899 



165. G-entiana saponaria. Fringed gentian. All the gentians are 

 beautiful plants, and they are all tonic, bitter, corroborant, cathar- 

 tic, and are excellent substitutes for foreign gentian. They invigorate 

 the stomach, and are useful in dyspepsia, and in debility of that 

 organ. They are extensively employed in the Southern States in 

 various kinds of fevers, pneumonias, &c., as tonics. In large doses, 

 they are purgative. 



166. Menyanthes. Six species ; 5, 1, L. 



Menyanthes trifolia. Buck bean; water shamrock. In large 

 doses, this plant has a bitter, tonic, and cathartic property. It is 

 also stomachic and febrifuge, anthelmintic and diuretic. In decoc- 

 tion, it is used in dropsy, rheumatism, worms, &c. It was formerly 

 a good deal used, then neglected, but now coming into vogue again. 



ORDER 199. CONVOLVULACB^I. 



167. Convolvulus. One hundred and fifty species ; 5, 1, L. 

 Convolvulus arvensis. Field bind- weed ; wild potato. This has 



sometimes been used as a substitute for jalap, but it is a very feeble 

 one. It is supposed to be somewhat diuretic, and it has been used 

 in cutaneous complaints. Forty grains of the powder purge gently. 



168. Cuscuta. Eleven species ; 5, 2, L. 



Cuscuta Americana. Dodder. This plant is bitter and sub- 

 astringent. It dyes red. It is also stomachic, febrifuge, and anti- 

 scrofulous. It is used in decoction for agues. 



ORDER 110. OROBANCHE^I. 



169. OrolancJie. Twenty-four species; 14, 2, L. 



Orobanche Virginiana. Beech drops ; cancer root. Sec. This 

 plant is bitter, nauseous, and astringent. It loses, in some measure, 

 these powers by drying. It has been employed in bowel affections ; 

 but its virtues mainly depend upon its supposed efficacy in curing 

 cancerous ulcerations ; and it was for a long time supposed to be a 

 principal ingredient in the secret remedy of Dr. Martin, for the cure 

 of cancer. But Dr. Rush proved the powder of Dr. Martin princi- 

 pally to consist of arsenic. This plant is also powerfully astringent, 

 and has been used for erysipelas, and canker in the throat. It is 

 used at the West as a specific in syphilis and gonorrhoea. It is 

 also employed for hepatic affections, diarrhoea, and dysentery. 

 (Synonym, Epiphegus Americana.) 



