CAPSICUM 



387 



515. SOLA'NUM Carolinensis, N.F. Linn<. HORSE NETTLE. A 20 per cent, 

 tincture of this herb has been recommended in epilepsy in doses of 30 to 60 ITR 

 (2 to 4 mils). 



516. CAPSICUM. CAPSICUM 



CAYENNE PEPPER. RED PEPPER 

 The dried ripe fruit of Cap'sicum frutescens Blume, deprived of its calyx. 



BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS. A small, rough, branched shrub, i to 2 feet 

 high. Leaves ovate or lanceolate, entire, hairy. Flowers small, white, 

 solitary, axillary, drooping. Capsule deep red, very pungent. 



SOURCE. Tropical America and Asia; cultivated. 



DESCRIPTION OF DRUG. The fruits vary in shape and size, but those 

 most generally used are oblong, wrinkled, pendulous, pod-like berries, 



FIG. 222. Capsicum fastigiatum Branch. 



the largest (American), about the thickness of a finger, with a long, 

 recurved apex; pericarp bright red, sometimes yellow, thin, translu- 

 cent; it incloses two or three cells and contains numerous fiat, reni- 

 form, whitish seeds, which are surrounded by a dry, loose parenchyma, 

 and fastened to a slender placenta; odor peculiar, very irritating, 

 especially in powder or in the fresh state; taste fiery. 



Powdered capsicum of the market consists of several species of 

 capsicum ground up together. It is of a reddish color. This is espe- 



