28 



NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



and Magnoliacece. Adanson 1 placed them in his family of the 

 Anonas ; Jussieu 2 placed them next in order, like De Candolle, 3 and 

 Bentham & Hooker. 4 Lindley 5 put them between Schizandrece 

 and Cucurbitacece ; Endlicher 6 between Ribesiece and Myristicacece ; 

 and J. G. Agardh 7 between Piper acece and Artocarpece, far from the 

 above families, but close to Monimiacece? 



The properties 9 of 'Menispermacece are as uniform as their organi- 

 zation ; they are usually plants with bitter tonic stomachic juices ; 

 more rarely venomous, containing an acrid narcotic toxic latex. 

 The plant that furnishes the Indian-berry (Fr., Coque du Levant), 

 or so-called Cocculus Indicus, combines these qualities in the highest 

 degree. It is a liana, Anamirta Cocculus, from India and the neigh- 

 bouring regions. 10 Its fruits are used by the natives to stupefy 

 fish ; but thus killed they may become a dangerous aliment." 

 They are very bitter, and are hence said to be used in England to 

 give a certain taste to the beer, to the great detriment of the public 

 health. 12 The poisonous principle seems to be confined to the 

 albumen, which contains picrotoxine and a concrete oil composed 

 of elaine and stearine ; 13 while the pericarp contains the insipid base 

 menispermine, which though emetic' is not poisonous. The root 

 and stem are used in India in fevers, under the name of Putrawalli ; u 



1 Fam. des PL, ii. (1763), 364. 



2 Gen., 285, Ord. XVII. 



3 Syst., i. 509 ; Prodr., i. 95, Ord. V. 



4 Gen., 30; 958, Ord. VI. 



5 Veg. Kingd., 307, Ord. CIV. 



6 Gen., 825, Ord. CLXXII. 



7 Theor. Syst. PL, 241. " Menispermacece 

 sunt Dioscoreis, Aristolochieis, Lardizabaleis, 

 Anonaceis, Berberideis, Schizandreis, &c, vario 

 mode analogs, Monimiaceis potissimum collate- 

 rals, Piperaceis, ut videtur, affinitate proximal et 

 liarum formam superiorem constituentes." 



8 De Candolle has also indicated relations 

 with Sterculiacece. Dioscorece have often the 

 habit, foliage, and flowers of Menispermacece. 

 So have the climbing Phytolaccacece, besides 

 possessing a polvcarpellary gynajceum. 



9 Endl., Fachirid., 415. — Likdl., Veg. 

 Kingd., 308. — Guib., Drog. SimpL, ed. 6, iii. 

 726. — Pereira, Mem. Mat. Med., ed. 4, ii. p. 

 ii. 661. — Rosenth., Syn. Plant. Diaph., 581. 



10 Wight & Arn., Prodr., i. 146. — Pereiea, 

 op. cit., ed. 4, ii. p. ii. 666. — Lindl., Fl. Med., 

 371.— Guib., Drog. SimpL, ed. 6, iii. 732. — 



H. Bn., in Diet. Encycl. des Sc. Med., W. 95. — 

 A. paniculata Colebb., in Trans. Linn. Soc, 

 xiii. 52. — A. racemosa Colebb., loc. cit., 66 (ex 

 Arn.). — Menispermum Cocculus L., Spec, 

 1468. — M. lacunosum Lamk., Diet., iv. 98. — 



M. heteroclitum Roxb., Fl. Ltd., iii. 817. if. 



monadelphum Roxb., Cat. Merc, t. 30.— 

 Cocculus lacunosus DC, Prodr., n. 11. — C. 

 suberosus DC, n. 12. — Bacca orientalis, Grana 

 Orientis, Cocculi indi, Cocculce officinarum, 

 Cocculus levanlicus s. piscatorius OS. — Mahez- 

 heregi, Maheirheza Avic;. (see pp. 1, 15, fig. 1, 

 18-21). 



11 Meb. & Del., Diet. Mat. Med., ii. 329. 



12 Pereira {loc cit., 668) estimates the im- 

 portation of these fruits into England at 2500 

 sacks in 1834. [It is to be hoped that the 

 stringent prohibitory clauses of recent Acts of 

 Parliament will stop this most shameful adultera- 

 tion. — Tbans.] 



13 Guib., loc cit., 733. 



14 This name is also applied to Cocculus crispus 

 (p. 30, note 2). 



