19 



of Wild Celery. A decoction of its leaves proves salutary 

 in cases of dropsy, and has been even administered suc- 

 cessfully in gravel. At times some resinous matter exudes 

 from the stem, which however, in its appearance, smell, 

 and in every respect, greatly differs from the Gunimi (jaU 

 hanuw; the well-known drug of oar dispensaries. Linnaeus, 

 in giving the name to this species, seems to have been led 

 astray by mistake, the real drug being derived from a 

 different plant, a native of the north of Africa, and prob- 

 ably from a kind of Ferula. 



ARCTOPUS. Lin. 



( UmbellifercB.) 

 V. — 2. PENTANDRIA DIGYNIA. LIN. SYST. 



44. Arctopus echinatus. Lin. Root spindle-shaped, 

 resinous, stemless. Radical leaves, pressed to the 

 ground, stellate, hispid; their expanded lobes nearly 

 round, incisid, 3 fid ; single lobes dentate, ciliated, 

 spiny. FloiL^ers dioecious, umbellate ; male umbel 

 stalked, female sessile. Petals white. 



This plant, the Platdoorn or Ziekte-troost of the Boers, is 

 one of those few indigenous remedies, which, from the 

 very establishment of the colony, have been constantly used 

 by its inhabitants. At that early period, the European 

 settlers, being often without their necessary stock of medi- 

 cines, had to learn from their Hottentot neighbours, who 

 held this plant in great esteem. It is demulcent and 

 diuretic, and somewhat approaches the Sarsapai^illa. The 

 decoction of the root is the general form under which it 

 is prescribed in lues, lepra, or cutaneous chronic eruptions 

 of all kinds. It also furnishes a sort of resin, which is 

 easily procurable by making incisions into the root while 

 it is fresh. It has been shown from chemical experiments, 

 that the root of this plant contains an alcaloid, which, com- 

 bined with acids, assumes the form of neutral salts. Thus 

 the Arctojmim sulj^huricum consists of small scaly white 

 crystals, which are astringent in taste, and which in half 

 grain doses, produce coagulation of the saliva within the 

 mouth. 



VISCUM. Lin. 

 (^LoranthacecB. ) 



XXII. — 4. DIOECIA TETRANDRIA. LIN. SYST. 



45. Viscum capense. Lin. f. A parasitical leafless 

 shrub. Stem blunt, square, erect, articulated, smooth. 



