168 



NATURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS. 



most remarkable are : in AMca, EuplwrUu piscaAoria ; ^ in India, 

 Securinega Lcucopyrus ; '~ in Guiana, Phyllaiithus hrasidensis ; ' in 

 Brazil, EupJwrhia cotinifolia^^ and Johannesia princeps. A very large 

 number of these plants with acrid and venomous latex are employed 

 in medicine in warm countries, as sudorific, depuratory, anti-syphi- 

 litic, and for gout ; in the first place may be mentioned certain 

 species of jExcwcaria, as B. Agallocha" and E. spimsa ; ^ nume- 

 rous species of Euphorhia^ principally among the cactiform species,''' 

 Pediluntlms^ certain American species of Crotoii, and especially in 

 Brazil C. antlsijpluUticimi? Many species of Plvjllantlms are also 

 depuratory, and some are, in tropical Asia, sought as powerfid 

 diuretics; the most celebrated of these are Phyllanthm Niruri'^'^ 

 (fig. 251) and urinaria^'^ equally used as antisyphUitic. As 

 the acrid latex is usually rich in caoutchouc, many of 



' Ait. Sort. Ecw. ed. l,ii. 137. — jAca. Sort, 

 scluciiir. iv. t. 485. — Eosenth. op. cit. 814. 

 {^Fii/iicra lie inferno from Madeira). 



= It has also been called Plujllantknx virosiis 

 (W. Spec. iii. .578) and F!iiet/r/ea rirosa (sec p. 

 1C4, note 5). 



3 Pom. Diet. V. 296, n. 2.— P. Coiiami Sw. 

 Trodr. 28. — H. Bn. in Adansom'a, v. 356. — P. 

 fniticosis L. C. Rich, in Act. Soc. Sist. Nat. 

 Par. 113. — P. piscatonim H. B. K.Nor. Gcii. ct 

 Spec. ii. 113. — Cimaini brasilieiisis AvBL, Gitiaii. 

 ii. 927, t. 354. [Counmi, Bois d eniinr.) 



** L. Amien. iii. 112. — Alectoroctonimi cotlnl- 

 folium Kl. et (Jrcke, Trie. 40. — A. Wildenouii 

 Kl. et Grcki, {Eiiphorbe fiistet). These are 

 also mentioned as used to intoxicate fishes E. 

 hybernica, employed in England (He ok. lirit. 

 Fl. ed. 4, 326). I'JP. puiiicea le Orotuii TiffUiim, 

 V Excrccaria i Cff, \'E. Aijalloeha, etc. Fish 

 and crabs who at the fruit of the Manchineel 

 are said to be ) usonous. 



■' See p. 167, note 2. 



f" With E. h heriiiea and sijlvatica it is often 

 administered in venereal affections before 

 mercury is uscfl. 



' Especially in India E. pihiUfcra and parri- 

 flora (LiNDL. T'er/. Kingd. 277). It is said that 

 Spanish peasants use for the same purpose Eit- 

 phorhia caiicficcis L. 



s Particularly P. jjadifolius Poit. in the An- 

 tilles and also P. tithymaloidea and aiif/usti- 

 folius PoiT. (in Anil. Mils. xix. 390, t. 19). 



'J Mart, in J.ns (1824), 686 ; in Liimaid (1830), 

 Litt. 37.— M. Arc. Prodr. 693, n. 208.--Ro- 

 sENTH. op. cit. 834. — C, pcrdicipes A. S. H. PI. 

 Us. Bras, t. 69. — H. Bn. in Adansonia, iv. 336. — 

 Ocalia grandifulia Kl. vnEriclis. Arch. (1841), 

 195.— 0. cordifolia Kl. — 0. echii folia Kl.— 0. 

 Sclloviiana Kl. [Pe de perdis, Erva miliar.) 



There are employed, in America for the same 

 purpose C. UriicitraiiaYi. Bx. Draco Schlchtl, 

 drncoiioides M. Arc. salittaris Casar. whose 

 juice is reddish, depuratory, and sudorific ; from 

 whence their common name of Saiiyue de Drngo, 

 Dragon's blood. C. campestre A. S. H. {PI. Us. 

 Bras. t. 60 ; — H. Bx. inAdansoina, iv. 316 ; — M. 

 Arg. Prodr. 632, n. 300) has analogous proper- 

 ties (vulg. Velarne do eampo.) C. origanifolius 

 Lamk. (Diet. ii. 205), a species from the Antilles, 

 has, it is said, the same virtues as Copaiba. In 

 North America they consider as a powerful 

 anti-syphilitic and depuratory YExcrecaria sijlva- 

 tica [Stilliiigia sgliatiea) Garden, in L. Mantiss. 

 126.— MiCHX. Fl. Bor.-Amer. ii. 213.— A. Gray, 

 Man. 391. — Sapiuni linear if olium Torr.), under 

 the name of Yaw-root. In India they prescribe 

 for syphilis E. Chamcclen H. Bx. (in Adansonia 

 vi. 324 ; — Tragia Chammlea L. Spec. 1391 ; — 

 CnemidostacJiijs Chama;lca Si'REXo. ; — Rosenth. 

 op. cit. 822 ; — Mierostaehifs Chani(clea A. Juss. ; 

 — Elachocroton asperoeoceus F. Muell. ; — Seda.t- 

 tiania CliainiehaM. Aro. Prodr. 1175, n. 9) and 

 Tragia involucrata L. ; in Brazil Jatropha offici- 

 nalis PoHL [PI. Bras. i. 13; H. Bn. in Adan- 

 sonia, iv. 266; — Adenoropimn ellipticmn Pohl), 

 used also as [a purgative in Sertao of Minas- 

 Geraes. (Raiz de Tiiih, if. de Lagarto.) 



•II L. Spec. 1392.— M. Arg. Prodr. 406, n. 

 358. — Rosenth. op. cit. 839. — P. carolinianus 

 Blanco. — Nymphanthus Niriiri Lour. Fl. Co- 

 chineh. 645 {Serhe an chagrin, Erva Poiiibinha). 

 Used in Brazil for diabetes, and in India as 

 stomachic, anti-dysenteric, tonic, diuretic, etc. 



" L. Spec. 1323.— M. Aro. Prodr. 364.— P. 

 cantoniensis Hornem. — P. alatus Bl. — P. lepro- 

 earpiis Wight. — P. echinatiis Wall. — P, Upido- 

 carpus SiEi!. et Zucc. — P. polyphyllus Wall. 

 ( Urinaire du Malabar.) 



