74 PHARMACAL PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE. 



Between 1881 and 1885 the State of Colorado paid out nearly $200,000 

 in bounties to eradicate the weed. 



The poisonous principle has been studied, however, with unsatisfac- 

 tory results. An acid (loco acid) has been isolated, to which the 

 poisonous properties are attributed. Requires further careful study. 



150. Atriplex species. Chenopodiacece. 



Used as food and medicinally by Indians and Mexicans. They are 

 rich in impure soda. (Palmer Proc. A. Ph. A. 27 : 153, 1879.) 



151. Atriplex hortensis. Chenopodiacece. 



Very rich in sodium and other salts. Used as food and for medic- 

 inal purposes by Indians and settlers. 



152. Atropa belladonna L. Deadly nightshade. Solanacece. 



This plant thrives well in the United States, where it is grown as 

 an ornamental plant, and experimentally and commercially in several 

 places. The firm of Johnson and Johnson of New Brunswick, N. J., 

 manufacturers of belladonna plasters, have grown belladonna experi- 

 mentally for a number of years. The experiments are now being con- 

 tinued in California (Castro Valley, near Hayward, and elsewhere). 

 (King's Dispensatory, 18th ed., p. 332.) Leaves and roots are used, 

 which should not be collected from first-year plants. Collect from 

 plants two or four years old, at the time of flowering. Price of roots 

 and leaves per pound, about 12 cents wholesale. English belladonna 

 is much more valuable than German belladonna. All parts of the 

 plant are poisonous; used as a nerve sedative, diuretic, in catarrhs, 

 in ophthalmology, in the manufacture of plasters and ointments. 



Said to be a preventive and cure of scarlatina (homeopaths), checks 

 secretions, dilates pupil (mydriatic), used in asthma, phthisis, to relax 

 sphincter muscles, to relieve strangulated hernia, etc. (See, also, 

 The Pharmaceutical Era, June 9, 1904, p. 556, Pacific Druggist, 1905, 

 and Pacific Pharmacist, 1907.) For the comparative value of wild 

 and cultured belladonna, see Proc. A. Ph. A. 30 : 162. 1882. 



153. Aurantium dulcis L. varieties. Oranges. Aurantiacece. 

 Extensively cultivated in the State. Other members of the family 



are cultivated in the State, to say nothing of the remarkable crosses 

 between oranges and related fruits, as the tanglo, mandarin, pomelo, 

 navel oranges, etc. 



154. Baccharis glutinosa Pers. Asteroidece. 



A decoction of the leaves is used as an eyewash by the Coahilla 

 Indians. (Barrows.) 



