29 



Tube of the calyx egg-shaped, its lobes acute. Flowers 

 erect, solitary, white. 



Common about watercourses, ditches, &c., in the summer. 

 It is an emollient, and used accordingly as an ingredient 

 in poultices. Its smell, when dried, resembles that of 

 Trigonella foenum graecum. 



STAPELIA. Lin. 



i^Asclepiadece.^ 

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



66. Stapelia pilifera. Lin, Root fibrous. Stem 

 simple or branchy, leafless, succulent, round, fur- 

 rowed, tubercled ; tuberciiles hair-pointed. Floioers 

 stalked, solitary. Calyx 5 cleft ; corolla. 5 fid, its 

 segments ovate, acuminate, patent. 



The stem of this plant, which grows in the dreary wastes 

 of the Karroo, is fleshy and of the size and form of a 

 cucumber. It has an insipid, yet cool and watery taste, 

 and is eaten by the natives, who call it Guaap, for the 

 purpose of quenching their thirst. Infused with brandy, 

 this plant is said to be a useful remedy for piles. 



GOMPHOCAIIPUS. R.Br. 



(AsclepiadecB,^ 



V. 2. PENTANDRIA DYGYNIA. LIN. SYST. 



67. Gomphocarpus crispus. R. Br. Stem erect, 

 hispid. Branches alternate. Leaves on short petioles, 

 subsessile, opposite, linear-lanceolate, round or sub- 

 cordate at base, crisp and wavy at the margin, rigid, 

 acuminate. Flowers stalked, axillary, or terminal, 

 umbellate. Pedicels bracteolate^ hairy. Corolla re- 

 flexed ; leaves of the corona pointed upwards, oblong, 

 toothed at base. Follicles compressed, beaked, downy. 

 Rihs naked. 



This plant, the Bitter-wo7^tel of the farmers, is found 

 among hilly places in the western part of the colony. The 

 root, formerly known to the Dutch apothecaries as the 

 Radix Asclepiadis crispce, is extremely bitter and acrid, 

 and on account of its diuretic virtues, a decoction or infu- 

 sion of it has been recommended in various kinds of dropsy, 

 and a tincture prepared of it, is said to be a valuable 

 remedv in colic. 



