ASPIDIUM 589 



SECTION XIY.— VEGETABLE DRUGS KILLING 

 PARASITES. 



Class 1.— Used to Destroy Tape-Worms. 



AspiDiUM. Aspidium. (U. S. P.) 



Syrumym. — Felix roas, B.P.; radix filicis maris, male 

 fern, male shield fern, E.; rhizome (racine) de fougere male, 

 Fr. ; wurmfarnwurzel, waldfarnwurzel, johanniswurzel, G. ; 

 rhizoma filicis, P.G. 



The rhizome of Drjopteris Felix-mas Schott, and of 

 Dryopteris Marginalis Asa Gray (nat. ord. Filices). 



Habitat — D. filix-mas, Europe ; D. marginalis, U. S. 



Description. — From 5 to 15 Cm. long, 10 to 25 Mm. in 

 thickness, and, together with the closely imbricated, dark- 

 brown, roundish, and slightly curved stipe-remnants, 50 to 

 75 Mm. in diameter ; densely curved, with brown, glossy, 

 transparent and soft, chaffy scales ; internally pale-green ; 

 rather spongy ; vascular bundles about ten (Dryopteris filix- 

 mas) or six (Dryopteris marginalis) in number, arranged in 

 an interrupted circle ; odor sliglit, but disagreeable ; taste 

 sweetish, acrid, somewhat bitter, astringent and nauseous. 



Constituents, — The active principle is (1) filicic acid 

 {C35H42OJ3), a white, amorphous crystalline substance ; there 

 are also : 2, a fixed oil, 6 per cent. ; 3, resin, 4 per cent. ; 4, 

 filicin (C35H40O12), a crystalline principle soluble in chloroform, 

 benzol, fixed and volatile oils ; 5, filix-red, a coloring matter ; 

 6, a small quantity of a volatile oil. 



Dose.— H. & a, I v.-vi. (150.-180.); Sh., 5 ii.-iv. (60.-120.) ; 

 Lambs, 3i.-ii. (4.-8.); D. & C, 3 ss.-i. (15.-30.). 



PREPARATION. 



Oleoresina Aspidii. Oleoresin of Aspidium. (U. S. P.) 



Made by percolation with ether, distillation and evaporation of the 

 ether. 



Dose (also of the extractum filicis liquidum, B. P.) — H. & C, 

 3iii.-vi.(13.-34.); Sh. & Sw., 3 i.-ii. (4.-8.); D. & C, rnxv.- 3 i. (1.-4.) 



