PAPAVERACE. 445 
arrangement of their parts, deciduous, hypogynous. Stamens 
numerous, hypogynous ; anthers 2-celled, innate. Ovary com- 
pound, 1-celled, with parietal placentas, stigmas alternate to the 
placentas. Fruit 1- celled, except in Romneya. Seeds numerous, 
albuminous. 
Instribution and Nwmbers.—Nearly two-thirds of the plants 
of this order are natives of Europe, and are mostly annuals. 
They are almost unknown in tropigal regions, and are but 
sparingly distributed out of Europe in a wild condition. Tllus- 
trative Genera:—Papaver, Linn. ; Chelidonium, Linn. The 
order includes above 130 species. 
Properties and- Uses.—The plants of this order are in almost 
all cases characterised by weli-marked narcotic properties. 
Some are acrid, while others are purgative. In a medicinal 
point of view, this order must be regarded as the most impor- 
tant in the Vegetable Kingdom, from its yielding Opium, un- 
doubtedly the most valuable drug of the Materia Medica. 
Argemone mexicana, Mexican or Gamboge Thistle-—The seeds have 
narcotico-acrid properties. An oil may be obtained from them by expres- 
sion, which possesses aperient and other properties, and has been recom- 
mended as a remedy in cholera. In the West Indies, the seeds are also 
used asa substitute for Ipecacuanha. In the East Indies, the oil is likewise 
employed as an external application in certain skin diseases. 
Chelidonium majus, Celandine.—The Celandine isa native of this country, 
growing especially in the neighbourhood of towns and villages. It has an 
orange-coloured juice of a poisonous nature, which is a popular external 
application for the cure of warts, and has been used successfully in opa- 
cities of the cornea. It has been alsoadministered internally, and is reputed 
aperient, diuretic, and stimulant. 
Papaver.—P. somniferum, Opium Poppy.—Opium is the juice obtained 
by incisions from the unripe capsules of this plant, inspissated by sponta- 
neous evaporation. It has been known from early times, having been 
alluded to by Hippocrates, Diagoras, and Dioscorides. Various kinds of 
opium have been described under the names of Turkey, Smyrna, or Asia 
Minor, Egyptian, Persian, European, Indian, Chinese, and others. Opium 
which is produced in Asia Minor is that most commonly used in this country, 
and is alone official for all the preparations of the British Pharmacopeia, 
except the alkaloids which may be obtained from other kinds of opium. Its 
consumption is largely on the increase ; thus, in 1839, the quantity im- 
ported into Great Britain was 41,000 pounds, and in 1852, 114,000 pounds, 
and it is very much greater at the present time. Thus the average annual 
exports of opium from Smyrna alone are now probably more than 300,000 
pounds. But India is the great opium producing country, for here ‘the 
quantity of opium produced annually is nearly 12,000, 000 pounds, Of 
this enormous quantity at least 8,000,000 pounds are exported to and 
consumed in China, representing a market value of about as many pounds 
sterling. Opium is also now largely produced in China. Opium possesses 
in a marked degree the narcotic “properties of the plants of the order from 
which it is obtained. In large doses it is a narcotic poison. It is also 
regarded as soporific, anodyne, ‘and antispasmodic. Its narcotic properties 
are chiefly due to a peculiar alkaloid called morphine, which is combined 
with meconic acid. Its properties are also due, to some extent at least, to 
other peculiar principles which it contains, as ‘codeine, narcotine, narceine, 
thebaine, meconine, and a number of others, the properties of which are 
