598 COMPOSITZ —TUBULIFLORZ. 
catarrhs, and bronchitis. Other species, such as G. hirsuta, appear to have 
similar properties, and are frequently substituted for the former in com- 
merce. 
Guizotia oleifera is extensively cultivated in India for its seeds, which 
are known in commerce under the name of Niger seeds. These yield a thin 
oil, useful in painting, and for burning, and other purposes, which is known 
in India as Ram til, Kala-til, Noog, &c. It may be used for the same pur- 
poses in pharmacy as sesamum oil and olive oil. 
Helianthus.—H. tuberosus.—The tubers are much eaten under the name 
of Jerusalem Artichokes. The dried fruits have been employed as a substi- 
tute for coffee.—H. annuus is the common Sunflower. The pith contains 
nitrate of potassium, and is therefore sometimes used in the preparation of 
moxas in Europe. The fruits have been lately employed as an ingredient in 
a kind of soap called Sunflower Soap. They yield by expression a fixed oil 
which is used largely for food in Hungary and Russia, while the oil-cake 
furnishes an excellent food for cattle. 
Inula Helenium, Elecampane.—The root is an aromatic tonic, expec- 
torant and diaphoretic. It has been employed in chronic catarrh, and in 
dyspepsia. It was also formerly much used in this country as the basis of a 
favourite sweetmeat. 
Liatris odoratissima, Wild Vanilla or Deer’s Tongue.—The leaves of 
this plant, which is abundant in the southern United States, are used 
largely to give flavour to tobacco and cigars. They would be probably 
very useful in perfumery. They owe their properties to coumarin. Other 
species, more especially L. spicata, yield the root knownas Button Snakeroot, 
which is reputed to be stimulant, diuretic, and expectorant. 
Madia.—The seeds of M. sativa, a native of Chili, yield by pressure a 
large amount of fixed oil, which is edible, and the commoner kinds have also 
been used for illumination. The plant is now cultivated in Asia Minor, 
Algeria, and. the warmer parts of France and Germany. The oil has also 
the valuable property of not congealing at 19° below zero of Réaumur, hence 
it is a valuable lubricating agent for delicate machinery. 
Muatricaria Chamomilla has similar properties to the true Chamomile. 
The flower-heads are the Flores Chamomille of German pharmacologists ; 
they are usually distinguished as Common or German Chamomiles. 
Mikania.—M. Guaco has been much used as an antidote to the bites of 
venomous serpents in South America. It appears to me by far the most 
efficacious of all the plants known under the name of Guaeo, for reliable 
testimony has shown that when promptly and properly administered it is a 
cure for the bites of the most venomous snakes. Guaco has also been highly 
spoken of as a remedy for gout and rheumatism. 
Notonia.—The freshly gathered stems of N. grandiflora and N. corym- 
bosa are reputed in India to be preventive of hydrophobia. 
Pyrethrum.—tThe insect powders of commerce are the powdered flower- 
heads of several species of this genus. Thus those of P. carneum and P. 
roseum yield Persian Insect Powder ; but the most energetic insecticide is 
the Dalmatian Insect Powder, which is derived from P. cinerarizfolium. 
Santolina chamexcyparissus, Lavender Cotton, has long had a reputation 
as a vermifuge in the case of small worms. Its twigs, which have a strong 
and somewhat agreeable odour, have also been used for placing in wardrobes 
&c., to drive away moths. 
Silphium.—S. laciniatum, a native of North America, is known as the 
‘Polar Plant’ or ‘Compass Plant,’ because ‘the leaves are said to present 
their faces uniformly north and south.’ Sir J. Hooker states that in 
travelling by rail any alteration in the direction of the road becomes visible 
at once by the altered appearance of the leaves of the Compass Plant. 
Tanacetum vulgare, the common Tansy, possesses tonic and anthelmintic 
properties. 
