424 



EXOGENOUS OR DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS. 



balsam, chiefly accumulated in the roots and in the reservoirs of 

 the fruit, upon which their aromatic and carminative properties 

 depend : sometimes it is small in quantity, so as merely to flavor 

 the saccharine roots which are used for food ; as in the Carrot and 

 Parsnip. But in many an alkaloid principle exists, pervading the 

 foliage, stems, and roots, especially the latter, which renders them 



acrid-narcotic poisons. And finally, many species of warm re- 

 gions yield odorous gum-resins (such as Galbanum, Assafoetida, 

 &c.), which have active stimulant properties. The stems of Cel- 

 ery (Apiurn graveolens), which are acrid and poisonous when the 

 plant grows wild in marshes, &c., are rendered innocent by culti- 

 vation in dry ground, and by blanching. Among the virulent 

 acrid-narcotic species, the most famous are the Hemlock (Conium 

 maculatum, naturalized in this country), and Cicuta maculata 

 (Cowbane, Water-Hemlock) indigenous to this country, the root 

 of which (like that of the C. virosa of Europe) is a deadly poi- 



FIG. 727. Conium maculatum (Poison Hemlock), a portion of the spotted stem, with a leaf; 

 and an umbel with young fruit. 728. A flower umbellet. 729. A flower, enlarged. 730. The 

 fruit. 731. Cross-section of the same, showing the involute (ceElospermous) albumen of the 

 two seeds. 732. Longitudinal section of one mericarp, exhibiting the minute embryo near the 

 apex of the albumen. 



