FUMARIA — FUMITORY. 



91 



Ovjxry oval ; sty • filiform, nl)out nw k)n<j; ns the stamcna, deciduous. I'od 

 roiuidisli, some at heart-sliaijcd, l-Hood(!d, iudt'luHocnt. 



A small, leafy, murh-bviincluHl annual, about 1 foot hi^li. Loaves Li- 

 pinuato, tlio pinuulu' mostly IJ-lolunl, of a pale green color. Flowers 

 small, reddish-purple, in dense spikes (r racemes. 



J/dhifat. — A native of Europe but natuvfilizeil hero, <j;ri)wiug in waste 

 places about dwellings aud in 

 cultivated grounds. 



J'urt i'scd. — The herb — not 

 official. 



C'onsfituenln. — Fumitoi*yhas 

 a bitter, disirgreeablo taste, 

 strongly marlied in the fresh 

 herb aud still more so in the 

 dried specimen. It has yielded 

 to analysis a peculiar crystal- 

 lizablo acid, tei'uied fnma7'w 

 acid, and. an alkaloid, also 

 crystiiUiue, termed faniarine. 

 Tliese arc supposed to be the 

 active constituents of the plant, 

 but experiments in support of 

 the supposition appear to bo 

 lacking. 



rrepnrations. — None are of- 

 ficial. The expressed juice of 

 the fresh plant is an efficient 

 l)reparation ; the decoction and 

 infusion are also eligible forms 

 of administration. 



3[t'dical ProDerties and Use/'. 

 — Fumitory was highly es- 

 teemed by the ancients as a blood purifier, and was also believed to exert 

 a special influence upon the eyes. In more recent times it has been re- 

 garded as tonic and depurative, and as being si)ecially beneficial in dis- 

 eises of the skin. At one time or another it has, therefore, been em- 

 ployed with asserted benefit in a great variety of cases. Cullen found it 

 more beneficial in skin diseases thnn in any other class of cases. Others 

 have used it in scrofulous and scorbutic affi3ctions ; others as a vermifuge, 

 though as Cazin remarks, it is no more anthelmintic than other bitters. 

 It is sometimes employed externally in cutaneous affections, in the form 

 of a decoction made by boiling the plant in milk. 



Fio. lO'l.- Funiarin oflficinnlia. 



