ONArilALlUM — OUD-WKKI). 18ii 



AUTEMISIA.— WouMWOOD. 



nmracfflr of thn (Imu!*. — Hcmls indny-doworoil, discoid ; flowors nil 

 tubiiliir, tlio in:irjj[iiiiil ones pistilbh^, thou;^'li soiuotimcH nil lu-o jxtIVcI. 

 Si'iik'S of tlio iiivoliuiro iinhriciitcd, with Hlij^htly Hciirioiis luiii-^'iiiH lio- 

 foptiu^lo smuU, naked. Acheuia obovutc, rounded or muuow ut tho top ; 

 i)iil)pus none. 



Herbs or shrubs, with snmll heads in pnniclod spikes or racemes ; flow- 

 ers yellow or jtu' j)lish. 



A <^(!nu.s eon.prisinj^, in North Americu, ii lar^'o number of .species, tew 

 cf whi'''i, liowevcsr, Imvo been employed medieiimlly. All of them possess, 

 to !i gr tor or less ext(!nt, bitter and aromatic pro2)erties. The species 

 descnooil below, though not indiy;ent)us, well represents tho medicinal 

 virtuert of the n'eiius. 



Artemisia Absinthium Llnue. — Wormwood. 



/ffMriiilinii, — ]Miu';jfiiiiil llowers pistillate; the others -H-rfect. Heads 

 innuerous, densely clustered, hemispherical, noddiii;^, yellow. Stem some- 

 what shrubby, 2 to 4 feet higli, branching, silky-hoar^'. Leaves 2- to 3- 

 pimiately parted, the lobes lanceolate, obtuse. 



J/dhitul. — Indigoiious to the Eastern Conliueiit, but long cultivated and 

 Hi)aringly naturalized here. 



J\irt>> i'aed. — The leaves and tops — United Statat Pharmacopdna. 



Const it uenls. — Volatile oil, a bitter princijile termed almintliin, and eoui- 

 mon vegetable constituents such as tannin, starch, gum, etc. 



Pn'i>(if(itiioiH. — AVormwood enters into the official Vinioii Aromnticnm, 

 but there are no othiual preparations of the plant itself. It is generally 

 employed in infusion. 



Medical Properties and Uses. — "Wormwood is stinndatit and toni(\ It 

 has been employed chiefly in debility of the digestive organs, as atonic and 

 flatulent dyspepsia. The volaiile oil of wormwood in large doses produces 

 great cerebral disturbance with epileptiform convulsions, and maj' even 

 cause death. It is seldom or never employeil medicinally, but enters into 

 the composition of a Frenc^h liipieur called almnthc 



Externally fomentations of wormwood are often used in bruises, 

 sprains, etc. 



GN API! ALIUM. — Cui>Weed. 



Gnaphallum polycephalum Michaux. — Common Everlasting. 



Description. — Heads many-flowered, all tubular ; the outer pistillate, 

 very slender, generallj in several series ; the central perfect. Scales of tlie 

 i>' volucro ovate and oblong, rather obtuse, whitish. Receptacle Ihit, naked. 

 Achenia terete. Pappus a single seriea of rough, capillary bristles. 



An erect, woolly herb, 1 to 2 feet high. Leaves lanceolate, tapering at 



