- hulks.] P01 YGOH \i l 



: the world which '1" i 

 this Order. In I lines, North Ami I Asia n 



and waste grounds, in the form of Docks sad u ; the : 



'"■'ill- la and trailing or twining Polyg i 



n i -t InJit-s they tak>- the form of < S 



Rhnbarbe ; and '■*■ a in the desoL 

 shape "f < »\\ ria. 



5 pel on the one hand, and Rhubarb on the other, mas 

 tiree of thi gi ni ral qualities of this i >rdi r. \\ bile the leav< - and 

 and a gr eeab le , I ire universally Dsnseonsand pnrgatire. '1 



is to be superadded a third, that of astringency, which i- found in .. 

 degree in the whole Order, but which I lobs us.- werful at 



ri\al gum Kino in it- - gonums are also acrid, as the P. II 



piper, which is said to blister the skin, and then olygonui . 



taya in the lai the Brazilian Indians, which has as. ry bitter pe] ; 



infusion of the Banes of which is used to purity and condi use 1 1 1 - - juice ol th< - 

 and is employed on the Rio St Francisco with advantage in the du led O Lai 



an enlargement of the colon, caused bj debility. Oxalic acid is copious!; 

 both Docks and Rhubarbs; the latter mon ov« r contains nitric and malic arid- in abun- 

 dance, and it i- these which give an agreeable the stalks of the latter when 

 cooked, but which also render them bo ill-suit. -d !■> the digestion of some \ 

 tin- facts concerning the qualities and origin of the Rhubarbs in medical use, the n adi r 

 maj consult Royle, Guibourt, Pereu r, EndUcher, and the P 

 It seems probable that Borne at least of the Turkey Rhubarb i- Rheum pahnatum, that 

 R nndnlatnm is also largely collected, and that R. En li and Webbianum furnish the 

 Rhubarb used in the hospitals of India. Goebel positively contradicts tl 

 made by Borne writers that Rheum leucorhizum yields a tim- sort of Rhubarb ; he ■ 

 that it has an insipid sliin.vta.-ti-. not at all like that of Rhubarb. — A 

 Before this sort of dm;; ssa.- so common, the mots of Rumex alpinus were employed in 

 it- stead, under the name of nfoinVa Rhubarb ; it is however much less actis- 

 Rheum Ribee, called Riwasch or Ribas in the East, furnishes the Arabs with an acidul - 

 medicme,and it- leaf-stalks are used in the preparation of sherbet 1 1 

 Rumex ; their prevailing character i- astringi ncy, which has given thi ■ 

 a- remedies f°>r diarrhoea, and as stomachics. K. Patientia (\a-*a8ov Krprt\.nov), although 

 now expelled from gardens, was on - a subacrid potherb, and ita 



i as l:i\ati\. -. Som Is, whose aridity i- chiefly owing t" oxalic n« - 1 .1 . are all 

 ol this same genua ; the most esteemed among them for garden pui 

 A legion of species forms the genus Polygonum, celebrated in various ways. S 



1 in dyeing, especially P. tinctorium, which yields a bine hardly ii 

 and is largely cultivated for it in France and Flanders. Of P. Hydropiper th 



• • ad as vesicants ; it i- n puted to be a powerful diuretic, but t.> I 

 its activity by drying, on which account it reouin - to be used fresh : it ssill dj 

 yellow. P. Bistorts i- .i oseful astringent ; the decoction maybe emplo; 

 and leucorrl □ injection, as a gargle in relaxed Bore thr. .:it ai 



and as :i lotion to ulcers attended with excessive discharge; internally 

 employed, combined with Gentian, in intermittents ; it may ale 

 hsemorrhagi - and diarrhoea. .-. vend of the Brazilian Polygonums 

 - useful as astringents, and to be employed in the tn atmi nt of bj 

 I agopyrum esculentum,or Buckwheat, tataricum,and othi rs 

 their mealy albumen ; most of P. aviculare are said to I 

 and purgative ; but this is doubted l.s Meisner. 1 i tn 



used ;i- medicine bj Hind.... practitioners, n> ease the pain 

 The leaves "f P. hispidum an- said bj Humboldt t.. be substituti I 



robacco. Coccoloba uvifera, remarkable for the succu 

 its nuts are enveloped, is on that account called the S 



ami yields an extremely astringent extract : its w 1 dyi - 



are acid, pleasant, and eatable. The root of Calhgonum P 

 in the sandy step] - - beria, furnishes from it- ro ts, wl ■ 



my nutritious substance, resembling rraga which the Calmu 



times of scarcity, while they chew the acid branches and fi 

 Ifnhlenbeckia adpr stated by Mr. Backhi us 



fruitsoi - ti-h taste, which have been madi into 



ements of Australia. The trunk and branches of I us- 



ed like those of the Cecropia, or Trumpi t-tn Ju- 



brownish ants, which inflict a most painful bit- - V. //. 1. . 



