APOCYJSrUM DOGBANE. 229 



Stamens 5, inserted on the base of the corolla ; filaments flat, shorter than 

 the sagittate anthers. Style none ; stigma large, slightly 2-lobecl. Fruit 

 consists of 2 long, coriaceous pods ; seeds numerous, ovoid, with a long 

 tuft of silky down at the apex. 



Perennial herbs with upright, branching stems, opposite, mucronate- 

 pointed leaves, tough fibrous bark, and small, pale, terminal or axillary 

 flowers, on short pedicels. 



Apocyntim androsaemifolium Linne. — Dogbane. 



Description. — Stem 2 to 3 feet high, smooth, often purplish, with 

 forked branches above. Leaves ovate, petiolate, smooth or somewhat 

 downy. Flowers in loose spreading cymes ; corolla bell-shaped, the lobes 

 revolute, the tube longer than the ovate, pointed segments of the calyx, 

 pale rose-color, appearing in June and July. 



Habitat. — In copses, and borders of woods ; common. 



Apocynum cannabinum Linne. — Indian Hemp. 



Description. — Stem and branches erect or ascending, 2 to 3 feet high, 

 smooth. Leaves oblong or oblong-lanceolate, obtuse or rounded, or the 

 uppermost acute at both ends, petiolate. Flowers smaller than in the pre- 

 ceding, in close, many-flowered cymes ; corolla-lobes nearly erect, the tube 

 not longer than the lanceolate segments of the calyx, greenish-white, ap- 

 j)earing in July and August. A somewhat variable species. 



Habitat. — In shady places ; common. 



Part Used. — The root of A. cannabinum — United States Pharmacopoeia. 

 The root of the other species is also used. 



Constituents. — The active principles of these plants have not been iso- 

 lated. 



Preparations. — They are usually employed in decoction. 



Medical Properties and Uses. — A. cannabinum is diaphoretic, diuretic, 

 emetic, and cathartic. It has been used chiefly in dropsy, and is said to 

 possess some advantages over many hydrogogues in that it acts not only 

 upon the bowels but powerfully also upon the skin and kidneys. The 

 other species possesses similar properties, but is believed to be less active. 



ASCLEPIADACE/E. 



Character of the Order. — Plants with opposite or whorled, rarely scat- 

 tering, exstipulate leaves, and a milky juice. Calyx 5-parted. Corolla 5- 

 parted, the lobes commonly valvate in the bud. Stamens 5, inserted in 

 the corolla ; filaments commonly united into a tube which encloses the 

 pistil ; anthers adherent to the stigma ; pollen cohering into granular or 

 wax-like masses. Fruit a pod. 



A large order of chiefly tropical plants, represented in North America 

 by only a few comparatively unimportant genera. 



