690 SYSTEMATIC BOTAXY. 



Distrihution, ^fc. — Almost all natives of tropical regions. Ex- 

 amples of the G^twe?*a;— Spigelia, Logania, Strychnos. There are 

 about 200 species. 



Properties and Uses. — The plants of this order are almost uni- 

 versally poisonous, acting on the nervous system and producing 

 frightful convulsions. Some have been used in medicine in torpid 

 or paralytic conditions of the muscular system, and for their tonic 

 and anthelmintic properties, but they require much caution in their 

 employment, and can generally be only given in very small doses. 



Ignatia amara. — This plant has been supposed to yield the seeds known 

 as St. Ignatius's beans, but Bentham has shown that this genus was impro- 

 perly formed, and he has now named the plant yielding them Strychnos 

 Ignatia. These seeds come to us from the Philippine Islands. They are 

 intensely bitter, and contain the alkaloid Strychnia in even larger propor- 

 tions than Nnx Vomica seeds. Their effects are similar to them. 



Spigelia.—S. mar;jlnndica, Carolina Pink, Wormseed, Perennial Worm- 

 grass. The root and leaves of this plant are much employed in North Ame- 

 rica as anthelminti3s. In larger doses they operate as irritant cathartics, 

 and in poisonous doses as narcotics. They are but little used in this country. 

 S. Anthehnia, Demerara Pink Root, is employed for similar purposes in 

 Guiana and the West Indies. 



Sliychnos. — This genus contains some of the most poisonous plants that 

 ai'e known. ;S'. Nux-vomica, the Koochla tree, produces Nux Vomica seeds, 

 so well known for their powerfully poisonous effects. Tliey owe their viru- 

 lent properties to the presence of the alkaloids .strychnia' and brucia ; f of a 

 grain of strychnia has been known to iiroduce death. It is stated by some 

 authors, but upon what authority we know not, that the fruit of Fenillcea 

 cnrdifolia is an antidote for this poi^on. Both the seeds and the alkaloid 

 sti-ychnia have been employed as stimulants of the nervous system in paraly- 

 sis. Nux vomica seeds are imported from Coromandel, Ceylon, &c. 

 In consequence of the enormous quantities which have been of late years 

 brought to this country, it was thought by some that they were employed 

 in the manufacture of bitter ale on account of their intense bitterness, but 

 although this has been satisfactorily disproved, it is still unknown for 

 what puri^oses they are so largely required, and with such a powerful 

 poison it would be very satisfactory to have this circumstance explained. A 

 large quantity of both nux vomica seeds and sti-ychnia are, however, em- 

 ployed by gamekeepers, &c., to destroy vermin, &,c. The bark of <S. ^ux- 

 Vomica is also powerfully poisonous owing to the presence of brucia. As 

 already noticed, it was formerly confounded with cusparia or angustura bark 

 (see p. 5G4), hence it is also known as false angustura bark. This bark is 

 also frequently sold in Calcutta under the name of Rohun, from which cir- 

 cumstance it has been substituted for the febrifuge bark of Soymidafebrifuga, 

 the Rohuna tree (see p. 48o). The juice of Strychnos Tieuti is the Java 

 poison, called Upas Tieute. It owes its poisonous properties to strychnia. 

 This poison must not be confounrled with the true Upas, which is derived 

 from a species of Antiaris (see Antiaris). The juice of S. toxifera is the 

 basis of the celebrated ^Voura^l, Urari, or Ourari poison of Guiana. From 

 S. cogens a similar arrow poison is also prepared by some of the Indian 

 tribes in South America. Wourali has been emplo3'ed in tetanus, but 

 with no vei-y satisfactory results. The wood of S. colubrina and S. ligustrina, 

 natives respectively of Malabar and Java, is employed as an antidote to the 

 bites of poisonous snakes, hence it is known under the name of Lignum 

 Colubrinum or Snake-wood. Several other kinds of wood are, however, 

 known in Asia under the same name. Lignum colubrinum has been 

 also employed as a cure for intermittent fevers, and for other piirposes. It 

 contains strychnia, and therefore requires much caution in its employment. 

 The bark of S. I'seudo-Quina is extensively employed in the Brazils as a sub- 

 stitute for Cinchona Bark. It contains neither strychnia nor brucia, and is 



