150 INULA HELENIUM 



tile upper surfaces of the branches papillose. Ray-flowers female, 

 numerous, in a single row ; corolla ligulate, nearly an inch long, 

 spreading, narrowly linear, 3-toothed at the apex, yellow. Fruit 5 

 inch long, smooth, pale brown, somewhat compressed, 4-ribbed, 

 pappus long, whitish, hairs rough, in a single row, spreading. 



Habitat. Elecampane is a widely distributed though scarcely 

 a common plant in England, occurring in damp pastures and 

 shady ground ; it lies under the suspicion of alien origin here in 

 consequence of its having been formerly much cultivated by 

 country people, but is probably truly a native plant in southern 

 England, though considered certainly introduced into Scotland. 

 Elsewhere it has a wide distribution through all central and south 

 Europe, and it extends eastwards as far as S. Siberia and N. W. 

 India. 



It flowers in July and August, and is a striking and handsome 

 plant. After the flowers have fallen, the involucral scales spread 

 horizontally and the removal of the fruit shows the beautifully 

 regular arrangement of the little pits on the receptacle which 

 form a pattern, like the engine-turning of a watch. 



Syme, E. Bot., v, p. 97 ; Hook, f., Stud. Fl., p. 198 ; Watson, 

 Comp. Cyb. Br., p. 232; Koch, Fl. Germ., p. 392; Lindl., Fl. 

 Med., p. 456. 



Official Part and Name. INULA; the root (U. S. P. Secondary}. 

 It is not official in the British Pharmacopoeia, or the Pharma- 

 copoeia of India; but it was formerly official in the London 

 and Dublin Pharmacopoeias. 



Collection and Preparation. "When required for medicinal 

 use, the roots are obtained from plants two or three years old, 

 those of older growth being too woody. The larger portions are 

 then variously sliced both transversely and longitudinally, and 

 dried ; while the smaller portions are dried entire. 



General Characters and Composition. The dried root, as seen 

 in commerce, essentially consists of transverse or longitudinal 

 slices, which are variously twisted or curled from the contraction 

 they have undergone in the process of drying ; and mixed with 



