474 



D R A 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



D R A 



with white flowers. It was discovered byTournefort in the 

 Levant. See the ninth species. 



11. Dracocephalum Peltatum ; Willow-leaved Dragon's 

 Head. Bractes orbiculate, serrate-ciliate. This is an annual 

 plant, about a foot high, sendingout two small branches from 

 the lower part ; leaves lanceolate, crenate, petioled ; flowers 

 small, purplish. Native of the Levant. See the ninth species. 



12. Dracocephalum Grandiflorum ; Great-lowered Dra- 

 gon's Head. Leaves crenate ; root-leaves cordate ; stem- 

 leaves orbiculate, sessile ; bractes acuminate, toothed. Root- 

 leaves like those of Betony, petioled, obtuse, wrinkled, pu- 

 bescent ; stem-leaves almost wedge-shaped, rounded, very 

 obtuse, crenate-toothed. The bractes and floral-leaves are 

 somewhat of a violet colour. The whorls have the flowers 

 by threes on each side ; calices subpeduncled, five-cleft ; the 

 three upper teeth less divided. Corollas large, blue ; the 

 chaps much inflated, with a rising streak at the back on each 

 side ; upper lip bifid, lower trifid ; the middle segment larger, 

 dark blue, reflex, bearded at the end ; anther oblong. An 

 alpine species. Native of Siberia. See the ninth species. 



13. Dracocephalum Nutans ; Nodding Dragons Head. 

 Bractes oblong, ovate, quite entire ; corollas rather large, 

 nodding. Annual ; stalks weak, many, about nine inches 

 high, having at the bottom ovate-lanceolate leaves, about two 

 inches long, and an inch and a quarter broad, crenate, and 

 on pretty long footstalks. The upper part of the stalk has 

 smaller leaves, sittingclose at the joints, and from these come 

 out the flowers in whorls; theyareof a deep blue colour, and 

 hang down, appearing at the same time with the preceding. 

 The seeds ripen in autumn. Native of Siberia. See the 

 ninth species. 



14. Dracocephalum Thymiflorum ; Small-lowered Dra- 

 gon's Head. Bractes oblong, quite entire ; corollas scarcely 

 longer than the calix. Stalks a foot and a half high ; lower 

 leaves very like those of Betony, standing upon very long 

 footstalks ; the upper small, sitting close to the stalks. The 

 flowers come out in whorls at every joint ; they are of a pale 

 purple or blue colour, and being small, make little appear- 

 ance. Seeds small, ovate-oblong, slightly convex on one 

 side, angular on the other, dark chesnut colour. Native of 

 Siberia. See the ninth species. 



15. Dracocephalum Cochin-chinense. Flowers in spikes; 

 bractes roundish, acute; leaves ovate-lanceolate, quite entire. 

 Stem herbaceous, ten inches high, erect, grooved, villose ; 

 leaves villose, few ; flowers violet-coloured, in terminating 

 spikes; bractes many-flowered; filamenta hairy. Native 

 of Cochin-china. 



Dracontium ; a genus of the class Gynandria, order Po- 

 lyandria. GENERIC CHARACTER. Calix : spathe boat-form, 

 leathery, one-valved, very large. Spadix : extremely sim- 

 ple, cylindric, very short, coated on all sides with fructifica- 

 tions disposed into a head, of each of which the perianth 

 proper none, unless you call the corolla so. Corolla .- proper 

 tive-petalled, concave; petals ovate, obtuse, somewhat equal, 

 coloured. Stamina .- in each filamenta seven, linear, depressed, 

 upright, equal, longer than the corolla ; anthers four-cor- 

 nered, twin, oblong, obtuse, upright. Pistil : germen some- 

 what ovate; style columnar, straight, length of the stamina; 

 stigma obscure, three-sided. Pericarp : in each a roundish 

 berry. Seeds : very many. ESSENTIAL CHARACTER. Spathe: 

 boat-form. Spadix: covered. Calix: none. Petals: five. 

 Berries : many-seeded. The species are, 



1. Dracontium Polyphyllum ; Many-leaved Dragon. 

 Scape very short; petiole rooted, torn; leaflets three- 

 parted; divisions pinnatifid. It has a large, knobbed, irre- 

 gular root, covered with a rugged brown skin. The stalk 



rises about a foot high, is smooth, and of a purple colour, 

 full of sharp protuberances of different colours, shining like 

 the skin of a serpent ; it is naked to the top, where it has a 

 tuft of leaves, which are divided into many parts. The 

 flower-stalk rises immediately from the root, and is seldom 

 more than three inches high, having an oblong swelling 

 hood, or sheath, at top, which opens lengthwise, showing 

 the short, thick, pointed style within, upon which the flowers 

 are closely ranged. When the sheath opens, says Linneus, 

 it exhales a smell like that of the most putrid carcase, ca- 

 pable of taking away any person's senses or understanding; 

 but it is remarkable, that after a few days, when the an- 

 thers begin to shed their pollen, this poisonous fetor in an 

 hour's time absolutely ceases. It grows naturally in several 

 of the islands of America, also in Surinam and Japan, where 

 they prepare a medicine from the acrid roots, which they 

 call konjakf, and esteem as a great emmenagogue, which 

 dissolute women take to procure abortion. In the Society 

 Islands, it is cultivated for the sake of the roots, which are 

 eaten in.a scarcity of the bread-fruit, notwithstanding their 

 extreme acrimony. This, and the second species, are tender, 

 and require a warm stove to preserve them in England. The 

 roots must be planted in pots filled with light kitchen garden 

 earth, and plunged into the tan-bed in the stove, where they 

 should constantly remain ; in the winter, they must be watered 

 very sparingly, but should be often refreshed in warm weather, 

 when they are in vigour. With this management the plants 

 will flower ; but their roots do not increase in our climate. 



2. Dracontium Spinosum ; Pricldy Dragon, leaves sa- 

 gittate ; peduncles and petioles prickly. The root is oblong, 

 thick, and full of joints, from which arise several leaves, 

 shaped like those of the common Arum ; but their footstalks 

 are covered with rough protuberances. The stalk which 

 supports the flower is short, and set with similar protube- 

 rances ; at the top is a spathe, about four inches long, as 

 thick as a man's finger, which opens longitudinally, and 

 exposes the spadix, which is set with flowers. It p 

 naturally in the island of Ceylon, and in several parts oflmlia. 



3. Dracontium Fcetidum,; Fetid Dragon, or Scunk-u-ced. 

 Leaves roundish. The flowers of this plant appear first ; 

 after they arrive to a state of perfection, the leaves come out 

 at a small distance, in a conic form, very closely rolled 

 together: theyare nearly ovate when expanded, and petioled. 

 The plant has no stem. The globe of flowers is nearly the 

 colour of the spathe, which is beautifully variegated with 

 scarlet and yellow. The corolla has four erect, very thick, 

 narrow, obtruncated petals. The stamina have four fluids h 

 filamenta, rising from the receptacle, longer than the corolla; 

 style rather longer than the stamina ; stigma bifid ; seeds 

 large, roundish, single, inclosed within the receptacle. Na- 

 tive of North America; where it is found in swamps, and 

 upon the borders of meadows, flowering in April and May. 

 The vulgar names of Scunk-cabbage and&cunA'-' iken 

 from its rank smell, nearly resembling that of a scunk or 

 polecat. The roots, dried and powdered, are an excellent 

 remedy in asthmatic cases. It may be given with safety to 

 children, in doses of four, five, or six grains; and to adults, 

 in doses of twenty grains and upwards. It appears to he au- 

 tispasmodic, and bids fair to be useful in many disorders. In 

 collecting the roots, particular care ought to be taken, that 

 the White Hellebore, or Pofa-root, which some call Scunk- 

 weed, be not mistaken for this. There is this obvious dif- 

 ference; White Hellebore lias a stalk, the real Scunk-weed 

 has none. Cattle will not touch it during summer. The Swedes, 

 settled in North America, call it liycrn-blad, or bynrn-ri 

 bears-leaf, or bears-root,) because the bears, when they 



