23 



baceous, leafy. Leaves interruptedly bipiiinatlfid, 

 stalked, smooth above and tomentose beneath; lobes 

 linear-lanceolate, falcate. Petioles bearing stipules at 

 base. Flower-heads peduncled, racemoso-paniculate, 

 one-sided, hemisphaerical, drooping. Scales of the 

 involucre ovate, lanceolate, scarious. Recepticle naked. 

 The whole of the Wormwood (Alsem.) has a strong, 

 balmy smell, and a bitter, aromatic, but nauseous taste, 

 owing to a green essential oil which it contains. The 

 herb is tonic, antispasmodic, and anthelmintic, and very 

 useful in debihty of the stomach, visceral obstructions, 

 jaundice, hypochondriasis, or similar evils, while its effi- 

 cacy as a vermifuge is generally admitted. The best forms 

 for using it are the infusion, the decoction, and tincture, 

 the latter being preferred by the colonists. A strong infu- 

 sion is used externally as a collyrium in weakness of the 

 eyes, and the pounded leaves and stalks are employed as a 

 discutient in oedema and sugillations. 



TANACETUM. Lin. 



i^CompositcB.) 



XIX. — SYNGENESIA. LIN. SYST. 



52. Tanacetum multiflorum. Thbg. Root woody. 

 Stem herbaceous, angular, erect. Branches fastigiate, 

 pubescent. Leaves alternate, rough, pinnatifid ; 

 pinnae linear, inciso-dentate. Capitula terminal, 

 corymbose, many-flowered, small, yellow. 



This species, hke all other plants of the same genus, 

 contains a great deal of resin, and a specific, ethereal oil, 

 of a very strong and peculiar odour. It has a bitter, 

 aromatic, acrid taste, and is used as a tonic, antispasmodic, 

 and anthelmintic, in flatulency, gout, amenorrhoea, and 

 dropsy ; but particularly for expelling lumbrici and other 

 intestinal worms. It is administered in the form of powder 

 or infusion, which latter promotes perspiration and acts 

 as a mild diuretic. Applied as a fomentation, it is 

 resolvent and anodyne, and is used also for making injec- 

 tions. This plant, called Worm-kruid, grows very abun- 

 dantly in sandy soil, close to the sea-shore. 



ERIOCEPHALUS. Lin. 



( CompositcB.) 

 XIX. — SYNGENESIA. LIN. SYST. 



53. Eriocephalus umbellulatus. D, C. Shrubby. 



