466 



D O L 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



D O L 



half in length, roundish, with a little obtuse gibbous hook 

 at the end. Native of the West Indies. 



11. Dolichos Altissimus ; Tall Dolichos. Legumes ra- 

 cemed, rough-haired, equal ; seeds surrounded with a scar ; 

 leaves smooth on both sides. This climbs the highest trees, 

 whence hang elegant wreaths of flowers in close racemes, 

 on peduncles frequently more than twelve feet in length. The 

 ilowers are void of scent, an inch and a half long, with u 

 ferruginous calix, a violet blue standard and wings, and a 

 yellowish keel; the whole of the stamina and pistilla rise 

 surprisingly, and are inclosed within the convoluted stand- 

 ard. Native of the island of Martinico. 



12. Dolichos Pruriens ; Horse-eye Bean. Legumes in ra- 

 cemes; valves somewhat keeled, rough-haired ; peduncles by 

 threes. Leaflets rough with hairs underneath ; calix campa- 

 nulate, five-toothed, the middle tooth shorter ; banner very 

 .short,three times less than the other petals, ovate; keel linear, 

 acute, boat-shaped at the end ; legume compressed, inflexat 

 the base, reflex at the tip. Common in all parts of the West 

 Indies, and rising to the top of the tallest trees or spreading 

 wide among lower bushes. The flowers dark purple, in spikes 

 at the axils of the ribs. A decoction of the roots is reckoned 

 a powerful diuretic and cleanser of the kidneys ; and a vinous 

 infusion of the pods in beer, (twelve pods to a quart) is said 

 to be a certain remedy for the dropsy : the dose is half a pint. 

 In the Windward Islands they make a syrup of the pods, 

 which is said to be very effectual against worms. Native of 

 both Indies, and of Cochin-china. This, and the next spe- 

 cies, are sometimes preserved in botanic gardens, especially 

 the latter .whose pods are closely covered with stinging hairs, 

 commonly known by the name of cow-itcli. Both these 

 plants are too tender to thrive in the open air of our country ; 

 so that whoever desires to have them, should sow their seeds 

 in a hot-bed in March ; and when the plants come up, they 

 should be each planted in a separate pot, and plunged into 

 the hot-bed again, taking care to shade them until they have 

 struck root ; after which they must every day have fresh air 

 admitted to them, in proportion to the warmth of the season ; 

 and when the plants are too tall to remain in the hot-bed, 

 they should be removed into the bark-stove, where, if they 

 l>e allowed room to run, they will flower and perfect their 

 seeds. 



13. Dolichos Urens ; Cow-itch Dolichos. Legumes in 

 racemes, with furrows transversely lanceolate; the seeds sur- 

 rounded with a scar. Stems round ; leaves subovate, quite 

 entire, acuminate, the upper surface smooth, the lower co- 

 vered with a. shining silvery down that is hardly perceptible ; 

 racemes simple, pendulous, scarcely ever longer than the 

 leaves ; proper peduncles one-flowered, in threes, placed 

 closely at the end of the raceme, and hence forming a very 

 elegant pendulous wreath of about eighteen flowers, which 

 are scentless,about two inches long,having aferruginous calix, 

 and a yellow corolla, with the lower edge of the wings red. 

 The seeds, from their resemblance to an eye, are called by 

 the French yeux baurrique, or ass's eye ; and in the British 

 West India islands, they are for the same reason named ox- 

 eye bean. This plant climbs to the top of the tallest trees, 

 throwing down its long slender flower-stalks to a moderate 

 distance from the axils of the upper ribs, whence they ge- 

 nerally rise, and are not above the thickness of a common 

 packthread, but seldom under four or five feet in length, 

 and bear the flowers in clusters at their extremities. The 

 outside of the pods are densely covered with sharp hairs, 

 which penetrate the skin when touched, and cause a most 

 excessive and troublesome itching. Native of the West 

 Indies. See the preceding species. 



J4. Dolichos Minimus; Small Dolichos. Letruiiies in 

 racemes, compressed, with four seeds in them; leaves rhomb- 

 shaped. This climbs three or four feet in height, and 

 numerous branches ; leaves glaucous; racemes stiff; \vi 

 of the corolla yellow ; standard brownish red, turning blue 

 as it withers. Brown calls it small fetid dolichns ; and in 

 Curacoa, it has the name of vratttkruyt, or wart-herb, the 

 leaves bruised with salt being reputed to cure warts. Native 

 of Jamaica. 



15. Dolichos Lineatus. Legumes in racemes, oblong, 

 three-keeled. Stem subangular, smooth ; leaflets smooth, 

 ovate, obtuse, with a point, marked with lines, equal, an inch ' 

 and half in length, the side ones short, the middle ones on 

 along petiole; stipules very small, bristle-form; legumes 

 rounded in front, straight at the back, marked with three 

 lines, the side ones larger than the middle line, acute, smooth, 

 two inches long. Native of Japan. 



16'. Dolichos Capensis. Peduncles with one or two flowers ; 

 legumes elliptic, compressed ; leaves smooth. Stem filiform, 

 angular, even ; stipules ovate, acute, striated, very small ; 

 leaves petioled; leaflets ovate-oblong, acuminate, veined ; 

 peduncles long ; legumes acute at both ends, the back suture 

 straight, smooth, containing usually two seeds. Native of 

 the Cape of Good Hope. 



17. Dolichos Scarabaeoides ; Silvery-leaved Doliclms. 

 Leaves ovate, tomentose ; flowers solitary; seeds two-horned. 

 Stem scabrous ; leaves petioled ; leaflets obtuse, veined un- 

 derneath, soft ; flowers single, from the axils. Native of 

 the East Indies. 



18. Dolichos Incurvus. Legumes solitary, incurved, three- 

 keeled. Stem striated, smooth ; leaflets oblong, acute, entire, 

 smooth, paler underneath, nerved, two inches broad, a hand 

 in length, equal, the side ones on very short petioles, the 

 middle leaflet on a longer; flowers axillary, solitary, pedun- 

 cled. Native of Japan. 



19. Dolichos Bulbosus ; Bulbous Dolichos. Leaves smooth, 

 many-angled, toothed. Stem perennial, suffrutieose, long, 

 round, smooth, branched, without any stipules ; leaves round- 

 ish, petioled; flowers terminating in long racemes ; calix 

 cup-shaped, four-cleft, the upper segment shorter, emargi- 

 nate ; corolla pale violet, with an ovate, entire, converging- 

 standard. The root consists of roundish, tailed, juicy, white 

 tubers, in bundles; they are eaten both raw and dressed, 

 but the seeds are refused. Native of both Indies. 



20. Dolichos Trilobus. Lateral leaflets gibbous on the 

 outside, the middle one thrce-lobed. Stem perennial, suffru- 

 ticose, round, very long, branched, twining, or creeping, 

 when it lies on the ground, hirsute ; leaves petioled, with two 

 horned stipules ; leaflets throe-lobed, acuminate, pubescent ; 

 flowers purple, in long terminating and lateral spikes, with a 

 large yellow spot on the middle of the standard. The root is 

 composed of a few long tubers in bundles ; they are two feet 

 long, subcylindric, fibrose, fleshy, of a pale colour, and eat- 

 able when boiled, but not the legumes. Native of the 1 

 Indies, and cultivated in China and Cochin-china. 



21. Dolichos Aristatus. Peduncles two-flowered, axillary; 

 legumes linear, compressed, ending in a straight awn. !Stem 

 round; leaflets even, ovate-oblong, acuminate. Native of 

 America. 



22. Dolichos Filiformis ; Cat's-claic Dolithos. Leaflets 

 linear, obtuse, mucronate, smooth, pubescent underneath. 

 This grows among bushes, but seldom stretches beyond three 

 or four feet in length ; the pods are long and compressed ; 

 the stigma or top of the style almost naked. It is used as 

 a purgative ingredient in diet-drinks, and is said to answer 

 well in dropsical cases. Native of Jamaica, 



