204 



LILIACEyE. 



[Endogens. 



that in India a species very closely allied to the Mediterranean plant, and called Scilla 

 indica by Dr. Roxburgh, is substituted for the Urginea maritima, and Iskeel given as 

 its Greek name ; the bull) is also used by weavers in preparing their thread. — Royle. 

 According to Theodore Martius the bulbs of Ledebouria hyacinthoides are also used as a 

 substitute for Squills in the East Indies ; Ainslie states that they are employed in 

 cases of strangury and fever in horses. Both leaves and roots of Erythronium america- 

 num are emetic ; so are the bulbs of Muscari moschatum, various Gageas, Hyacinths, 

 and Ornithogalums. As purgatives, the Aloes are in most extensive use ; it is, how- 

 ever, exclusively from the arborescent species, especially A. vulgaris, soccotrina, pur- 

 purascens, and spicata, that the drug is collected. Similar qualities reside in Bulbine plani- 

 folia, the roots of common Asparagus, Lily of the Valley, the capsules of Yuccas, &c. 

 As may be supposed, the peculiar secretions which produce actions like these will, 

 when a little modified, become diuretic ; and thus we have a long list of species to 

 which this quality is attributed. Foremost are Alliums, whose bulbs abound in free phos- 

 phoric acid ; then follows Asparagus, notorious for its singular effect upon the urine, 

 many of the emetic species, and the roots of Asphodelus ramosus, Asphodeline lutea, 

 Anthericum ramosum, the berries of Smilacina racemosa, &c. According to Dr. 

 Dieffenbach, the root of Phormium tenax is an excellent substitute for Sarsaparilla, 

 acting as a purgative, diuretic, sudorific, and expectorant. — Chem. Gaz. 1 842. 1 50. Then, 

 when these acrid principles become concentrated, we have virulent poisons. Such are 

 Gloriosa superba, and the fetid bulb of the Crown Imperial, whose very honey is said to 

 be emetic as it distils from the flowers. 



Resinous matters are yielded in abundance by some species, whence they have been 

 found useful in dysenteries. Of these the most celebrated is Dragon's-blood, a tonic 

 astringent resin, sometimes employed in diarrhoea and passive haemorrhages ; it is yielded 

 in part by Dracaena Draco, from the surface of the leaves, and from the cracks in its 

 trunk ; this is, however, scarcely known to modern druggists, who sell the astringent 

 resin of Pterocarpus. A fragrant brownish yellow resin, called Botany Bay gum, 

 when burnt smelling like Benzoin, flows in abundance from Xanthorrhsea arborea. 

 It is probable that some such secretion occurs in Dianella odorata, whose powdered 

 roots are said by Blume to be made into fragrant pastiles. The roots of Dracaena 

 terminalis and ferrea are said to be useful astringents, to which may be added Streptopus 

 amplexifolius and Ruscus hypoglossum, both of which have been employed in gargles. 



A few miscellaneous instances of useful Liliaceous plants still remain to be added. The 

 roots of Asparagus raeemosus and adscendens are both employed medicinally in North 

 India ; those of the latter, conical in form and semi-transparent, are considered a good 

 substitute for salep.— Royle. Polianthes tuberosa, or the Tuberose, is well known for 

 its delicious fragrance. This plant emits its scent most strongly after sunset, and has 

 been observed in a sultry evening, after thunder, when the atmosphere was highly 

 charged with electric fluid, to dart small sparks, or scintillations of lucid flame, in great 

 abundance from such of its flowers as were fading. The roots of Sanseviera have been 

 employed as remedies for gonorrhoea, pains of the joints, and coughs. The bulbs of 

 Erythronium Dens canis have been regarded as aphrodisiac and anthelmintic. Oil of 

 Lilies was prepared by infusing the flowers of Lilium candidum in oil. Tulbaghia, a 

 Cape genus, smelling like Garlic, is boiled in milk and prescribed in phthisical complaints. 

 Asparagus owes its remarkable qualities to the presence of a peculiar principle called 

 Asparagin, which is said to be more abundant in Asparagus acutifolius than in the species 

 commonly cultivated. The flowers of Cordyline reflexa are said to be emmenagogue. 

 A decoction of the root of Dianella odorau is administered in Java in gonorrhoea, dysury, 

 and fluor albus, according to Blume. The Butchers' Brooms (Rusci) of Europe, were 

 once celebrated as aperients and diuretics, on account of their bitter, subacrid, mucilagi- 

 nous roots, especially Ruscus aculeatus, the o^v/xvpaii/r] of Dioscorides. The Arabian 

 writers called the fruit Rhababath, out of which, according to Endlicher, the Latinobar- 

 barous word Cubeba has been corrupted. Ruscus hypophyllum had considerable repu- 

 tation as a stimulant of the uterus. The seeds of these Rusci are very horny, and when 

 roasted are said to furnish a pleasant substitute for coffee. The bulbs of the common 

 Tulip are sometimes substituted fraudulently for Colchicums ; large quantities have been 

 thus imported from Naples ; they are readily known by being true bulbs, while the 

 Colchicum has a corm. It is not a little remarkable that the Yuccas, like some species 

 of Fourcroya, have the property of producing tubers although they have arborescent stems. 



GENERA. 



I— Tui.ipe^e, DC. 



Erythronium, Linn. 



Dent Ca»is, Tournef. 

 Tulipa, Tournrf. 

 Orithva. Don. 



fiagea, Salisb. 



OrnUhoxanthum, Lk. 

 BulblBaria, Zucc. 

 [phigenia, Kth. 

 l'lecostigma, Traut. 



Hornungia, Bernh. 

 Lloydia, Salisb. 



Rhabdocrinvm, Rclib. 



IfectaroboUi rium, Led. 

 CaloiAortus, Piush. 



Cyclobotlira. Don. 

 r.iicrinum, Null. 

 Fritiilaria, Linn. 



PetUium, Linn. 



Imperialis, Juss. 



