000 PLUMBAGINACE^E. 



Preparations. Infusion and vinous tincture. 



Medical Properties and Uses. The unripe fruit and inner bark are as- 

 tringent and bitter. Tannin appears to be their only constituent of thera- 

 peutic importance. Like other drugs containing tannin, persimmon has 

 been employed in chronic and subacute catarrhal affections, and in hem- 

 orrhages, but many other articles are much more eligible and efficacious. 



PLUMBAGINACE/E. 



Character of the Order. Herbs, rarely woody, with leaves alternate or 

 clustered at the root. Flowers regular, 5-merous. Calyx tubular, plaited, 

 persistent. Petals united at the base, or distinct. Stamens opposite the 

 petals or lobes of the corolla. Ovary 1-celled, free from the calyx, 1- 

 ovuled. 



An order inhabiting the sea-shore or salt marshes, mostly in temperate 

 regions. [Represented in North America by three genera, only one of 

 which comprises medicinal species. 



STATICE. MARSH-ROSEMARY. 



Statice LimoniumLinne. Marsh-Rosemary, Sea Lavender. 



Description. Calyx funnel-form, dry, membranaceous, persistent. Co- 

 rolla : petals 5, distinct, or united below, with long claws. Stamens 5, 

 united to the bases of the petals. Styles 5, rarely 3, distinct. Fruit mem- 

 branaceous, in dehiscent. 



A perennial herb, with a thick, reddish, woody root. Leaves all radi- 

 cal, thickish, oblong, spatulate, or obovate-lanceolate, tapering into a 

 rather long petiole. Scapes 1 to 2 feet high, loosely paniculate, the flow- 

 ers in one-sided spikes on the branches, 2- to 3-bracted, appearing late in 

 summer. 



Habitat. In salt marshes along the coast, and, in various forms, 

 throughout the world. Our plant is var. Caroliniana Gray, while the form 

 found on the Pacific coast is var. Californica Gray. 



Part Used. The root not official. 



Constituents. Marsh-rosemary contains, as its most important constitu- 

 ent, about twelve per cent, of tannin. 



Preparations. Decpction and infusion. 



Medical Projierties and Uses. Containing, as it does, a large percent- 

 age of tannin, this plant is powerfully astringent. In the early part of 

 this century it was largely used for the same purposes as are catechu and 

 kino now. At present its decoction is chiefly used as a domestic remedy, 

 often as a gargle in sore throat, and as an astringent to bleeding and ulcer- 

 ated surfaces. 



