INULA — ELECAMPANE. 



1 



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be nearly if not quite as efficacious as the official species, and the two are 

 often found mixed in coniniex'ce. 



(hnditne.nl^. — As remarked above, tlio flower-heads of plantw of tliis 

 genus are commonly coat(!d with a glutinous or resinous Niuuish. Tlie 

 same substance is more or less diffused in the stems and leaves, and con- 

 tains the active principles, namely, a peculiar volatile oil of a terebinthi- 

 nate odor, reshi, and a cry.stalline body having an alkaline reaction, 



Vreparaliom. — Extractum grindeliic lluidum — fluid extract of grindelia. 

 — Uni/t'd Stall's I'liarinacopd'ia. 



Medical Prupertiea and tV.s. — TIio therapeutic effects of grindelia ap- 

 pear, in many respects, to bear a striking resemblance to those of turpen- 

 tine. In moderate doses it stinuilatcs the mucous mend)ranes, and liiis 

 been found very beneficial in chronic catarrhal atVections, especially those 

 of the respiratory tivict and ininary oi'gans. Very lf#ge doses have occa- 

 sioned renal irritation. It also acts to some extent as an antispasmodic, 

 and has proved efficacious in spasmodic asthma and in whooping-cough, 

 especially when complicated Avith bronchitis. 



Externally the fluid extract of G. srpiarrosa has been recommended as 

 a cure for rhus-poisoning, but the author, from personal experinuMit, has 

 become convinced that it acts hero merely as a protective coating to the 

 skin by virtue of its resin, and that it possesses no directly curative prop- 

 erty. The fluid extract of the official species is (piite as efficacious, as is 

 also any other resinous var- v ' r\ 



nish which has no acrid prop- ^ MJ\^<:>^^ls^ /f ' 



erties. Such a] t]ilications are, 

 however, unpkasant to the 

 patient, since they discolor 

 the skin and limit the motion 

 of the parts affected. 



INULA. —Elecampane. 



Inula Helenium LirnKj. 

 — Elecampane. 



Descriptio n. — Heads 

 large, many-flowered, radi- 

 ate ; rays numerous, in a sin- 

 gle series, pistillate, some- 

 times sterile ; disk-flowers 

 tubular, perfect. Scales of 

 the involucre ind)ricate in Fm. lai-muu Heienium. 



several series, the outer broadly ovate, foliaceous ; the inner obovate-spatu-. 

 late, ol)tuse. Receptacle flat, or somewhat convex, naked. Achenia 4- 

 sided, glabrous. Pappus simple, of capillary, slightly scabrous bristles. 



