706 



ASTERACEyE. 



[Epigynous Exogens. 



kmds of Wormseed called Semen Cinse levanticum, or Semen cinse in granis. It is col- 

 lected in the North-east of Persia. The A. alba, and other species, serve as nourish- 

 ment to the herds of the Kirghese and Calmucks. — AnnaUs de Chem. 1. 49. The flower- 

 heads of A. cserulescens, a Mediterranean plant, are the anthelmintic known under the 

 name of Semen Seriphii, or Barbotine ; A. camphorata has a similar action, as also has 

 A. gallica, called in France Sanguerie" or Sanguerite. The nature of Tansy, Tanacetum 

 vulgare, is not very different. 



The Achilleas, or Milfoils, have an ethereal oil and a bitter, resinous, astringent mat- 

 ter in then- foliage. Achillea millefolium is highly astringent, and the Highlanders are 

 said to make of it an ointment, which dries and heals wounds. — Hooker Brit. Fl. p. 368. 

 The Achilleas setacea, nobilis, and others, are slightly stimulating and tonic. A. Age- 

 ratum, a South of Europe species, is a very powerful stimulant ; the French regard it 

 as a vulnerary, and call it Herbe au Charpentier. The Ptarmicas, formerly considered 

 Achilleas, are similar in their action. The heads of P. nana, atrata and moschata, are 

 used in the Swiss Alps as tea ; P. moschata is the basis of the aromatic liqueur called 

 Esprit dTva ; of P. vulgaris, the whole plant is pungent, provoking a flow of saliva ; its 

 dried leaves produce sneezing, but this is thought to be owing to their sharp marginal 

 teeth ; the root is aromatic. 



The ethereal oil, so abundant in these plants, is sometimes acrid, sometimes bitter ; it is 

 more especially secreted in the flower-heads of many species, which are in that form 

 employed for various purposes. First among them ranks Chamomile ( Anthemis nobilis), 

 a plant abounding on commons and similar wild places, where it is closely cropped by cat- 

 tle : it is a well known stimulating tonic, and its warm infusion is employed to excite vomit- 

 ing. The flower-heads of Santolina fragrantissima are extremely fragrant when dry, 



and are sold in the shops of Cairo 

 as a substitute for Chamomile, 

 under the name of Babouny or 

 Zeysoum. Forskahl says the fresh 

 juice of the plant is applied in 

 affections of the eyes. Matricaria 

 Chamomilla and Pjrethrum Par- 

 thenium (Feverfew) have a similar 

 action, but are not in general use ; 

 the smell of the latter is said to be 

 peculiarly offensive to bees, which, 

 it is added, may be easily kept at a 

 distance by carrying a handful of 

 the flower-heads. 



Others seem to be offensive to 

 other animals. We are assured by 

 Prof. Cantraine that Chrysanthe- 

 mum Leucanthemum is a certain 

 remedy against fleas. The Bos- 

 nians place the plant in the bed of 

 domestic animals, and the fleas are 

 destroyed in a very short time. — 

 Bull. A c. r. Brux. viii. 234. In some 

 cases the stimulating action is so 

 much increased as to assume an 

 acrid form. Maruta fcetida is a 

 weed, every part of which is foetid 

 and acrid, blistering the skin when 

 much handled ; its decoction is a 

 strong and active bitter, in the dose 

 of a tea-cupful producing copious 

 vomiting and sweating. With this 

 may be associated Anthemis tinc- 

 toria and Santolina Chamfecypa- 

 rissus, both obsolete remedies. In 

 some instances this same ethereal 

 oil acquires a remarkable pungency, 

 as in Anacyclus Pyrethrum, the 

 Pellitory of Spain, whose fleshy 

 root when fresh produces on the 



CCCCLXXV1I. 



Fig. CCOCLXXVII — C'lLrjsanthemum Leucanthemum. 



