PHARMACAL PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE. 49 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE NATIVE AND INTRODUCED MEDICINAL AND POISONOUS 



PLANTS OE CALIFORNIA, WITH INDEX TO 



COMMON NAMES. 



The list of medicinal and poisonous plants of California herein 

 reported includes both native and introduced species and varieties. 

 The list is not complete, as many of the more common introduced fruit 

 trees, shrubs, weeds, garden- and pot-herbs having more or less medic- 

 inal use are not cited, for the reason that they are almost universally 

 known. 



Details regarding description of species are omitted, as this informa- 

 tion can be found in any handbook on California flora. A fuller dis- 

 cussion of the therapeutic use of well-known medicinal plants is also 

 omitted, as that information can be obtained from any standard work 

 on vegetable drugs, such as the United States, National, and other 

 dispensatories, text-books on materia medica, such as Maisch's, Wall's, 

 Sayre's, Culbreth's, and others. An effort has been made to cite the 

 popular medicinal uses of plants by Indians, early settlers, and the 

 laity generally. With many of the plants mentioned, this is the only 

 use known. A further careful study may put some of these to the use 

 of medical practice. 



The literature cited with the plants mentioned will serve to readily 

 obtain further information regarding range, properties, and use. Un- 

 less otherwise stated, the plant cited is a native of the State. Some of 

 the plants cited are of no practical value, but they are given in order to 

 meet the request for information pertaining to them, which has come in 

 from time to time. It may again be repeated that our knowledge of the 

 properties of most of the native medicinal plants of California is very 

 limited indeed. Some of them enjoy such a wide, popular use that they 

 should be more thoroughly investigated chemically and therapeutically, 

 in order that it may be ascertained upon what these reputed virtues 

 depend. 



As will be observed, the plants are cited in alphabetical order, accord- 

 ing to botanical names. In most instances, a mere mention of prop- 

 erties and use must suffice. In fact, that is all the information that is 

 necessary to give, as the fuller discussion can be found in the Dispen- 

 satories and Text-books on Materia Medica, to which reference is made. 

 The list of common names will be found convenient for reference. 



4 BF 



