82 NYMPir.EACE.Ii;. 



strated by ProfosHor Miiisch mid others, neither bci'berina nor any other 

 alkaloid. 



J'/rparofif)}}!^. — Aliatractum po lophylli — abstract of podophylhim ; ex- 

 tractuin podophvlli — extrat^t of podophyllum ; extraetum podopliylli llii- 

 idiim lluid extract of podophylluin ; resina podophvlli — renin of podo- 

 phyllum (incorrectly termed jjodophi/lli))). — United Slatm I'harmacopivia. 



Medical Properties and Unei<. — Podophyllum is an active cathartic, in- 

 creasing the intestinal secretions and producinj^ cojiious and somewhat 

 watery stools, rcHend)liiipr jalap in its mode of oporatior thon;^h its elVects 

 are produced nuich more slowly. Its ac^tion is attended with considerable ■ 

 f,'ripin}jf, and sometimes nausea, which, however, may be, to a great ex- 

 tent, obviated by administering it in combination with other cathartics or 

 with sedatives. In over-doses it produces violent emeto-catharsis, and has 

 not imfroiiucntly caused fatal prostration. That it exerts a special in- 

 fluence ui)on the functions of the liver seems to have been al)un(lantly 

 demonstrated by clinical experience ; and in those cases of inactivity of 

 this organ so frequently met with in the condition vaguely but ex- 

 pressively termed " biliousness," fe>v remedies act as satisfactorily. As an 

 aid to overcoming the habit of constipation, administered alone or in 

 judicious combin;itions, few drugs ecpial and fewer still surpass it in 

 cfiicacy. Thus, though analogous to jalap in some resi)ects, it has a 

 wid(H' range of tisefulness. It is used by eclectics as a substitute for mer- 

 cury in the treatment of syphilis, and has even been denominated " vege- 

 table calomel," on account of its sujii^osed efficacy as an alterative. There 

 is little reason, however, for sn])p()sing that it exerts any direct or spe- 

 cific etfect upon svphilis, or that its alterative inlluence extends beyond the 

 mere increasing the hepatic and intestinal secretions. It w'ould, therefore, 

 be extremely unwise to relj' upon it to the exclusion of mercury and the 

 iodides in the treatment of so grave a disease as syphilis. 



NYMPH/EACEyE. 



, Character of the Order. — Aquatic perennial herbs, with horizontal rhi- 

 zomes and peltate or cordate fleshy leaves, either floating on the surface 

 of the water or borne above it upon long petioles. Sepals usually 4, 

 sometimes confounded with the numerous petals, and these often passing 

 gradually' into stamens ; stamens indefinite in number, inserted in the 

 torus above the petals, with petaloid filaments, and adnate, introrse 

 anthers, opening by two longitudinal clefts ; torus lai'ge and fleshy, sur- 

 sounding the ovary, which is many-celled and mai.y-ovuled, with radiat- 

 ing stigmas. Fruit many-celled, indihescent ; seeds very numerous, borne 

 on the sid<^s or back of the cells, and not on the ventral suture. 



An order comprising five genera in North America, namelj', Brasenia, 

 Cabomba, Nelumbium, Nuphar, and Nympheea, and these are represented 



