 tubular in shape. From the stigmas, about 

 1 per cent of volatile oil, also a red colour- 

 ing matter called erocin, and a bitter prin- 

 ciple called incrocrocin are obtained. The 

 drug is employed as a colouring agent and as a stimu- 

 lant, an antispasmodic, and as an emmenagoc^ue. 





Fig. 16.— Stigmag 

 uf Cyucim f^ativug 



Di^frihiifion.~T\\e uses of Saffron have been known 

 for many centuries, so tluit it is not possible to say where 



the plant is indigenous. 



Present Source of 

 supply is exported from Spain. 



Most of the European 



Tlie following table will, it is hoped, prove useful to 

 the student in reviewing the poisonous and medicinal 

 IMonocotyledons mentioiiod in the text: 



