BAPTISIA — FALSE TNDIOO. lo3 



bark is said to 1)p tonic, emetic, and cathartic ; tlio loaves eniotic ; and tlic 

 flowers mildly narcotic. Poisonous etVects have been produced in children 

 from eating' tho root, the symptoms resembling those of bc^Uadonna. The 

 flowers, to the author's own knowledge, are often eaten with impunity. 



TRPTIROSIA.— HoAiiY Pea. 



Tephrosia Virginiana Porsoon. — Goal'fi hue, Turk-ei/ Pea, Catgut. 



VeHcription. — Calyx about ecpially 5-clcft. Corolla : standard large, 

 rounded, reflexed ; keel petals broad. Stamens monadelphous or diadel- 

 phous. Pods about 2 inches long, Hat, several-seculed. An herbaceous p(>reu- 

 nial. Stems numenms, erect, simple, leafy at the top, silky pubescent. 

 Leaves luiequally pinnate ; leaflets 17 to 20, linc^ar-oblong, mucrouiite. 

 Flowers large ftiid numerous, in dense oblong racemes, yellowiiih-whito 

 marked with purple, appearing in June or July. 



Jlahilnl. — Dry, sandy soil, Canada to Florida and westward. 



J'uft Usi'd. — The root — not ofKcial. 



Conxlit uoitK. — Unknown. 



IWparations. — Used only in decoction. 



Medical Properties and Uses. — The root of this plant is said to have 

 been used by the Indians as a vermifuge before the settlement of tho 

 country by the whites, and it is no.v used in some ])arts of the United 

 Stat(;s for the same puqiose. Its action is said to resemble that of spigelia 

 and to be quite as eflicient. 



TJAPTISIA.— False Inuioo. 



Baptisia tinctoria Robert Brown. — Wild Indigo. 



Dc.-icriplion. — Calyx 4- to 5-toothed. Corolla : standard not longer than 

 the wings, reflexed ; wings and keel petals straight. Stamens distinct. 

 Pods oval-globose, on a stalk longer than the calyx, several-seeded. An 

 herbaceous perennial. Stems smooth and slender, freely bx-anched, 2 to li 

 feet high. Leaves palm:itely trifoliate ; leaflets rounded, obovate-wedge- 

 shapcd, three-quarters of an inch long. Flowers yellow, in short terminal 

 I'acemes, appearing from June to August. 



Habitat. — Dry, sandy soil, Canada to Florida and westward. 



Part Used. — The root— not official. 



Gonstituenls. — The most recent analysis of this plant demonstrates the 

 pi'esence of a peculiar alkaloid, as yet unnamed. Tlie so-called baptixiv of 

 the eclectics is an impure resinous substance obtained from the alcoholic 

 tincture by precipitation with water. 



l\ej)arations. — None are ofiicial. A tincture and a fluid extract occur 

 as commercial preparations, and are said to be efficient. The author has 

 employed a tincture made from the fresh bai"k of the root. 



