84 



NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



salivation auJ coughing. In its native country it is employed fresh 

 us a remedy for the bites of venomous serpents, being prized beyond 

 measure on this account and known under the name of Snake-root. 

 Dry, it is less active, but in large doses causes vomiting and alvine 

 evac\iations. It is also an active medicament in pulmonary 

 affections, chronic bronchitis, catarrh, plciuisy with effusion, eroiip, 

 acute rheumatism in the joints and ophthalmia ; it is diuretic, dia- 

 phoretic, an emmeuagogue, and a hydragogue. American practi- 

 tioners have prescribed it for all maladies, " even to extravagance." 

 According to the old analysis of Gehlen, its active pungent prin- 

 ciple, the so-called smccjinc or polijgalmc^ when purified, is found 

 to be the polijgulic ^ acid, causing a cough and sneezing, and 

 frothing in water like saponine. There are in America a great many 

 species possessing qualities similar to those of P. of Virginia : P. 

 caracasana,'^ formosa,^ and monticola* in Cumaua, and iu the United 

 States P. jmrpurca^^ sanguinca '^ and 2^aucifolia ; ^ in Mexico P. 

 glmidulosa ^ and scoporia^'^ in the Antilles P. paniculata^^ in Brazil 

 P. pouga.,^^ in Australia P. veronicea^- in India P. urvenis^^ and 

 crotalarioidcs^^^ at the Cape P. serpentariaP All arc cvacuant, more 

 or less vomitive, used as deobstruent in chronic bronchial catarrh, 

 and have most of them, rightly or wrongly, the reputation of being 

 alexipharmic. In Chili an infusion of P. thesioides ^" is adminis- 

 tered in the treatment of dropsy and pleurisy. P. (?) fheesaiis ^'' 

 is so named because the Japanese and Javanese use it as tea. The 



1 Ql'KV. in Joftyjf. P/mrtii. xxii. 460. 



2 H. B. K. Nov. am. ct Spec. v. 407.— DC. 

 Pnilr. n. 120.— Lindl. M. Med. 12.5. 



^ II. B. K. loc. cU. — RosENTH. oy. oil. lii'I. 

 * H. B. K. loc. cit. 405.— DC. r,-or!r. n. 111. 



' NUTT. C,X RoSENTH. O]). cit. 7S1. — P. S{m- 



ffiiimaMiCHX. (nocL.). 



6 L. Spec. 991.— Lindl. Ft. M,d. 126. 



' W. Spec. iii. 880. — Pnrpnrcn Ait. Hort. Kew. 

 ed. 2, iv. 244 (nee Nutt.). — Trielispermti ijriiiidi- 

 fiira H.AFi'S . Spec/i . i. 117. 



' H. B. K. loc. cit. 404, t. 50. — Viola puiictata 

 W. {exJiwin. et .SV/(. S;/xt. v. 391). 



» H. B. K. loc. cit. 399.— DC. Pi-odr. n. 101. 



1" L. Ama:)i. V. 402.— S\v. Oi.i. 272, t. G, fig. 

 2.— DC. Prodi: n. 100. 



11 JIart. Mat. Med. Ilim. t. 2, 8, fig. 6— A. S. 



H. PI. Us. Bras. n. 71 ; Ft. Bras. Mer. ii. 2. 

 Very active and, according to Mautius, as good 

 as Ipecacuanha. 



1'- F. MuELL. PI. Vict. i. 184. (Syn. Accord- 

 ing- to Benth. Ft. Austral, i. 139, de P. Japonicn 

 HouTT. S;/st. 3, t. 62, fig. 1.— DC. Prodr. h. 34.— 

 P. riclr/nris Thunh. Fl. Jap. 277. 



1-1 W. Spec. iii. 876. 



" BuCHAN-. ex DC. Prodr. n. 65.— Lindl. Fi. 

 Med. 126. 



■^ EcKL. et Zeyh. Eiihiii. n. 181. — Harv. et 

 SoND. Fl. Cap. i. 93 i^Eaffir ScMarjoi Wortel). 



1" W. Spec. iii. 877.— C. Gay, Fl. Chil. i. 239. 

 — Clinclin Feuill. Obs. ii. t. 13 [Qiieleii-qiulcii). 



1' L. Mantiss. 260.— DC. Prodr. n. 163 {Lep- 

 tospermaiii .'). — EosENTH. op. cit. 788.- — P. Thea 

 BuKM. Fl. liid. 163. 



