388 COMPOSITE. 



Artemisia which he calls A. Cina. It was obtained in Turkestan by- 

 Prof. Petzholdt, who received it from the people gathering the drug. 

 The specimen kindly communicated to us by Prof. Willkomm has 

 flowerheads which do not entirely resemble the wormseed of trade, in 

 that they have fewer scales, but their number may be somewhat 

 varying. 



History — Several species of Absinthium are mentioned byDiosco- 

 rides, one of which called 'AyJyivOiov OaXda-criov or 1,epL^ov, having very 

 small seeds (capitules), and growing in Cappadocia, he states to be taken 

 in honey as a remedy for ascarides and lumbrici : one can hardly doubt 

 but that this is the modern wormseed. Another species is described 

 by the same author as being called Xavroviou, from its growing in the 

 country of the Santones in Gaul (the modern Saintonge) ; he asserts it 

 to resemble crepKpov in its properties. 



In an epistle on intestinal worms attributed to Alexander Tralli- 

 anus,^ who practised medicine with great success at Rome in the 6th 

 century, the use is recommended of a decoction oi Absinthium marinum 

 (OaXac-crla a\}/-lv6ti) as a cure for ascarides and round worms. 



Semen sanctum vel Alexandrinum is mentioned as a vermifuge for 

 children by Saladinus about A.D. 1450, and by Ruellius, Dodon?eus, the 

 Bauhins, and other naturalists of the 16 th century. Tragus ^ mentions 

 that it is imported by way of Genoa Its ancient reputation has been 

 fully maintained in modern times, and in the form partly of Santonin, 

 the drug is still extensively employed. 



Description — Good samples of the drug consist almost exclusively 

 of entire, unopened flowerheads or capitules, which are so minute that 

 it requires about 90 to make up the weight of one grain. In samples 

 less pure, there is an admixture of stalks, and portions of a small pinnate 

 leaf The flowerheads are of an elliptic or oblong form, about j^ of an 

 inch long, greenish yellow when new, brown if long kept ; they grow 

 singly, less frequently in pairs, on short stalks, and are formed of about 

 18 oblong, obtuse, concave scales, closely imbricated. This involucre is 

 much narrowed at the base in consequence of the lowermost scales 

 being considerably shorter than the rest. The capitule is sometimes 

 associated with a few of the upper leaves of the stem, which are short, 

 narrow, and simple. Notwithstanding its compactness, the capitule is 

 somewhat ridged and angular,^ from the involuclar scales having a 

 strong, central nerve or keel. The middle portion of each scale is 

 covered with minute, yellow, sessile glands, which are wanting on the 

 transparent scarious edge. The latter is marked with extremely fine 

 striae and is quite glabrous ; in the young state the keel bears a few 

 woolly colourless hairs, but at maturity the whole flowerhead is shining 

 and nearly glabrous.* The florets number from 3 to 5 ; they have (in 

 the bud) an ovoid corolla, glandular in its lower portion, a little longer 

 than the ovary, which is destitude of pappus. 



^ Contained in a work by Hieronymus natural shape of the flowerheads, shows 



Mercurialis, entitled Vanarum Lectionum that this shrunken, angular form is not 



libri quatuor,'VeiiGt. 1570; also in Pusch- found in the growing plant, 



mann's editionof -4 fecawrfer (see Appendix), * Yet too much stress must not be laid on 



i. 238. 240. this character, for as Besser remarks— 



'^ln'RTVinie\s(Devcralierbarumcognitione), "pericUnii squamrein unoloco tomento hrevi 



Argentorati, 1531. 196. plus minusve caiue, in aliis nude:, imo 



' Maceration in water, which restores the 7iUidce." 



